One of the very best things about BU Hoops

[BUBraves2006]

I've been waiting to see how everything with recruiting pans out to post about this topic. As I've come to expect since I started following Bradley basketball, this program's actions on players have been truly commendable.

I know that I eat up as much basketball news as the next guy but what can get lost is the bigger picture. Jim Les needs to get more credit on choosing the right men for our program. He, as well the Bradley family, cares about character. I'm not sure this can be stated enough. He was willing to give troubled guys like Fears and Williams a chance, but when they didn't cut the Bradley standard (whether it be grades, attitude or "other"), they were let go.

Some people get spoiled with how great our fan base is. In addition to that, people can also get used to the classy men that come through the campus on the corner of Main & University. When it comes down to it, Jim Les and his staff expect their players to be good men on and off the court.

Most teams don't have 8-12 great stories every season, but usually have players who don't appear to give 100% every game. Many college basketball rosters are filled with thugs and guys who can just "get by" because they can play basketball. That attitude isn't tolerated at BU and though a few "talented" guys may be gone, the roster is filled with players we can truly be proud of having.

Go Braves!

[tornado]

Re: One of the very best things about BU Hoops

Most teams don't have 8-12 great stories every season...

I agree...several team have numerous really bad stories of player misbehavior, crimes, and other bad stuff.
I think this stretch of the last 4-5 years has been one of unprecedented good news, with stories on the fine attributes of our players.
I am glad you noticed that '06!

[Beninator]

Well said BB '06.

[amckillip]

I really do love our team I saw both Zach and Will yesterday and both were so friendly. I still love seeing Zach out in the quad fencing in nice days when I get out of one of my classes, its just funny seeing the same 6-8 beast that slams home thrilling dunks, fencing for one of his theater classes on the quad.

[abesimpson]

Re: One of the very best things about BU Hoops

Most teams don't have 8-12 great stories every season...

I agree...several team have numerous really bad stories of player misbehavior, crimes, and other bad stuff.
I think this stretch of the last 4-5 years has been one of unprecedented good news, with stories on the fine attributes of our players.
I am glad you noticed that '06!

I haven't been following BU hoops for that long, but there were some things in the 4 years that would make me think they weren't the best:
-Pat, Will, and Ray all getting suspended by the NCAA
-the Jabbar Battle incident
-Mike Suggs leaving before he was punished for "something"
-Jassey not being allowed to go to St. Louis for "something"
-JJ, Lawrence, and Pat were all suspended by Les in the past 2 years for 1 game for some sort of team rules violation
-Losing recruits for various reasons

I'm not saying we have bad-behaving players, in fact, I think BU athletes are head and shoulders above just about every other university's athletes in the country. I just wonder have there been worse stories in the past, besides going back to the point-shaving in the 1950s that would put the last 4 years above the rest for BU? Has the recent bad news been mild compared to bad news from, say, 10 or 20 years ago?

[tornado]

Pat, Will, and Ray have not done anything illegal, or did you not notice there have been no charges against anyone.

Jabbar was the only guy Jim Les could get with the open scholarship in spring of 2002. He was more of a desperation "get" than a guy Jim Les really wanted, and since Jim was signed only days before the spring signing period, then Jim just did the best he could.

Jabbar didn't get arrested on drug charges nor did he commit a crime that ever sends anyone to jail...none of us knows the details, but he did wrong and Jim Les basically banished Jabbar to the end of the bench thereafter.

suggs was not a Jim Les recurit and was disciplined quite satisfactorily, and the rest were really minor stuff.

I stand by my statement, that the BU program in the past 5 years is undoubtedly in the top 5% in regards to few off the court serious problems and crimes, while simultaneously in the top 5% in good stories like the ones on Zach, Boogie, DRuff, and their GOOD deeds off the court.

[BUBraves2006]

Let me just add to your thoughts, T.

If you look at the instances of "problems," they were all dealt with properly. Not only JL, but KK as well, stood up for the summer job incident. Not to reopen an old wound, but most said that the players really weren't at fault and were appalled by the situation. Yet at the same time, everyone was "stand up" about the problem and took the overly-harsh NCAA ruling.

Bringing up these past problems just shows again how great this program is, for when players do screw up they are actually punished for their wrongdoing. We're not like the "bigger" schools who will just turn the other way when a problem happens.

I will stand by the fact that Jim Les brings in good PEOPLE, not just good basketball players. There are very few players I can think of who were conceited/gruff/etc. that you wouldn't want to say hi to them on campus. Those who aren't as friendly grow into nice guys as they mature.

A great example is JJ Tauai. Everyone knows how much he struggled at the beginning of his career on the court. He also seemed very conceited to me his first year or two on campus (and with all the accolades he had coming from high school, it isn't unreasonable to see why). Yet Jim Les knew he was a good guy and got the most out of him. Once JJ realized how he could best served the team, he really showed a total revitalization to his basketball career. He also lost any "perceived" attitude off the court. He, like many, many other Braves, turned out to be great!

[tornado]

Amen '06, I echo your thoughts

[abesimpson]

Didn't mean to ruffle your feathers, tornado and 2006. I was just curious about how sever the lesser problems I mentioned were in comparison to things that happened at BU more than 5 years ago. Like I said, I haven't been following BU hoops that long. (Also, I am yet to receive my book, where is that thing?!) How common are the team rule violations and things of that nature?

Also, I agree that what I mentioned is really minor in comparison to actual crime that occurs with players at larger schools. I'm glad players here are held accountable.

I can't help but play devil's advocate on this though, tornado: If Ray had been caught by a man with a badge instead of a man with a lab coat, he would have some charges, even if they would only be misdemeanors.

[tornado]

abe-- you are entitled to think BU has problems, and honestly, every school probably has a few because we are dealing with real colege kids, not angels.

But you could summarize all of the problems at BU as arguments with angry girlfriends, college kids smokin', and inadvertent overpay for a job.

Not one of those issues ended in time in jail, and only one ended briefly in court, though quite frankly it was a he-said/she-said kind of case.

Have you not seen the endless wave of posts and news stories about kids being shot on campus, and players being allowed to play by their coach after after drunken driving, accidents, drug arrests, weapons violations, fighting with the coach, and any other number of ways to get arrested.
U of I has had more than a half dozen kids in court or in the hospital because of this kind of incident...and BU hasn't had any.

Just curious if you can name an D-I school that hasn't had at least one issue as severe as the worst one you can find at BU in the past 5 years.

Add to that the numerous testimonies we have all heard coming from various sources as to how courteous, polite, self-less, and outstanding the BU players all really are.

[abesimpson]

Again, tornado, I agree you. BU players are of better moral fiber than those those of most other colleges. I would be one of the many you mentioned that would testify to that affect.

Honestly, I stopped reading the wave of posts about players behaving badly because I was bored with hearing the same things over and over again about the same schools. And BU was never one of them. I could probably find a school (I wouldn't have a guess off the top of my head though) that has had as good of a run as BU in the past 5 years, but it surely would not be a BCS school.

I was just trying to ask a question that occurred to me when I looked at this topic: How do the minor bad instances of the past 5 years compare with other time periods in BU history?

[Dubl R 1]

Again, tornado, I agree you. BU players are of better moral fiber than those those of most other colleges. I would be one of the many you mentioned that would testify to that affect.

Honestly, I stopped reading the wave of posts about players behaving badly because I was bored with hearing the same things over and over again about the same schools. And BU was never one of them. I could probably find a school (I wouldn't have a guess off the top of my head though) that has had as good of a run as BU in the past 5 years, but it surely would not be a BCS school.

I was just trying to ask a question that occurred to me when I looked at this topic: How do the minor bad instances of the past 5 years compare with other time periods in BU history?

Put it this way, We have not had a Deon Thurman recently.

[Braveman]

Again, tornado, I agree you. BU players are of better moral fiber than those those of most other colleges. I would be one of the many you mentioned that would testify to that affect.

Honestly, I stopped reading the wave of posts about players behaving badly because I was bored with hearing the same things over and over again about the same schools. And BU was never one of them. I could probably find a school (I wouldn't have a guess off the top of my head though) that has had as good of a run as BU in the past 5 years, but it surely would not be a BCS school.

I was just trying to ask a question that occurred to me when I looked at this topic: How do the minor bad instances of the past 5 years compare with other time periods in BU history?

Put it this way, We have not had a Deon Thurman recently.

Or a Dion Thurman(sp)