So, Brian Wardle = Coach of the Year

[tornado]

Well, Bradley with their 6th place tie is really the ONLY team in the Missouri Valley that finished substantially ABOVE where they were picked -
and did so with four starters who are FRESHMEN!!
By any definition of Coach of the Year - then I think it goes to Brian Wardle

Remember last year Barry Hinson won the Coach of the Year despite finishing as the 5th seed - just because he exceeded expectations...

Nobody else did so this year besides Wardle, as both Marshall & Muller finished right where they were picked, and Moser likewise even tho he has a Player of the Year candidate on his roster.

[Da Coach]

Well, Bradley with their 6th place tie is really he ONLY team in the Missouri Valley that finished substantially ABOVE where they were picked

Not accurate. Bradley was picked 8th in the MVC Preseason poll, and they finished 6th, 2 spots above their projected finish.

There are 2 other teams that finished 2 spots above where they were picked-
SIU was picked 5th and they finished tied for 3rd, so Barry Hinson again exceeded his projected finish as much as Brian Wardle did
Loyola was picked 7th and finished 5th, so in fact Porter Moser also exceeded his projected finish as much as Wardle did

Preseason picks-

http://www.mvc-sports.com/mbasketball/news/2016-17/9075/shockers-tabbed-as-mvc-mens-hoops-favorite/#.WLM2KDsrI2w

Final MVC standings-

http://www.mvc.org/mbb/stats/confsked.htm

And regarding Barry Hinson's COY win last year, in 2015-16, SIU was picked to finish 9th in the preseason poll, and they finished in a tie for 4th. That is 5 spots higher than they were picked. That is a bit more impressive than finishing one or two spots higher than where you were picked.


IMO, it will be Dan Muller who get the MVC COY.

[tornado]

but I qualified that Bradley is the only team that finished substantially (more than one spot) ahead of where picked with a largely freshman squad...a team with zero preseason All Conference personnel.
Both Loyola & SIU had Presason All Conference picks - so I believe it is clear that Brian Wardle did way better in exceeding anyone's expectations.

Wichita & ISU clearly had the top talent, with UNI, Missouri State, SIU and Loyola right behind...
Even Drake & Indiana State had Preseason ALL Conf. picks that's why Evansville & Bradley were everyone's picks to be at the bottom along with Drake.

Bradley finished as high as a team with 168 more points in the preseason poll. I think the argument is strong that neither Loyola nor SIU exceeded the expectations like Bradley did.

One more thing- both SIU & Loyola were picked at or below the middle of the pack - and they finished with 9-9 and 8-10 records - pretty much precisely as everyone thought. Bradley finishing only a couple games behind Loyola and SIU and finishing strong is a big surprise in the MVC final standings.

[Braves2006]

I agree with D.C. Muller should win COY. If Braves didn't have to play in Thursday then I think there should at least be some discussion. But I see no way that a Play-in team would or should have a COY.... IMO

[PurpleAceFan]

I agree with D.C. Muller should win COY. If Braves didn't have to play in Thursday then I think there should at least be some discussion. But I see no way that a Play-in team would or should have a COY.... IMO

Completely agree that there's no way a team in the play-in round will have the coach of the year. Being tied for 6th in a 10 team conference and being 7-11 overall is not enough in my humble opinion. Remember that SIU actually finished 11-7 last year when Barry got COY.

I do love how a 3 game winning streak against teams that finished 6th, 8th, and 10th can move a fan base from "fire him now" to "coach of the year".

Happy to see the Braves finish strong nonetheless and would love to see them get out of Thursday night so the team can build come additional confidence over the summer. Their future looks brighter than my Aces right now at least.

[LongTimeFan]

I don't think anyone was advocating that Wardle should be fired now. Several were discouraged with lack of improvement on the floor during the year, especially by the sophomores. The amount of improvement by the team during the last games is what has encouraged the fans.

Also the recruiting of JC players has been discussed a lot.

[Da Coach]

...
I do love how a 3 game winning streak against teams that finished 6th, 8th, and 10th can move a fan base from "fire him now" to "coach of the year".

Thanks for the comments, and I know you were using hyperbole, but I don't believe anyone ever has said "fire him now", nor even mentioned firing Wardle this year. There were fans discouraged by not seeing many signs of improvement earlier in the season, but we finally saw some signifcant improvement in the last few weeks.
I also see only one person even remotely suggesting that Wardle should be Coach of the Year.

[Chico]

Coach of the Year in the MVC or not, BW is still our COY. Good job Coach Wardle and go get em next season.

[Dub]

Amazing what fun a little winning can bring. BW is certainly building something here, and I like the style of play he seems to be pursuing... lots of organized offensive play, good shot selection, heady guard play, switching and help D, emphasis on rebounding. It took a while to appear and gel, but to get this late season push shows me a lot.

I believe BW has a real shot at COY some year soon. I believe he may prove to have the highest ceiling of any BU coach in recent memory.... but he has a long way to go still.

[tornado]

...no way a team in the play-in round will have the coach of the year. ...

in one of the audio conferences the Wichita beat writer Paul Suellentrop said he voted for Brian Wardle last year...
...now I kinda half think that was so he wouldn't be putting any tallies on anyone else's vote totals when he couldn't vote for Marshall...


BTW--- the current reigning Coach of the Year is Barry Hinson...
he got himself into a little trouble and had to apologize for some comments...

After their final game Saturday - they beat Loyola...
Barry said this in response to the poor fan turnout:
"It's important to me what people think, sometimes," Hinson said. "If they can't come out here tonight
and be proud of what these guys have done, specifically what Sean O'Brien has done, in the four years he's been here,
fourth(place finish), ninth, fourth, third, then you can't be a Saluki.
Stay home. Stay home! You don't have to come to the games."

The next morning he apologized for telling fans to stay home..
"I probably should have chosen my words differently," he said. "I never intended to tell fans not to come to the games.
It was right after the game, in the heat of the moment, but I will always defend my players and defend my team."


there's a lot of sentiment among fans who want to change directions and fire Barry Hinson
Here's Barry's five year numbers....Overall record 78-81, MVC record, 39-50

[algotrader]

Thanks for the comments, and I know you were using hyperbole, but I don't believe anyone ever has said "fire him now", nor even mentioned firing Wardle this year. There were fans discouraged by not seeing many signs of improvement earlier in the season, but we finally saw some signifcant improvement in the last few weeks.
I also see only one person even remotely suggesting that Wardle should be Coach of the Year.

A lot of things are said between the lines. Its disappointing to read so much negativity surrounding our team this year. You can say things without explicitly spelling it out.

[PurpleAceFan]

Thanks for the comments, and I know you were using hyperbole, but I don't believe anyone ever has said "fire him now", nor even mentioned firing Wardle this year. There were fans discouraged by not seeing many signs of improvement earlier in the season, but we finally saw some signifcant improvement in the last few weeks.
I also see only one person even remotely suggesting that Wardle should be Coach of the Year.

Hyperbole definitely, but do believe there were at least a few on here who were rather serious in the discussion on if Wardle was going to be able to do the job. Regardless, hopefully things start to look up for the Braves.

[tornado]

... Its disappointing to read so much negativity surrounding our team this year.....

I know I am sure happy to get rid of the bunch that dragged Bradley down to DIII level, ran off half the fan base, recruited horribly, and sunk us to the bottom of the MVC...
and I am convinced we are bouncing back and have every reason to be optimistic..

44.2% of our minutes were played by freshmen
56.8% of our minutes were played by newcomers
and 89.5% of our minutes were logged by 1st or 2nd year guys
and almost 100% of our minutes are by guys who will return for 1, 2 or 3 more years

[pfcmsh]

Agree 100%

I agree 100%. The minutes information is really telling about the team base we can build on with the 2 new big guys coming in. Who knows, there might be additional new players as the season closes?

Last year and the first half of this year, were a little tough to watch, but we are on our way to being a competitive mid major again. Coach Wardle's first year brought us 5 wins and we were perhaps at the lowest point ever given the regime change residuals. We had to overcome the inertia of a sustained downward slide. This year 12 wins (against an easier schedule) and a shot at a couple more wins, if we had won those we should have. If 2017/2018 brings 7 more wins, we would be 19 and 12. Definitely on the right track. With the basis of our team coming back for the next few years, improvements might come even faster than we saw from last year to this year. Go Braves!!

[algotrader]

I know I am sure happy to get rid of the bunch that dragged Bradley down to DIII level, ran off half the fan base, recruited horribly, and sunk us to the bottom of the MVC...

Me too. They just did not do this program any favors. But I have hope in our current leaders!