There are a few points from several posters that I agree with. I also have my own thoughts.
-- I don't think JL should have been fired when he was. I was prepared to give him one more season to prove that he could lead sustainable success. I don't consider .500 as success, and the fact remains that he only crossed that mark in conference play in three of his nine seasons at the helm.
-- If JL had been back, SM would have been back, and I think last season goes totally differently. I have never believed that SM was a great difference-maker, but putting his leadership on a team, and taking scoring pressure off TB and DSE (who both shot very poorly) would have made a huge difference.
-- To me, there is no doubt that firing JL cost us RA. The trade is that there are a few guys that we probably wouldn't have had that are, or might be, major contributors. I'll call that a wash.
-- I am in full support of Coach Ford, and I have to remind everyone that JL was 13-15, 6-12 in his third season. Even as late as the losses @MSU and @INSU in the Sweet 16 season, nobody knew how that campaign would end. Had we not made the dance, would JL have been around until 2011?
-- Both sides of this argument includes far too much drama. The fallout believers take it to the extreme and never let it die. The fallout haters sometimes want to make it personal and engage in endless arguments with the other side. There needn't be a chasm between us. We should all be able to have constructive conversations about these things without beating horses to death.
-- I am 100% pro-BU, no matter who the coach is, what players are on the floor, or how many people are in the seats. I happen to live outside Chicago, and I can't get to many games any more, as family and life obligations take priority. I also don't have the financial means to donate as much as others. That doesn't make me any less of a fan. That is one argument I'd like to see disappear.
-- I appreciate what Da Coach does on this site. The information is outstanding and the forum is excellent. If you don't recognize what we have here, go to forums of other valley schools, or much higher-profile schools. We simply have the best fans on one of the best forums in the nation. We don't always have to agree with each other, but for the sake of Bradley University and the Braves basketball team, let's look forward to a day when we will be back on top of the Valley and dominating the league like we used to. It has been a long time - but we will get there again. We are a proud program with a great tradition. Five years from now, we will all look back at this and be thankful that we built a strong, clean program that competes every season.
GO BRAVES
Joe