Losing good fans

We have a problem currently that we never had...

in almost every year when we had a bad year - finishing in the bottom half of the MVC - we still maintained great attendance...
then if we had a big improvement year (like this year is being called) we had a big rebounding year in attendance - but now we saw the opposite...

we were mediocre and 9-9 in the MVC and still drew nearly 10K in 97-98
we were 14-16 in 99-00 and still drew 10,178
we had a serious downturn that caused MO to get fired in 2001-02 and yet we still drew over 9000
In JL's very first year - not a very good one record-wise - attendance jumped back up significantly
Attendance held strong again in JL's 2nd year even thos fans voiced that they expected better
Attendance jumped again the next tyear even tho we were 6-12 and fans were grumbling
Then BU's attendance surged the next few years and held STRONG until JL's final year - still well over 9,000
only in JL's final season - with changes forced upon JL that were not of his choosing, bad press, and turmoil - only then did attendance decline (NOT back in 2007 as the history revisionists claim) - and yet it was still nearly 8500

BUT now we are seriously beginning to lose lifelong fan support...big time
In the last two years attendance has dropped 10-20% EACH of those two seasons to a dismal 6500 per season this year - numbers simply not seen much since the old Fieldhouse era...
Why in the face of a rebuilding program & "one of the best single year turnarounds" and "one of the top improvements" in all of D-I - WHY did we continue to lose 15-17% of our fan base??
Are you not a bit worried??


in 2011 people predicted precisely what we are seeing - that we'd be at the bottom of the Valley for years, attendance would drop way, way off - and those people were scoffed at and mocked - we they not 100% right?


I am hopeful and always optimistic that maybe we can do better than 9th or 10th seed as we have done the past two years....

BUT - losing about half our offensive production this coming year then losing the last of JL's kids the following year - one of whom will finish in BU's TOP 10 all time scoring list -
add that to the dismissal of almost every recruit that's been signed in the past two years forcing us to start over by landing gobs of leftovers in the LATE spring recruiting period - this does not reassure optimism to me as much as it seems to the media.

Some info that was not reported on latest BU recruit Jordan Swopshire

I am definitely not against landing and signing Jordan Swopshire and he looks to be a talented player but there are a few red flags.........remember - others have strongly criticized BU's recruits in the past for not playing high school ball, for changing schools, and even columns ripping BU for bringing in too many new players at one time (the "Seven D-I Virgins" tirade) or for hauling in too many junior college players (the "Too many jucos" tirade)..........so seriously - how come none of this info on the background of Jordan Swopshire was ever mentioned when the PJ Star was hyping Jordan as some kind of "difference maker"?


Hey - I believe Swopshire might be very good - but here are just a couple of the previously unmentioned facts...

-He averaged 9 ppg at Ft. Zumwalt in O'Fallon, MO as a freshman

-He was claimed to possibly be the BEST player in the state of Missouri for his class of 2013...and yet got zero recruitment or offers from anyone locally - not even any instate schools...

-then as a sophomore he missed some time due to injury
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/high-school/top-10-boys/jordan-swopshire-soph-zumwalt-south/article_7c73993c-fdbf-11df-a895-00127992bc8b.html


- as a sophomore at Ft. Zumwalt he averaged 10 ppg but missed 1/3 of the season
There's some discrepancy on his rebounding totals and assists - this site says just 2.5 rpg, 1.4 asst...but elsewhere the numbers were quoted as higher.
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/high-school/top-10-boys/jordan-swopshire-soph-zumwalt-south/article_7c73993c-fdbf-11df-a895-00127992bc8b.html


-at the end of his sophomore season - he was snubbed by the local high school All Area 1st Team or 2nd Team.
He was...Honorable Mention behind a dozen other kids in his own city & conference.
...and yet his own local press was NOT very friendly and did not place him on either 1st Team or 2nd Team in his own conference..even tho he was stated to be the top player in the entire state of Missouri for his Class of 2013 - and ESPN said he was 2nd Team ALL STATE - http://espn.go.com/blog/high-school/missouri/post/_/id/419/all-state-hoops-missouri )

http://stpeters.patch.com/articles/local-basketball-players-earn-postseason-awards


Oddly the one article said...
"One of the bigger surprises in his recruitment is the
lack of effort by Mizzou. Swopshire said that he
hasn't heard much from his hometown school Mizzou
since the Spring."


-- again you gotta wonder what's going on??...

Then something happens and he chooses not to return to his high school in Missouri and lands at this really shady place called SportsQuest..

Note that this site appears to quote Jordan himself and says...
"Currently, I attend Fort Zumwalt South High School
(Mo.) after spending time at SportsQuest Academy
(VA) and Montrose Christian School (MD), where I
was the leading scorer."
http://vimeo.com/jordanswopshire


-so...he "spent time" at SportsQuest" but he never mentions and nobody else ever mentions if he played there or how he did...maybe there's a story behind that (see below)??

--- also -- WAS he the "leading scorer" at Montrose - his own coach says otherwise - also see below..


I have no idea why the PJ Star didn't say much about the kid's background but he hasn't hardly played any basketball in 3 years -- that's got to be risky as in the case of AJ Riley!!


When he left his Missouri HS, he was at SportsQuest Academy in 2011-12 but before the end of October 2011 he was done... then the next year he enrolled at Montrose but no indication anywhere how the kid maintained his academics in the meantime since he appears to have missed his junior year in high school!

BUT -- now even at Montrose...he was ineligible this past season after December...(note he left for a reason and was the 2nd leading scorer)
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-02-04/sports/36736795_1_montrose-christian-oak-hill-double-overtime


So............Let's go back to his junior year and do a little digging....
I am kinda stunned that our media guys never looked into any of this ...but that place he supposedly was at during his junior season.... "SportsQuest Academy" is a completely unheard of place that just started up out of the blue a couple years ago & tried to schedule games.
Info on the place is easy to find - and I will supply some - but how come our press just mentions "Sports Quest" as if they are naming some fine prep school - and never even looks the place up or checks them out?

BUT - NOBODY would schedule SportsQuest because they were a shady "diploma factory" basketball school.

They ended up playing only 3 games (two of them they got hammered severely)

and none of the players came back so they then closed their basketball program.


Here's an article about them - I have absolutely NO CLUE why Swopshire would ever say he was from this place - I would think if he were it woulda been something he'd try to hide or deny.
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-02-04/sports/36736795_1_montrose-christian-oak-hill-double-overtime


By spring of 2012 SportsQuest was bankrupt, closing, every thing about them was a disgrace - the students were the casualties...and everyone pointing fingers in blame
http://wtvr.com/2012/04/25/31601/


In May of 2012 all their assets were auctioned off and so SportsQuest does not exist any more..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SportsQuest



But I am still happy we landed Jordan Swopshire...but isn't it also surprising that no school besides George Washington ever offered him - kinda makes ya wonder.....VCU has no open scholarships so if they ever offered they are now out of the picture.


So - now all the players we're after have bounced around between multiple schools - Swopshire, Tucker, Zecevic, Hamilton, etc...
Not saying they won't be great players - and maybe they're the best players out there - but some of this sounds risky...time will tell.

There are certain advantages of recruiting juco kids

As much as Tyshon helped - and as obvious as it was that he was the only 1st or even 2nd year player we had who contributed much - I'd say we ought to use every remaining scholarship we have to land older, battle-ready, bulked up, and ready-to-play juco kids....


Look at the quality of juco players who we were pursuing 1-2 years ago - that we passed on and yet became outstanding D-I players...

we sure coulda used one or two of these guys....

Jeff Early
http://www.sisportsconnection.com/high-energy-style-has-paid-dividends-throughout-jeff-earlys-career/

Derrick Marks
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/sports/college-sports/derrick-marks-scores-38-points-to-lead-boise-state-broncos-over-colorado-state-rams-78-65

More on Derrick Marks
http://heraldnews.suntimes.com/sports/goss/18646096-419/goss-plainfield-central-grad-derrick-marks-spins-scoreboard-at-boise-state.html

Derrick Bardan
http://www.bigskybball.com/2013/02/derrick-barden-is-star.html

Fabyon Harris
http://www.rantsports.com/ncaa-basketball/2013/02/08/texas-am-aggies-fabyon-harris-sunk-a-three-pointer-to-beat-missouri-at-home/

And then remember this guy, John Taylor??
http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/03/13/3212556/nccaa-basketball-championships.html

Comparison of low post players at Bradley - past 25 years

I see a lot of criticism of our post players...but let's see how they stack up vs. our best in the past 25 years...

I went back 25 years - back to the Albeck era and culled the stats of all the low post/centers and ranked them in order....if I missed anyone lmk...
Our guys this year share the low post spot while a lot of guys in the past have planted themselves there all alone and yet - I think our current guys have proven themselves sufficiently - but this locks in even more the proof that our current guys are top notch.

Here are the BEST season totals among low post players - I did not count guys like Cellus, Granger, Parker - they do not fit the definition.

SCORING
15.4 Bayo 98
13.4 POB 06
12.4 Bayo 97
11.6 Funches 96
11.3 Pickett 13
11.1 Zach A 07
10.0 POB 05
8.9 Egolf 13
8.0 Egolf 11
7.9 Pollard 93
7.8 Pross 12
7.2 Funches 95
7.0 Egolf 10
7.0 Rabey 01
7.0 Salley 07
6.8 Pollard 94
6.3 Hall 02
6.1 Salley 08
6.0 Prosser 13
5.3 Prosser 11

So - SEVEN of the TOP 20 scoring seasons in the past 25 years by our low post guys are the guys we have RIGHT NOW..
and FOUR of the TOP dozen!!
guys like David Collins, Zach in '06, Koita - don't even make the list!!!


So - as much as we all would like to see a Bayo or a POB at BU - it simply doesn't happen often and the guys we have NOW do not deserve the criticism they get.
   


Here's rebounding going back to the Albeck era among our low post guys...
I did not include the guys from the 80's Massive Mike, Reese, Luke Jackson, etc...


Rebounds
8.3 POB 06
8.2 Bayo 98
7.4 POB 05
7.3 Rabey 01
7.0 Zach A 07
6.9 Salley 08
6.5 Prosser 12
6.0 Bayo 97
5.7 Tyshon 13
5.5 Egolf 13
5.5 Prosser 12
5.3 Funches 96
5.3 Pollard 93

again - the guys we have right now make up 1/3 of the top dozen rebounding seasons..........
the following starters ......Koita, Hall, Stewart, Funches, Pollard, Collins, Zach, Salley -- all had years where they were our MAIN low post guys and did not make this list!!
If you carry the list further - you see Egolf had two other seasons with more rpg than Collins' best year, or Koita's or Hall's or anyone else form the 90's..

Influenza and the flu shot

Lots of confusion but people are often seeing and reading inaccurate information.
Note also that newspaper and TV reporters are almost 100% inclined to interview only those who are invoved in Public Health or whose jobs are actually dependant on people getting vaccinated or getting the flu.  It wouldn't take a genius to figure they will promote what their jobs depend upon - much like what kind of recommendation you'd get from a Ford dealer - he sure wouldn't be inclined to tell you to buy a Jeep.

With that noted - then you decide because it doesn't cost much to get a flu shot and it isn't very risky, so if you get one then you haven't done anything bad or wrong.

But people should be informed about the value or usefullness of flu shots - or are the useless or worthless?

First - the Emergency Rooms are filled with sick people who HAD THEIR FLU SHOTS!!
I actually spoke yesterday to the head of the OSF Emergency Department - he and I chatted at our church where we both attend. I asked point blank what percentage of people being seen in the emergency rooms that have the flu actually DID get their flu shot.  He replied it was over 60%...so I also later called and asked at both other ER's in peoria and both replied likewise that over half of those getting the flu had their shot.
But if 35% of adult Americans have gotten a flu shot, then why does the 35% of the population that's vaccinated comprise 60% of those getting the flu?
Well, you decide - but there's really only one conceivable possibility.

Here are more stories about all those who went and did as they were told to do - they got their flu shots and it did not protect them at all.

http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2013/January/15/flu-emergency-rooms.aspx

http://www.joplinglobe.com/topstories/x964867507/Joplin-hospitals-seeing-major-jump-in-flu-cases/print

http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/579913/Seasonal-Flu-Cases-Spike-At-Local-Emergency-Rooms.html?nav=510

http://bangordailynews.com/2013/01/03/health/flu-patients-crowd-into-maine-emergency-rooms-clinics-as-season-starts-early/?ref=latest


And others have seen the same including those who study the effectiveness of the flu shot scientifically.
This study cited in both links below says the flu shot is "Worse than worthless".

http://www.ageofautism.com/2010/05/with-flu-season-over-canada-shows-flu-vaccinations-to-be-worse-than-worthless-.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20937313


They don't understand it but the results of study after study show that flu shots are "futile" and completely useless as protection against the flu.

Is it any wonder that people inside the vaccine industry are even admitting that their hype about the flu shots is a lie and that they have been lying for years about the effectiveness?
And I suppose protecting their hundred billion dollar industry has nothing to do with the deception?
I am not saying you need to believe anything cited here - just do whatever you want with it.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/05/reassessing-flu-shots-as-the-season-draws-near/



Finally a report does get a comment from the feds saying the flu shot is ineffective..
..but why did it take so long - and in the interval the feds and everyone else saying we all need to go get this flu shot that they knew all along wasn't helping people.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2501256/

Here is a quote form that report...

"The flu is widespread in 49 states, according to the federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention.


Two of the three strains in the flu vaccine distributed this year are ineffective against the virus circulating through the state, health officials said. Nationwide, the vaccine protects against 40 percent of the virus strains out this year, according to the CDC

Federal officials said the vaccine will be overhauled and the two ineffective strains replaced for the next round of the vaccine, set to be distributed in the fall."


So they are saying don't worry that the flu shot is ineffective - just get yet another shot next fall....
but then they say to wash your hands - and yet they also know the flu is a respiratory illness that's almost 100% spread by inhaling the virus particles via respiratory transmission and not by hand to hand contact.
So much misinformation - but the real info is available.  Please do not believe me - just do your own research.

Chaos at ISU - lack of discipline, criminal behavior..

Wow - one of the ISU basketball team arrested and charged with selling drugs, manufacture & possession...etc...court date TODAY!!!
(are they rushing him to court so he won't miss practice??)

These are FELONY charges  -and not just possession but conspiracy, manufacture, delivery - peddling drugs...
what is going on over there???

Their discipline has historically been amazingly soft - so will it be any different now?
Lots & lots of players have had serious run-in with the law and not even been disciplined.

At least they suspended Geoffrey Allen .. let's see how long he is suspended...
Surely they had to know about him - they went out and recruited the kid to transfer & come to ISU - then lobbied to get the kid immediate eligibility even tho they would be just as good without him.
He should never be allowed to return to either the team or to the school if he's selling drugs.....just what kind of program would allow that?

Some history -
When they had a DUI & underage drinking under Jank (Sampay) they didn't make any move at all until they were outted on the message boards then they suspended the guy overnight then reinstated him the next morning....and he never served a minute or a game of penalty..
Pretty much the same story with Levi Dyer....only when it got brought up on a message board did the press ask Jank and he admitted it had happened but hadn't disciplined the player.

Last year when they had a couple guys arrested after going out drinking all night then beating up an innocent bystander on the street & charged with assault & battery - the players served a single days' suspension in a meaningless, early-season game against hapless SIUE then were immediately reinstated.

I won't even bring up all the players who have court dated for ordinance violations, driving without licenses, and ignoring and missing other court dates and neglecting their fines...
Four different players have court dates within the next couple weeks for these issues - FOUR!!  That's 1/3 of the team in just one given month!!!
And people there seem to spend all their worries on a Bradley player using a crude tweet or girlfriend spat.

More Attendance Woes - Going to Get worse

I know some don't want to hear about it or pretend it's not happening...so sorry to bring up the attendance issue again...but I have a bad feeling about the two weekday games next week...

Be prepared - now we are reaching the games that historically have a dropoff due to weather, holiday events, people being out of town for Christmas, students gone, band will be fill-ins, and last-but-not-least really, really crappy opponents.
We have Georgia Southern & Mississippi Valley State coming in next week - teams whose names aren't going to cause a rush to the box office....
if the crowds we're seeing now of only 6000 (with 1500-2000 empty seats) are disappointing and start causing finger-pointing, then we'd better get ready for even more finger pointing.

Several other threads suggest reasons for the near record low attendances...
I have read some people who blame the fans and say they've sorta gotten old and don't care..or blame the students....or the younger fans for not appreciating tradition or being fickle...
both of these are ridiculous...it's like any other business trying to increase sales coming out openly and blaming their customers....that sure isn't going to work and make them more appealing!

Then, of course we had the multiple columns in which the press has tried to lay all the blame on people who haven't even been here in 2, 3, and 4 years.
KW's column repeatedly went back to as far as 2007 and tried to claim it was the losses, the scheduling, the personalities, the players, the "issues", etc...
Really?? 

But it is so incredibly easy to blow that argument away because the attendance, the big crowds, the sellouts & 10K+ crowds didn't really all disappear until the past two years!
And how can the highest ranked team in all of history come in to our house and NOT be a sellout???  Close maybe, but still obviously several hundred shy of a sellout.  We used to sell out for DePaul!!
Just a couple years ago - crowds of 11,597 showed up for Michigan State & ISU and there were no empty seats & no-shows!!
Now we're even seeing a NEW benchmark we had also never seen before - on nights that BOTH BU & ISU both play at home, they are outdrawing us!!!  Is anyone noticing all this or are they too busy looking to blame KK or JL?

These mid-December non-conference games are a decent measure by which we can compare the past few years.
Of course back in 2005, 2006, 2007 we were drawing 8,000, 9,000, and even 10,000 for relatively obscure opponents in even some no name non-con games!
In 2008 we drew over 11,000 but that was for VCU - a little better known opponent but it was still well before VCU was a Final Four team.
In 2009 - even really obscure opponents that people generally stay home in droves for such as SEMO & SIUE drew well over 9,000 just the week before Christmas (remember - we're getting just over 6,000 announced but way fewer in reality).

As recently as 2009-2010 we were still drawing 9,000-10,000 for games right this time of year with competition from seasonal events all around town and for opponents as obscure as Western Carolina...

EIU, Jackson State, and Utah just two years ago drew crowds of well over 7000 up to 9000.
But now we see the biggest single-year dropoff in attendances...this year we're seeing consistently over 1000 less at these early season games........ 6300 to 6600 and next week is sure isn't going to get any better.

The problem is getting serious and the fingers are being pointed in the wrong direction.  Our kids, especially the seniors deserve to have the big crowds, the sellouts......we need to make it happen.....

Attendance woes II

Last Tuesday both Bradley & ISU played home games and ISU outdrew Bradley in attendance 

considerably...........

......... and this may be the very first time ever that has happened...BU's attendance numbers 

are getting noticably smaller and perhaps because the very people who wanted all the changes 

we have seen - simply don't want the blame - they are keeping silent about the empty arena!

Which all the more says that it is foolish to take Bradley's awesome fans and longtime local

fan-interest for granted...

some of these crowds, as I have said, are perhaps the smallest Bradley home crowds since 

we played in the armory....so why isn't that getting a bit more attention and why isn't there 

a little bit more effort to halt the skids???

Is this not a classic example of THE FANS ARE SPEAKING and nobody's listening...
One more time - if a ship is steering right for the rocks and is about wreck then why are people

either ignoring it or blaming the guy who was one of the crew members two years ago?

Perhaps when the home crowds drop under 3200 then someone besides me will wake up 

and take notice.....oops, may be too late.......I guess it already happened....

BU attendance woes

It didn't get much mention in the press but the PAID ATTENDANCE of 6313 at the GWU game represents the smallest paid attendance at regularly scheduled Bradley home game (not the NIT games - not the alternate-arena Ren-Col games) and the worst ever at the Civic Center...for a long, long time......
... a really long time!
Even the snow game had a substantially better "paid attendance"..

We are dangerously close to slipping under 6000 (although with no-shows we're already way under 5000!) in paid attendance and thus we'll be seeing ISU-like numbers for home crowds soon!!!

Once we're under 6000 we're in totally uncharted territory - never seen in the downtown Carver Arena...

The 6313 is not only the lowest this year - but way lower even than any home crowd at Carver last year - BY FAR - with no crowd last year even under 7000.
In JL's last year we really only had one crowd (of over 7,200) that was substantially even under 8,000!

...and people blamed JL for the low attendance back when it was 7,000 - 8,000!!!
You can't blame the captain from two years ago who isn't piloting the ship any longer - when you have a shipwreck NOW!!!!

The 6313 may even be smaller than most of the crowds ever at the Fieldhouse but I don't know all those figures...
does anyone know??
It could well be one of the smallest paid crowd for D-I game at Bradley in 50 or 60 years - maybe going back to the Armory!
Even the games in the lowest of the Albeck era still are generally all upper 6000 to 7000's...

BUT does this surprise anyone - it seems to surprise some but not me - as some have been predicting this exact thing for nearly TWO YEARS!

I guess what I am surprised by is...
that this fact is NOT more disconcerting to many - it sure is to me -- I am at every game.....where's everyone else...
especially those who are such uninformed critics who called for the changes we have seen the past couple years -- this is what they've asked for and yet now they're all MIA....

I am doing all I can and bring 6 or so to every Bradley game - even buying extra tickets to bring extras to the Michigan game - all the while some of those most DUMBFOUNDED - and without explanation for the tiny crowds are those pseudo-fans and endless whiners on a lesser frequented message board who are uninformed and who call everyone they don't agree with "morons".

Just a little more info about the Mooseheart HS situation that the media isn't mentioning

An Illinois high school named Mooseheart is being accused of recruiting players and yet almost all the press coverage is about the mean old other school that is objecting to Mooseheart's use of illegally recruited players because they are dirt poor and come from Africa. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/suburbs/batavia/ct-met-mooseheart-red-ramblers--1204-20121204,0,5091694.story ................................................................................................. -first this is NOT about race nor Africa nor any other issue other than whether the school, Mooseheart, follows the rules that THEY agreed to follow when they became members of IHSA.. it's really kinda shameful that their defense is to allege racism rather than stand up for what hey have done and be honest. ................................................................................................. -Mooseheart also drags up irrelevant arguments about a cross country student, about the timing of the claims, and arguments about how the information on their students was obtained. They seem to NEVER ONCE deny that the info IS TRUE and that they specifically used athletic abilities to determine which African kids to "recruit" and bring to the school. They claim the info was obtained under false pretenses... but the only false pretenses here are coming from Mooseheart - who never reveal the facts willingly - and now they are mad that someone found out the facts by tricking them into thinking they were giving the facts for a survey. ................................................................................................. -since when is Hinckley Mooseheart's "archrival" and why does Mooseheart make that claim as if it thus nullifies Hinckley's desire to see fairness and expect Mooseheart use LEGAL and qualified student-athletes. the schools are 20 miles apart - about as far apart as Notre Dame & Lowpoint-Washburn, and they only compete in a few sports ...... ................................................................................................. -so what if Hinckley was partly involved in requesting that IHSA check into the recruited athletes...after all IHSA has NEVER instituted such an investigation on their own and they AL:WAYS enlist the action of member schools to help identify this kind of abuse of the rules. Virtually every investigation IHSA ever pursues to check on use of ineligible kids is at the request of another school - generally some other competing school. ................................................................................................. -and why shouldn't IHSA use evidence such as quotes and facts THAT APPEAR IN NEWSPAPERS? Isn't that how they found out that the head coach of Hales had been illegally recruiting kids from other schools - because he actually said so in an interview? ................................................................................................. -is it not quite interesting that the very person cited and quoted as funnelling those kids to Mooseheart and arranging for their tuition to be paid - is also the exact same person that a totally separate athletic organization, NCAA, also found had illegally paid money in behalf of, covered expenses, then funneled top prospects to University of Indiana, Mark Adams? I am sure Mooseheart WOULD HAVE NEVER USED Mark Adams as a reference and character witness except that this document was from March of 2012 - before the NCAA caught Adams acting illegally as an agent to funnel talent to IU. ........................................................................................ -lastly - whether the story about bringing Sudanese kids to America tugs at your heartstrings or now - you have to seriously wonder why every Sudanese kid they seem to bring here JUST HAPPENS to be 6-7 or even 7-feet and play basketball! If they were just randomly bringing over Sudanese kids unrelated to their athletic ability then using Mark Adams or the fact that all the kids are enormously tall make a mockery out of that claim. ................................................................................................. Independent of all the tear-jerking stories here - the IHSA found strong evidence to prove that Mooseheart... "acted "for athletic purposes" and "was seeking out athletes, and basketball players in particular"

BradleyFans has all the latest on BU, recruits, and discussion on games and how the season is going

Get ready - the season is starting and there's really only one place to find all the best info on Bradley basketball........but it sure is funny how some love to criticize........................................................................................... I understand why this might bug some, because there are those people who have invested time, energy, money, and personal effort to provide an outstanding FREE site with all the news that's news on Bradley basketball. But those people shouldn't let it bother you them that a few people want to gripe and whine about what they can find FREELY here from the people who contribute............................................................................................................................. BradleyFans has been since it's inception eight years ago and still IS one of the very best college team sites and fan boards - but on top of that - the expertise and knowledge of the people here are 2nd to none... BUT - then - that's so incredibly evident and doesn't need to even be stated and everyone else knows it - thus the difference in viewers, contributors, and traffic routinely is a 100 to 1 ratio and higher!!........................................................................................................................................ Routinely, news about Bradley - and even major news about other Valley teams - is posted in detail well before anyone else has it anywhere......................................................................................................... First - - even a simpleton ought to easily be able to determine that everything known about Bradley & Michael Tucker has been posted on BradleyFans long before it was even sniffed out anywhere else - and even then - they simply copy and cut and paste from BradleyFans onto some other site. There hasn't been a single even irrelevant piece of Bradley basketball news broken on the other sites in at least five years - so they are obviously quite jealous........................................................................................................... Second - but that's also true with every single news story that's even remotely news about Bradley basketball - with the rare exception that Dave Reynolds does occasionally also have some good stuff...but also he gets a lot of his stuff here. News about Sammy or Dodie signing and playing overseas, (even the news on Sammy & Russia was here two weeks ago when I talked to him at the Red-White scrimmage), news about all the other BU players and their exploits & accomplishments, news about all the current players, and the latest news on recruits, who's visiting, and who BU is following - it's all here before it's anywhere else............................................................................................................... Then lastly - the very people who keep trying lamely to put BradleyFans down have a strange way of showing their affection for the site but logging on incessantly and checking out everything (their IP addresses can be seen & are easily known to mods), they use up massive amounts of bandwidth - more than all other users combined in their efforts to find something said by someone that they can pick an argument over, and then get this - they keep thinking up new strange screen names and finding new hidden e mail addresses so that they can keep coming back and re-registering over, and over, and over, and over, and over agin and again, etc...and logging on again and again in complete contrast to their claims that they wouldn't come here................................................................................................................ If they really don't like the site then they appear as some of the most laughable hypocrites since they spend and obsesses their lives away reading and trying to get onto BradleyFans!

More stupidity revealed as people try to act "politically correct"

I'm sure everyone recalls Oscar Pistorius - the guy who ran the 200m on blades in the Olympics with folks championing the idea that it was totally fair that he used those blades because he had no legs....and that this is the social equivalent of being fair......................................... Well - Pistorius never came close to winning or medalling at the Olympics...and now he is competing in the Paralympics in London........ BUT -- after Pistorius lost the 200m to another guy wearing almost identical blades in the London Paralympics...he accused the other guy of... cheating because he had an unfair advantage - the other guy had better blades! http://www.kmbz.com/-Blade-Runner-Oscar-Pistorius-Loses-Race-and-Says-/14142572 ........................................... http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Paralympics+2012+Oscar+Pistorius+cries+foul+after+200m+loss+Alan+Oliveira/7181555/story.html ........................................... "After losing..Pistorius told British broadcaster .."We are not running in a fair race here." Pistorius insisted that there was an issue with large prosthetics lengthening his Brazilian competitor's stride. ...I do believe there is an issue here." ....Oliveira, 20, caught Pistorius in the final 20 meters of the final race last night, marking the first time Pistorius didn't win a 200 meter run. "He's never run a 21 second-race and I don't think he's a 21-second athlete,'' Pistorius had said. "I don't know how you can come back, watching the replay, from eight meters behind on the 100 to win. It's absolutely ridiculous." ............................................... So....Pistorius is complaining because the other guy with NO LEGS used the blades to nab a clear advantage that helped him run faster? I find these comments interesting and hypocritical because Pistorius is saying that the blades do have the capability of giving the user a significant advantage and an advantage big enough to help a guy win. Here's a picture of the two guys and their blades....... http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02327/Alan-Oliveira_2327648b.jpg ........................................................ Next time some guy will show up wearing 6-ft blades! But I think this shows that anyone using any mechanical or unnatural equipment might be unfair because it could give an advantage. If the guy can't even win his own race against people just like him using blades, then he has no right to complain if he & his blades get banned from a race where the other competitors aren't using blades. What a whiner - but then I guess karma is a ***** - as all those who claimed Pistorius was gaining no advantage by using the blades - will now have to eat their words if indeed they see that even Pistorius himself is claiming the other guy gained a distinct advantage by using his blades!!!! BTW -- notice all the other guys in the race who have one normal leg and who use a blade on their other leg................ clearly the one legged guys are are tremendously slower than the guys with TWO blades - thus even more proof that the blades are a HUGE advantage. I wonder if in the name of "PC" we'd let some paralyzed guy do the high jump with a huge helium balloon attached so that he cleared a 25 ft. bar?? .................................................................................................................... Here is my ranking of the Top 10 All Time Bozo Sports Stunts - in the name of political correctness....................................................................... Hon. Mention - because it wasn't really a "stunt" was the televised PBS documentary when the Women's Dream Team Olympic basketball team warmed up before the 1996 Atlanta Olympics by scrimmaging a rag-tag, pieced together scout team of guys off a military base near Atlanta... but they got pounded and beaten so badly that one starter got hurt and was unable to compete in the Olympics - a couple others were carried off the floor but not hurt badly, and there was an uproar that caused the documentary producers to remove that part of the film and never show it again! One other Honorable Mention - Bobby Knight doing that stupid, scripted, rehearsed, "Knight Court" show on ESPN to get a walk on player who was inconsequential to his team but it gave Knight the chance to display his arrogance and selfishness nationally. TOP 10 10. Nancy Liebermann playing on the Washington Generals against the Globetrotters ......................................... also.........Nancy Libermann competing on the old TV show "American Gladiators" and getting knocked out of the competition right away. ......................................... 9. Michelle Wie trying to compete on the men's tour - she came in dead last and didn't make the cut virtually every time - kind of embarrassing since her "handlers" had said she would compete with the top men! ......................................... 8. The NBA Pacers drafting Ann Meyers then actually signing her to a token $50K contract and giving her a tryout - just to cut her as if it was ever serious ......................................... 7. UConn arranging for the hobbled Nykesha Sales to score a point is a rigged & orchestrated set-up play in a real Big East game - that even took the actions of the other players to pull off the stunt - just to get Nykesha's name in the record book. ........... http://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/25/sports/college-basketball-sales-is-given-free-shot-and-sinks-it-for-record.html ......................................... 6. Male to female sex change golfer Mianne Bagger playing on the Women's PGA Tour and becoming a total flop. She was never any good anyway but the LPGA removed the phrase "female at birth" from their bylaws! - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mianne_Bagger ......................................... 5. The Coors Light Colorado Silver Bullets - team of all femaile BASEBALL players - trying a tour where they played male baseball teams and getting rocked even by 13 and 14 year old amateur players! ......................................... 4. Katie Hnida playing college football .then whining after she fails miserably at it and filing a lawsuit saying she was discriminated and harassed. ......................................... 3. Letting the Blade Runner Oscar Pistorius actually compete in the Olympics as if he didn't gain an advantage from those blades. ......................................... 2. Letting sex change Richard Rasskind/Renee Richards compete as a woman in tennis. As a male she wouldn't have even been able to win a 50-year-old bracket in a Pekin, IL city tournament...but as a "woman" after a sex change she was abvle to compete with the top women pros in the world. Hmmm...how much does that tell you about the difference in level ofplay between the top men & top women. But not as much as the next one tells you...... ......................................... 1. Billie Jean King acting like she actually accomplished something significant by beating a washed up old man who didn't rank anywhere in the Top 1,000,000 male tennis players. Is it really any kind of accomplishment at all that the top woman player in the world can beat a guy who wouldn't rank in the top 1,000,000 men and who was Medicare age? The efforts of those to push their PC agenda will always keep us in stitches.

A Duane Broussard Mention then ignorance defined...

A Duane Broussard mention - he helped New Mexico land this unrated 2013 kid who is currently attending the same school that produced Rashad Austin. .............................. http://www.abqjournal.com/sports/2012/08/20/forward-commits-to-lobo-mens-basketball.html ...................................................................................................... And here's one of the funniest bits I have seen in a while - a Major Leaguer - Melky Cabrera - who just got caught cheating with drugs in his system - tries to "outsmart" everyone by having one of his lackies create a phony website so he can then claim he used a legal supplement that was tainted unknowingly by the illegal substance - and he he could use the website as proof, even though the product he was claiming to have bought was phony and everything about the web site was fake. .............................................. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-08-19/sports/chi-report-details-cabreras-fake-website-plot-20120819_1_fake-website-report-details-ban ......................... The only problem tho...is that in this day & age it is incredibly easy for anyone to check and trace IP addresses and know exactly where, when, and in many cases exactly who is behind those web sites. The guy has shown just what a buffoon he is and how naive he is thinking he was so web-savvy. .........................................................................................

Even more incredibly ignorant comments about recruiting

I challenged one poster on a message board with this question: .............................. "OK - then how long would you wait before admitting that a school is a bit behind in getting the recruits they want? All I ask is that you commit to when you expect some news....Sept., Oct., Dec., spring??...." The guy actually responded with these precise words........................................... "I don't mind answering questions. To the first one---regarding this years 2013-14 class--I will say June 15, 2013".................... OK - seriously - the guy says we shouldn't get the least bit worried even if Bradley keeps striking out and missing on kids all the way 'til June 15, 2013 then finally lands someone... Well...here's why that's is so stupendously ignorant - and even the recent comments in the press by Geno Ford say so as he admits he wants to get a couple - 2 or maybe 3 - this FALL! So let's look at this once again... So you say that it wouldn't bother you at all if you held ALL four open scholarships - all the way 'til mid-June, 2013?? Keep in mind - there's going to be an incredibly active fall signing period from November 14 - thru - Nov. 21 -- and lots of schools will fill their scholarships - freeing up other waiting recruits to now look elsewhere... Then you still won't mind if we get NO action in April or May when the entire month-long SPRING signing period sits... (April 17, 2013 - May 15, 2013)... Every available kid who can play in fall of 2013 will be looking to sign and lock into a scholarship by the end of that signing period -- ALL OF THEM.................... the only ones left over will be those who are really obscure or marginal in qualifications and then the Towsons, Md-Eastern Shores,Northern Colorados, Georgia State's, and ....FIU's will be left to fight over them... And then - a FULL month beyond that on June 15, 2013 - you still think there'd be anyone left with D-I capability?? I am kinda stunned by that philosophy and would be extremely shocked if BU would ever want to wait that long to get a nibble - by then we'd be a laughingstock on the recruiting trail if we still had a boatload of scholarships and nobody even calling... ................Nope - we're going to land someone this fall -- it would be a frank admission of failure if we don't - so we'll get someone. That's why even Geno -who's generally pretty laid back - says it's time to panic if we don't land at least 2 or 3 by Halloween!! It may not be a guy who was originally on page 1 or page 2 -- but it's be someone and he'll have some D-I characteristics....so time will tell........

All of a sudden - it's unheard of to talk about recruiting ...

Odd how nobody's allowed to have the tiniest bit of concern, question, or anxiety about recruiting... I seem to recall this exact same stuff every single fall and nobody went "ballistic" in past years except the ones whining about BU doing poorly in recruiting................................. in 2011- lots of people were worried that we got late start and didn't sign anyone who was very highly rated. But that was blamed on the prior coach because you could hardly blame the new guy if he'd only had 6-7 months leg time................................................ in 2010 - plenty of people wondered if Sean Harris would even sign his LOI or if he did whether he'd make it here or be any good anyway.. and lots of anxiety centered on whether we'd fill all the open scholarships or have another John Wilkins situation http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=16592 ...then there was the usual anxiety and fretting because we didn't land anyone considered a "difference maker".............................................. in 2009 (fall) - it was obvious we had lost Wilkins, and we were closely losing other good recruits - [url]http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=9913[/url] ...plus we lost DJO to Marquette.... ...there were posts that went on and on with people threatening to jump off the ledges!!..................................................................................... fall of 2008 - Bradley was getting ripped for too many juco kids anxiety galore and people freaking out!! - http://www.pjstar.com/sports/x518440851/Reynolds-Too-many-jucos-for-Bradley ....................... fall of 2007 - you don't remember this year?? This was when all our local writers were ripping into BU for how badly they had recruiting given the boost we should have had from the Sweet Sixteen - and instead Bradley stuck themselves with "Seven D-I Virgins" -- KW carried this line of bitc*ing on for the better part of a couple years!......................................... fall of 2006 - this was the year everyone just about jumped ship because we lost POB and didn't get anyone to replace him, Cellus, or the rest! ...maybe nobody else remembers all the whining and gnashing of teeth but I sure do...

Good patterns for "rebuilding"

In the midst of ISU and every other Valley team stocking up on 2013 verbals - I thought I'd change the subject................................................................... Iowa fans were abandoning their team in droves a couple years ago... Iowa had their worst season in 2009-2010 - since the early 70's - and when Lickliter was jettisoned - almost everyone with any talent either left or decommited...so Fran McCafferty had a rebuilding job that everyone said would be impossible to be above .500 for years............................................................................... Well- McCaffery's first year was promising - more wins that the year before but in year two he was already above .500 and advancing in the Big Ten Tourney beating Illinois and winning in the post-season....fans even more optimistic now that he's landed some pretty good players. And there's an optimism there now that hasn't been there in a while http://www.dailyiowan.com/2012/07/18/Opinions/29136.html ................................................................................................. Iowa State completed the rebuild in even more impressive fashion - with Fred Hoiberg- who had never had coaching experience - and who was harshly criticized as the new head coach because of his lack of D-I experience - taking the program from complete mediocrity under McDermott with a revolving door and nearly 20 player-departures for major issues - to more wins than McDermott ever had there in his FIRST season then 23 wins last year and a great season and NCAA run. Again - everyone said at best-case scenario he was gonna take many years but he did it nicely - and almost right from the start. Every fan hopes for this kind of turnaround - is it so wrong for a fan to want to see his team win? Nope - Bradley fans are no different - this is all they want - the fans who want to see wins are NOT the enemy they are the lifeblood of the entire program. it is the fans who actually wanted to sabotage their program for their own selfish purpose of getting rid of someone they personally didn't like that have hurt our program. I can't wait to get there -- Halloween............. ................................ btw -- I get a good belly laugh out of one guy on a message board claiming that he felt he was every bit as important as a fan of Bradley basketball as anyone else... Well...keep on thinking - nobody's stopping you, but wake up to reality - that the core group of a few dozen fans who give in the range of TENS of thousands of $$ yearly to BU vastly trump any concern they'd have for one guy who lives hundreds of miles out of state that never donates a penny to BU but instead spends his time on message boards criticizing. Everyone is entitled to voice their opinion - although they are not entitled to barge into others' private homes and say whatever they want. BUT there are some fans who are more knowlegable and more generous that BU would like to keep around. They just need to avoid mistakes that have been made in the past in the name of moving forward -but in the process upsetting long time supporters...time will tell.

Wisconsin-Milwaukee sinking to new lows...

UW-M has decided to stop playing their home games in the nice, big downtown arena - since their team hasn't drawn well and they can't come anywhere close to filling it. so they are moving all their home games back to their tiny, antiquated on-campus arena, the Klotsche Center. This facility on-campus holds only 3200 even when packed to the gills - although there are people who doubt they'll even fill that! A lot of season ticket holders are not happy with this scaling back.. Here's a Daily Kos article that's really a gas - it's probably satire but Kos wants everyone to take their entries as accurate and reliable so it's odd that this is on a site that does not typically do satire. Here's a few things they say...... "An embarrassed University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Athletic Director Andy Geiger announced the men’s basketball program will stumble back to the Klotsche Center, the school’s on-campus gymnasium, effective immediately. “I am not going to spin this,” Geiger told the media after the June 26 announcement. “We are not big-time. As we watch attendance and accompanying revenue continue to wane, we have no business in an arena with a capacity over 10,000. Do you know how cavernous the MECCA looks with a thousand people?” “We had to get a damn waiver from the Horizon League to play games on our practice court,” current Head Coach Rob Jeter scoffed... Geiger later admitted the team hopes to reunite with Pearl, but has had trouble arranging official negotiations with the out-of-work coach. “I actually visited his house in Knoxville last week,” Geiger said. “His teenage daughter Leah answered the door and she wasn’t very helpful. Said she wasn’t sure where he was. Leah had a black eye and, with lips quivering, she mumbled something about Daddy drinking again.” But University Chancellor Michael Lovell remains optimistic about Coach Pearl, and the basketball program. Lovell believes that so long as they can convince Pearl to “come home to Milwaukee,” the Panthers future is bright. "Give [Pearl] plenty of money, and license to break every rule he needs to, in order to return us to the Sweet Sixteen," Lovell said. "Then we give local Miller Brewing Company a call, build a world-class, $100 million Miller Arena on campus. Next stop, Big Ten [Conference]." http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/11/1108656/-Panthers-Slinking-Home ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------so how is this relevant to Central Illinois?? First - BU's attendance is shrinking tremendously - are we next?? Second - UWM mirrors BU - no FB - and owns an on-campus arena which although small would save $$ and that seems to interest some. Don't say you weren't warned.............

Sorry - I strongly disagree with some - this current recession was caused by 3 main factors that are above and beyond all other factors. --------------------------------------- #1 We were attacked by terrorists requiring a very expensive, long range plan to retaliate and protect ourselves. We have never had a single significant attack since, so the response was extremely successful although costly. Our economy would have easily survived this factor had it not been for the next two that followed close behind. ------------------------------------------------- BTW - This 9-11 attack happened in the early days of the George Bush administration but was a result of bin Laden planning and working for years to pull it off. Blame who you want but Bill Clinton and the largely Democratic congress had EIGHT whole years that they knew bin Laden was after us and they did nothing! -------------------------------------------- #2 - The Democratically controlled banking committees in BOTH houses (Barney Frank & Chris Dodd) changed all the banking regulations to not only allow easy access to risky mortgages but also allowed banks and financial houses to pull strings and teeter us close to financial disaster. All it took was for enough irresponsible people to fall for the line handed them and enter into those risky loans, then default. This is nobody's fault but their own - they sought and signed willing for those loans then failed and defaulted. Blame who you want but it doesn't take a genius to see who caused the banking and mortgage crisis. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #3 Lastly - after one useful and successful "bail out" - then the current President decided to throw more GOOD money down the drain and again, it doesn't take a genius to know if you give away and waste all your money you will have a severe financial crisis - which we do. Almost 6 TRILLION more dollars in NEW debt in just the past 3 years - almost as much as all 43 presidents before him combined ran up! So again - tell me just who is responsible for the financial problems we have? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BUT even despite this we are a nation that is GREATLY blessed...and most people who work do well for themselves and are abundantly satisfied with what they have in this FREE NATION! and even those who don't or can't work have access to many forms of assistance. How can you deny that even the poor in this nation own cars, cell phones, color TV's, and virtually everyone has food and a place to live. In fact - strangely a large percentage of those claiming to be poor have enough expendable income for cigarettes, liquor, drugs, and other things that prove they are not so much destitute but instead irresponsible. ---------------------------- Those pointing fingers constantly and looking for someone to blame for their dissatisfaction - the rich, the working class, politicians, Wall Street, talk radio hosts, Tea Partiers - are largely looking for a scapegoat to lay the blame on for their own outcome or laziness. There is a GREAT difference between those who are unable to work or who have nobody to help them or support them - and those who are unwilling to work or waste the help given to them.

08:00 Sunday - we've known for a few days that a spot is going to open up out west for an assistant coach... http://wap.myfoxhouston.com/w/main/story/65864559/ ............. UCD's Gus Argenal is leaving to take a spot at Rice....he will be replaced by an interesting hire who is also an ex-BU assistant..... Argenal worked as an assistant in Texas for a few years - http://www.ucdavisaggies.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/argenal_gus00.html ............ So...while some guys can't even get a D-II job - all the past BU guys have landed on their feet just fine.

Yawn....

That's all I hear from people when I try to talk Bradley basketball -- just a yawn -- people are definitely losing interest. Just a few years ago we debated whether interest was at all time high's!!! Now - we are at serious risk of interest plummeting to new lows... We already saw attendances dropping to levels not seen since the end of the Albeck era and beginning of the Molinari era, 20 years ago... And we have gobs of articles, as the press has begun to look like a PR firm for Bradley basketball -- and yet interest is STILL not improving. Let me say that my interest never dies and I think facts bear that out. I might not be the #1 Bradley fan but I am definitely mistaken for him some times as everyone who knows me knows I have intense interest in BU basketball 24/7/52 weeks per year - and I take no offseason. I meet 20-30 people per day who know me to be a HUGE year-round Bradley fan and who used to want to talk BU basketball all the time - but this year I just don't see that. There's just NO talk. I am doing my best to get people interested - but bad seasons, bad losses, turmoil, infighting between fans, the perception that prior players or coaches were not treated well, and apparently NO events or plans for this summer to keep the fans interested - have all combined to drop the interest. The funniest part of it all is that when I run into a fan who was one of those who wanted all the stuff that did happen - the changeover, the new hires, etc. - he now is one of those who has lost the most interest. In other words - he got what he wanted, was happy initially with the events, but now he realized he shot himself in the foot, doesn't like what he sees now, and has lost interest, knowing it's likely to be another bad year in 2012-2013. (Unfortunately I define that guy as a bad fan - fair weather fan - or a fan who only cares about himself.) Anyway - people who used to talk all the time about BU basketball -- don't -- and even if the subject comes up the conversation is more like -- ohhhh...I am not sure how they're gonna be this year... Then check out the local newspaper's heavily subsidized and promoted web site for Bradley basketball discussion. It's never been very busy, but now it's an absolute graveyard. There's basically only one post since Tuesday (3 days ago) and it isn't about Bradley in any way, shape, or form...it's about an ISU recruit. In fact even the other threads for the past week are about the women's basketball coach, Butler changing conferences, and other non-BU-basketball topics. You have to go back practically a week to find any interest in any Bradley basketball topic....and even at that - there's just a few cut-and-pasted topics that were stolen without giving credit from "somewhere else". BUT - the biggest indicator of ZERO interest other than just the core of GOOD BU basketball fans who are often seen discussing things on BradleyFans.com - is that you can scroll any time day or night -- even in the middle of the busiest day -- to the bottom of their page at the newspaper web site, and this is what you see.... "Who is online Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guests" Well - of course the "one guest" is YOU, if you're looking at this page - so other than you looking at the page there isn't anyone else anywhere in all the universe looking at it or at any page on their entire forum! ZERO traffic = zero interest.... This is not a good sign -- no buzz or fan-talk, seemingly just NO off-season interest --- This time last year, despite the turmoil, people were buzzing, they were showing up for off-season events, and MEET-THE-TEAM get togethers. But - I have not heard one thing yet if any are planned this summer. Be forewarned -- attendance and interest might just look like it's going to be down this season.....and I see one guy who once mocked that idea still has an embarrassing signature.....one that says he doesn't believe there will be any long term dropoff in interest after the coaching change... Hmmm......nice try.....