Questions to ask the coach #1

[Da Coach]

As those who have listened lately to the Coach Jim Les radio show might have noticed, the show doesn't seem to get many callers. Yet we know there are hundreds of great fans with a lot of great questions that are discussed here on the BradleyFans board.

So, I have communicated with Dave Snell, and he would love to have the fans on our board contribute questions for the coach to answer, or topics for discussion on the show.

If anyone has questions or topics for the Coach, please post them here in this thread, and I will relay them to Dave at the show to ask the Coach. Or if you would prefer, PM your question directly to me.

Questions can be specific or general, but remember that the Coach cannot discuss specific recruits, unless they are the ones we have signed to a Letter of Intent (Chris Roberts and Eddren McCain).

Periodically, I will remove the posts and send them in. But keep posting with new questions!

Please help us get some good questions for the show. And I can't make any assurances that any of these questions will be used. Thanks.

[ghunt]

Very rarely do we have the 5 in the offense post up on the strong side block--he comes from the weak side block to set a ball screen at the key or near the strong side wing, but he really never goes to the strong side block, even when someone is in the corner or the wing with the ball, and coming to the ball and setting a strong side block post would help. Why? Is it to maintain spacing so that the wing or the corner man could penetrate and have the path to the basket clear if he gets past his man? But still, could we not have a few more low block posts in our sets to keep the defense off-balance and take advantage of post play? Thanks.

[ghunt]

Obvious question many have been wondering: Very rarely anymore do we have a true 4 and 5 man in at the same time, yet we suffer from poor rebounding and interior defense at times, so why not have a 4 and 5 in there if not even two 4's? (excluding Theron from this--great athletic player, but he is an undersized 3 man...he and Warren are even the same size). Thanks.

[ghunt]

Given the roster composition for next year--the loss of Ruffin and Crouch, having several real inside men, and having a slower point guard who cannot create off dribble penetration as well as Daniel, will the offensive sets and line-ups be less guard oriented? Thanks.

[tornado]

I have a question.....given the success of Sam Maniscalco as a freshman, do they plan to go after other recruits who are the sons of former BU stars?
(Brandon Hawkins, Cory Hawkins, Mitch Anderson, Jr., Tyler Les, and (hope this is close enough) any male offspring of Candace Parker)

[mike radigan]

...any male offspring of Candace Parker)

Since she's engaged to Sheldon Williams and if any son of hers is any good I'm sure he'd end up a Dukie.

[Looking Up]

Very good questions GH!
My question is, why do we always rush out at the ball on the perimeter and so often
get beat as the ballhandler gets us on his hip and off he goes to the basket for an easy
trip to the basket or else a nice assist as the helpside comes in? I like the aggressive
pressure, but it can be accomplished with a lot better timing and judgement by our ball
players. The risk/reward from this type of pressure has not payed off at all this season.
This is a great thread---keep it going!

[BU Bill]

Here are a couple things I have been thinking of calling in about that are a little different that the usual calls--

>>Is Bradley going to the Great Alaska Shootout next November (2008?)?

>>There was talk of arranging a preseason foreign tour for next year, maybe to Italy. It there anything more developed on this trip?

>>Are there any pro scouts planning to come back and see Daniel Ruffin, now that he's playing again?

>>What does the Coach think about the blocking/charging fouls the way the MVC refs call them? I don't like the way they call so many charging fouls, many times right under the basket as a player comes down from making a layup. It has to drive a former NBAer mad!

>>Other than St. Louis and postseason trips, do the coaches families ever travel on game trips and recruting trips?

>>I really like Andrew Warren's game, and he is becoming more consistent. I think he will be the next Bradley player to reach the 1000 point mark. Will he do more dribble-drives to the basket? He presents matchup problems for small guards, and he shoots free throws well.
Any chance he might be the team captain next year?

>>Does the coach ever read the message boards? I hope he realizes that 99% of us really support everything he's doing and we are happy to have him. Don't be bothered by the occasional fan with some gripe about the coaching!

Thanks. I'll think of more later.

[thefish7]

It seems to me that when we're running our offense and looking for the open three we put the shot up, but no one follows the ball. To compound this problem, a lot of our plays to get an open shot seem to involve the 5 flashing out to set a screen. This means that in general when a 3-ball is put up we have at most 1 player under the basket looking to rebound (and sometimes none). It seems like once the shot is up, everyone watches and then turns to play defense immediately. Why doesn't the shooter follow the shot in to try to get the rebound? Or alternatively, the 3 or 4 player come in from the perimeter once the shot is up? It seems like we get very few offensive rebounds on our missed 3-pt shots, and I wonder if this isn't one of the reasons.

[braves12]

In the 1st half against Indiana State, BU took a number of 3 point shots. The 5 man was out high to set screens. When the 3 point shot went up, all 5 BU players were standing around the outside. All 5 players just stood and looked at the shot as if there was no chance that it would be missed. No players went to the lane looking for a rebound. Also, it seems like BU's shooters rarely follow their own shots from outside. Is this what the coaching staff is teaching?

[bu fan 9]

What happened to Cole-Scott's shooting from the JUCO level till now?

[MacabreMob]

Any chance Bradley would consider taking a "buy" game with one of the "Evil Empires" like at Kentucky, Duke, UNC, etc?

Thanks, I'll hang up and listen.

[bu fan 9]

Will any of our big men be going to big men camps over the summer?

[New Guy]

During a MVC game of the week brodcast on Fox Net the announcers were talking about the workout they saw Anthony Thompson and Will Egolf go through and how the Braves have promising young players to look forward to. Then in a later game the ESPNU crew talked about the talent of Anthony. Is it normal for these guys to work out in the opposing teams gym before the game in front of the media?

[houstontxbrave]

With the Texas connections we have going lately, any chance of playing a game in Houston, Dallas or even Austin?