Andrew Warren

[BradleyBrave]

That's too bad... My respect level is officially decreased on Tom Izzo.

Why? He did what about 99% of the BCS coaches refuse to do, and that's come to Peoria and play a game. I really don't think anyone should be surprised - Carver Arena is a darn tough place to play, and last time I checked, every team in America tries to avoid places where they 'can't win'. Izzo knows they escaped with a quality road win, and likely wouldn't be so lucky their next visit. You won't find another coach of a Top 10 program who would have come to Peoria, and I think for that the respect for Izzo should be going way up, rather than diminishing.

[Scouter]

Why? He did what about 99% of the BCS coaches refuse to do, and that's come to Peoria and play a game. I really don't think anyone should be surprised - Carver Arena is a darn tough place to play, and last time I checked, every team in America tries to avoid places where they 'can't win'. Izzo knows they escaped with a quality road win, and likely wouldn't be so lucky their next visit. You won't find another coach of a Top 10 program who would have come to Peoria, and I think for that the respect for Izzo should be going way up, rather than diminishing.

Ditto.

[jeffsu]

Izzo said he is never coming back, and told everyone it is a tough place to win. DePaul won't talk about coming to Peoria. That is the curse of winning at a high % at home he said.

I agree that my respect for Izzo would go up after a comment like that. While most fans of MSU would like to forget the game, claim they would win anyway, etc. he admits that it was tough. And that he doesn't want to do it again (don't blame him!).

The only thing that I could see to cause a drop in respect for Izzo is if he was telling all of his coaching-friends not to come play here and "sabotaging" (yes, slight exaggeration) our ability to have a strong BCS-caliber schedule. But that doesn't seem like an Izzo thing to do.

[BradleyBrave]

The only thing that I could see to cause a drop in respect for Izzo is if he was telling all of his coaching-friends not to come play here and "sabotaging" (yes, slight exaggeration) our ability to have a strong BCS-caliber schedule. But that doesn't seem like an Izzo thing to do.

Well, unless he's lying to his coaching cronies, I am guessing that's he's saying it's a darn tough place to play. That's going to scare away 99% of the BCS coaches. I don't think he's 'sabotaging' us; rather just telling the truth.

[jeffsu]

Let me rephrase -- I don't think it's a big deal if he, while talking to other coaches, mentions it was tough as heck to play here. That actually is pretty complimentary of us.

It would just irk me if he was making a point to go out and tell everyone he knows not to come here. He would know that would make it difficult for us to schedule. But again -- I doubt that's the case. I like to believe Izzo's a good guy

[BradleyBrave]

Let me rephrase -- I don't think it's a big deal if he, while talking to other coaches, mentions it was tough as heck to play here. That actually is pretty complimentary of us.

It would just irk me if he was making a point to go out and tell everyone he knows not to come here. He would know that would make it difficult for us to schedule. But again -- I doubt that's the case. I like to believe Izzo's a good guy

Dave Leitao told people not to play us, so it wouldn't be the first time. Of course, we've destroyed a Dave Leitao coached team 2 out of the 3 times we've played them, so it's not surprising.

[georgethedog]

Im glad to hear this is only a stress fracture. I remember last year AW broke his thumb, which is strange because in the last 2 years I broke my thumb and stress fractured my foot. I don't think the foot is much to worry about as I remember being able to use it pretty extensively after a month or so.

Only a stress fracture? Ask Tony Bennett (Washington State Head Coach) about foot stress fractures. It ruined his playing career. If I remember right, the effects lingered for a couple years in Parker's case also. These things are bad, period.

[Da Coach]

There was no recent injury that caused this. Andrew probably hurt his foot months ago and has already been playing on it for a while. It is true that sometimes stress fractures like this can be slow to heal, and continue to give problems, but by placing the pin in the bone now, that secures the fracture and helps it heal better and more fully. He will be OK by the time the season starts.

[BU_EMT128]

Let me rephrase -- I don't think it's a big deal if he, while talking to other coaches, mentions it was tough as heck to play here. That actually is pretty complimentary of us.

I 100% agree. Any time a coach of his caliber and prestige is afraid to schedule a game against an opponent, it speaks volumes to the quality of the program and the fans.

[peoriaspitfire]

Tiny Bones

While at BU soccer camp this summer, my son broke a bone in the ball of his foot, that is the size of a pea. It was mid July when it happened, but didn??™t get him to a specialist until early August after some convincing from his coach. Long story short??¦he just got permission to take his boot off yesterday and now has PT and at least 3 more weeks to go before he can resume his soccer activities. I know this is vastly different than AP's injury, but it just goes to show how annoying a small injury can be.

Best wishes to AP for a speedy recovery.

[New Guy]

I 100% agree. Any time a coach of his caliber and prestige is afraid to schedule a game against an opponent, it speaks volumes to the quality of the program and the fans.

That is the way I took it from Jim Les. Jim also said that Mich State really needed the 1st date and just wanted BU to take a pay game in East Lansing but Jim suggested that they could do a 2 for 1 and Izzo agreed. After the game he said this place is too tough I am never coming back. It is a compliment. Dave Snell talked about scheduling also. He brought up the irony of Virginia's coach that was formerly DePauls coach and he lost to JL yet again. The one comment from all the speakers that sticks with me came from CB. He was talking about Will E. He said that very few players posses the talent to raise our team to the next level and Will is one of those players. I don't know if he will do it but he has that kind of ability.

[BUBraves06]

AW will be fine I think. My only worry is losing amonth of conditioning.

That's my biggest concern as well. I'm sure AW will be fine, but losing a month of conditioning before practice starts could set him back a bit.

[SFP]

There are ways to keeping yourself conditioned without putting pressure on your feet. I know thought that is is not the same as basketball shape but he'syoung and it should not take to long to back where he should be. Luckily we have some depth at his position and JL will not have to press him so hard. We need AW to be 100% come league play!

[georgethedog]

well, Tony Bennett did make it to the NBA and played 3 seasons........
not bad for a sub-6-ft guy who averaged 3 ppg, 1 reb & only 2 assists & couldn't nail a 3-pointer if his life depended on it!!

Anyway, George, that was 15-20 years ago!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Things have changed drastically since then and I am confident Andrew Warren will be healed and ready to go by the time we need him on the court!

With all due respects to you Tornado, I have to highly disagree. The reason Bennett was only in the NBA for 3 seasons was his constant foot injury that NEVER went away and hampered everything he did. With a healthy foot he would have had a long NBA career and would have hit 3's consistently. Did you ever see this guy play? I guess you really did not have the opportunity. He was smart, quick, great passer, strong, great shooter, but BAD FOOT = end of career. The only reason he was in the NBA for 3 years was because of the things I mentioned (management was waiting for things to heal and knew what he was capable of if they had, but he never did heal), and the only reason he did not last for many years was his bad foot. The only thing that I agree with in your assessment is that medicine has come a long way and hence there is hope for Warren's foot. I am going to P.O. everyone on the board when I say this: if Tony Bennett would have been a BU Brave, he would have been BU's greatest point guard in my lifetime as a BU fan (early 1970's-present). Anyone that disagrees (which will be everyone on the board) never saw this man play for any length of time. Anyway, I just hope Warren's foot heals quick and permanent because a stress fracture to the foot is no small injury for a basketball player that depends on their feet for everything!

[Da Coach]

I am going to P.O. everyone on the board when I say this: if Tony Bennett would have been a BU Brave, he would have been BU's greatest point guard in my lifetime as a BU fan (early 1970's-present). Anyone that disagrees (which will be everyone on the board) never saw this man play for any length of time.

George, I respect your opinion, but I have been around a long time, too, and many times people have told me that players from the Big Ten and other higher conferences would have dominated the MVC.
However, there have been numerous players who transferred to the MVC from the Big Ten and other higher conferences, and they rarely stood out.

I don't mean to denigrate Tony Bennett, but he played his college career in the Mid-Continent Conference at Wisconsin-Green Bay. That is not exactly the highest level of competetion, in fact, it is well below the level of the MVC. Yes, he had a very good career there, and I think if he played at Bradley he would have been a very good player. But there is no way you will convince any Bradley fans here that he would have been in the same league as Hersey Hawkins or Anthony Parker. I think he might have been a player similar to Jim Les, but who knows?