Expectations...

[Da Coach]

For the record, Wardle has said he would never force a player out, and never has.

[Bradleyfan1]

Have you heard of Soph slumps?
Players show there biggest gains over the summer going into there Jr seasons. We will have a handful of Jrs and a First team all MVC guy next season in Donte.
It's yr 2 of a full out burn down rebuild. The problem with next season is Soph slumps again with most our players. Year after I expect to compete for a title.

[PhiAlphaBoy]

For the record, Wardle has said he would never force a player out, and never has.

We know those are sematics... "coach speak". I have heard that both Wardle and Reynolds made the decision to essentially clean house and start over in Wardle's first year... that there will be plenty of patience afforded to Wardle to rebuild this program from the bottom up for long term consistency and success. Personally I don't have a problem with that since it seemed most of the potential returning players either had no talent, grade issues, trouble issues, or attitude issues. There may have been 1-3 players that could have made this rebuild a little smoother for Wardle during these first two years but I totally get why the decision was made to start over. Hopefully the Bradleyfans will have the patience to see this thing through to completion.

[PhiAlphaBoy]

HWe will have a handful of Jrs and a First team all MVC guy next season in Donte.

I hope you're right about Donte because we've all been singing his praises since he got to Bradley. So far he's been a bust.

[pfcmsh]

Donte

I do not know Donte's stats for the game at Loyola that I attended on Jan 25, 2017, but I will tell you he was an rebounding animal out there. He came to play and I was very impressed with his rebounding!

[PhiAlphaBoy]

I do not know Donte's stats for the game at Loyola that I attended on Jan 25, 2017, but I will tell you he was an rebounding animal out there. He came to play and I was very impressed with his rebounding!

But there have probably only been a handful of games where he "came to play". No doubt he's a very athletic and talented player but thus far he's lacked any consistency during his Bradley career.

[pfcmsh]

Donte

But there have probably only been a handful of games where he "came to play". No doubt he's a very athletic and talented player but thus far he's lacked any consistency during his Bradley career.

You are right! I just hope he blossoms into consistent play under Coach Wardle. He was one of 2 that remained as Coach Wardle came in.

[lefty]

Both Mo and Les won 7 conference games their second year at BU....both started with more than Wardle did as well. I know it's a different time and all but if Wardle wins 6 this starting from scratch last year, it seems we would be moving the right direction

[Da Coach]

Both Mo and Les won 7 conference games their second year at BU....both started with more than Wardle did as well. I know it's a different time and all but if Wardle wins 6 this starting from scratch last year, it seems we would be moving the right direction

Yeah, it is really not easy to compare 2004 with 2017. The conference was much tougher then compared with now.
The MVC was as good as it has been in the last 30 years during the 4 year stretch from 2004-2007 sending more teams to the NCAA tournament than any other 4-year stretch.
By comparison, in the last 4 seasons since Creighton left the MVC, the conference RPI has fallen each year and now ranks as low as at any time in the last 30 years. And there have been far fewer NCAA bids or ranked teams.

[bigjimmy]

Can we double our Valley win total fro last season? It's possible but we should have a better record if it wasn't for our inability to pass a basketball. Until we learn how to do that basic basketball move we'll be fortunate to win twice more this season.

[Buesch N Chips]

Yeah, it is really not easy to compare 2004 with 2017. The conference was much tougher then compared with now.
The MVC was as good as it has been in the last 30 years during the 4 year stretch from 2004-2007 sending more teams to the NCAA tournament than any other 4-year stretch.
By comparison, in the last 4 seasons since Creighton left the MVC, the conference RPI has fallen each year and now ranks as low as at any time in the last 30 years. And there have been far fewer NCAA bids or ranked teams.

I don't disagree with a lot of your points, but conference wins don't have to come from "NCAA bids" or "ranked teams".

[Da Coach]

I don't disagree with a lot of your points, but conference wins don't have to come from "NCAA bids" or "ranked teams".

I would not deny that.
But it was stated, "Both Mo and Les won 7 conference games their second year at BU" as if that should lower expectations for this current team.
First, I would be happy with 7 conference wins this season.
But my point was that to win 7 games back in 2004, 2005, or 2006 was a lot more impressive than winning 7 games now.
The MVC 10-13 years ago was the 6th or 7th best conference in the country, with half the teams inside the top 40 RPI in 2006, compared with the 12th best conference now. There is only 1 team inside the top 70 RPI now.
I think most people would admit that winning 7 games now should be a lot more easily achievable than now.

[lefty]

I would not deny that.
But it was stated, "Both Mo and Les won 7 conference games their second year at BU" as if that should lower expectations for this current team.
First, I would be happy with 7 conference wins this season.
But my point was that to win 7 games back in 2004, 2005, or 2006 was a lot more impressive than winning 7 games now.
The MVC 10-13 years ago was the 6th or 7th best conference in the country, with half the teams inside the top 40 RPI in 2006, compared with the 12th best conference now. There is only 1 team inside the top 70 RPI now.
I think most people would admit that winning 7 games now should be a lot more easily achievable than now.

I wasn't lowering expectations DC....just an observation, that's all. Les and Mo had more to start with too than Wardle did......just saying it takes time