Illini disrespect for BU

[brocks]

Lots of dissing BU going on over on Illini boards over Shumpert cutting UI but not BU. Call me naive, but I don't quite get it. Did Bradley NOT make the Sweet 16 only 16 months ago? Did Bradley NOT play Illinois to the wire on a neutral court last season? Does Bradley NOT have one of the best young recruiters in the business running its program right now?

And when did it become so outlandish that a kid might want to experience a genuine college experience at a place that's wild about hoops, where real profs teach classes, and where you don't have to take a bus to class?

Illinois fans need to face a new reality: you're already second in this state to SIU. You're pretty darn close to moving behind DePaul and Bradley, too. Not every HS player has the same fantasies Matt Roth does. Some want a special experince you can't get when your alma mater is named after a state.

[Beninator]

Well said Brocks.

[dogsrus]

How would we feel if Maniscalco dropped us but kept Eastern on his list....

[patrick_o'brian]

How would we feel if Maniscalco dropped us but kept Eastern on his list....

What is that supposed to mean? Is that the comparison that you are going with? Where is Larry Eustacy when you need him!

[dogsrus]

How would we feel if Maniscalco dropped us but kept Eastern on his list....

What is that supposed to mean? Is that the comparison that you are going with? Where is Larry Eustacy when you need him!

I think its rather plain and simple but I'll spell it out. Illinois thinks of themselves as a "better" program and more "appealing" than BU. I would suggest most BU fans would feel the same about BU compared to a place like Eastern and I probably could have used numerous other examples like Western, Northern, Quinnipac, Maryland Eastern Shore......

SOOOOO...if Maniscalco dropped us for a program WE felt we were more appealing than I'm sure some would feel similar to what some Illinois fans feel.

As for Larry Eustachy...I have NO idea what he has to do with anything.

Hope that clears up any confusion and thanks for the kind response.

[brocks]

How would we feel if Maniscalco dropped us but kept Eastern on his list....

Are you seriously saying that the gap between IU and BU is proportionate to the gap between BU and EIU? If so, I'll decline to respond.

[dogsrus]

How would we feel if Maniscalco dropped us but kept Eastern on his list....

Are you seriously saying that the gap between IU and BU is proportionate to the gap between BU and EIU? If so, I'll decline to respond.

I don't know how one measures "gaps" between programs. If there is a chart or something to reference I'd be glad to take a look at it.

I think my post spelled it out quite clearly. Its based on individual perception.

Simple question...do you see BU as a more appealing program than Eastern? I would offer 99.99999% of BU fans would.

I would also offer close to that same % of Illini fans see Illinois as a more appealing program than BU.

I was simply trying to point out why SOME Illini fans feel Shocked at being dropped while we were not.

I'm surprised anyone would be surprised they would feel that way. Heck they felt that way when Gordon dropped them for IU.

[houstontxbrave]

Illini nation can think however they want of themselves but they are currently nothing but an average program within the Big Ten.

If it were not for their win over us last season they would have not made the NCAA tourney. They did nothing within their conference but beat inferior teams and played mostly poor non conference opponents.

Illinois did not capitalize on their final four appearance and are now living off the conception that the Big Ten is a superior conference, they are top heavy and extremely average to poor when you get past Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Indiana

[dogsrus]

[quote="houstontxbrave"]Illini nation can think however they want of themselves



I agree.....and again I'm not suggesting their feelings are correct or warranted just that its not surprising they feel that way.

[bert notorius]

Who cares what they think.

[brocks]

How would we feel if Maniscalco dropped us but kept Eastern on his list....

Are you seriously saying that the gap between IU and BU is proportionate to the gap between BU and EIU? If so, I'll decline to respond.

I don't know how one measures "gaps" between programs. If there is a chart or something to reference I'd be glad to take a look at it.

I think my post spelled it out quite clearly. Its based on individual perception.

Simple question...do you see BU as a more appealing program than Eastern? I would offer 99.99999% of BU fans would.

I would also offer close to that same % of Illini fans see Illinois as a more appealing program than BU.

I was simply trying to point out why SOME Illini fans feel Shocked at being dropped while we were not.

I'm surprised anyone would be surprised they would feel that way. Heck they felt that way when Gordon dropped them for IU.

I would certainly agree that fanhood is more emotional than intellectual. That's why most Bradley fans would choose BU over ANY other school, even Duke.

But I don't see a meltdown every time a recruit picks a school, like Charlotte (a clearly inferior program to BU that nonetheless beat us for Charlie Coley) over BU, because Bradley fans are generally EDUCATED enough about hoops to know that, for example, Charlotte has a very good recruiter in Bobby Lutz who beats out a LOT of other good coaches, not just JL.

And most BU fans can act enough like grown ups about situations like that even if Charlotte did NOT make a huge national splash a mere 16 months ago like Bradley did.

Here's where you and I disagree: you want to focus on whether this new-found Illini disrespect for BU is UNDERSTANDABLE (which it is) while I'm talking about whether it is JUSTIFIED (which it is not).

While IU fans might be having hissy fits about Bradley, their reactions result from an alternate reality where they won't be challenged by emerging programs like SIU and Bradley and Lowery and Les, respectively. That reality is going the way of Communism in eastern Europe.

[dogsrus]

Here's where you and I disagree: you want to focus on whether this new-found Illini disrespect for BU is UNDERSTANDABLE (which it is) while I'm talking about whether it is JUSTIFIED (which it is not).



I don't want to focus on anything Brocks except the upcoming season. Also, I stated I DIDN'T think it was justified. Again I just understand why SOME Illini feel the way they do. I really expected it when I first saw Iman's list. I just new SOME Illini fans would feel that way. As Bert stated...really who cares.

They are entitled to those feelings (wrong as they may be ) just like you and I are entitled to ours.

If we are secure in who WE are as BU and BU fans what other fans think about us doesn't make much of a difference...at least to me.

I respect the fact you might feel different....

[brocks]

My point is simply this: We should be beyond the point where people are saying Bradley WHO???? But we all know that won't happen with the miopic fans of Illinois, KU, etc.

And who CARES what they think? If we're going to be honest, we all do.

[dogsrus]

My point is simply this: We should be beyond the point where people are saying Bradley WHO???? But we all know that won't happen with the miopic fans of Illinois, KU, etc.

And who CARES what they think? If we're going to be honest, we all do.

OK...

[bert notorius]

When you no longer care what they think you will know that you've arrived.