An interesting health related topic....

I just thought this news was important enough, astounding enough, and severely under-reported enough to make a point of it...as it literally affects tens of millions of people who are told they need cholesterol lowering medicine..

First and foremost...if you have had a heart attack or a stroke, or if you have not yet discussed this with your doctor, then definitely don't change or stop any of your medicines, but consider this...
http://www.latimes.com/news/health/sns-health-statins-debate,0,5478969.story

This is a newspaper story but you can easily find more on these studies...

THREE different MAJOR studies just completed, now show overwhelmingly that taking these cholesterol lowering medicines
may NOT alter your risks much if at all.......
read as you wish....check further if interested, but here are the main points...

"Two studies and a review ...question the cholesterol-lowering "statin"
(drugs like Lipitor) use as a preventive measure.."


..statins, the cholesterol-lowering prescription drugs that rake in some $26
billion a year for their makers... do not lower death rates among patients with
risk factors but no evidence of established cardiovascular disease who take
them as a preventive measure. The new study would seem to be a blow both
to the drugs' makers and to three-quarters of statin users —
that is, those who take the drug in hopes of averting a first heart attack or stroke.

The third article, also published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, raised
questions about the financial and professional motives of the medical
researchers who conducted the highly influential study..(which).. propelled
many healthy persons without elevated cholesterol levels onto long-term
statin treatment..

The belief that statins lower the risk of a heart attack or stroke has helped
make them the second-most-commonly prescribed class of drugs in the United States..

..an analysis of 11 clinical trials that included a total of
65,229 patients, found that among patients who were
considered at high risk of heart attack or stroke but who had not had one,
statin therapy did not lower the risk of death.


..for patients without established heart disease,

"statins are more risky than helpful."

So...what we have is a lot of GOOD studies, and NOT done by the drug industry who have a vested interest in seeing millions take this medicine...

And they are convincing results....showing just maybe as many as 75-80% of all the people who have been told they need these medicines or who have been placed on them, may be gaining little or no benefit...FWIW good doctors need to heed these results and stop putting so many millions of people on terribly expensive and potentially injurious medicines when the data does not support their use so widely.

Recall, this is not just one isolated finding...
..Direct from my link..."Two studies and a review of previous studies .."

ie...THREE difference recent publications...

and also this comment....
"Nine clinical trials published in the last six years have found no benefit to the use of statins in the prevention of heart disease"

....so you decide, but I think the stuff is mostly hype and oversold......



As a corollary -- another recent study also showed that treatment of triglycerides was mostly useless........
They chose over 5000 high risk patients (patients with heart disease and diabetes) and studied the benefits of lowering their triglycerides as has been recommended for decades by some...

Guess what.....read for yourself, but here are the quotes...
"Adding a triglyceride-lowering drug to cholesterol-fighting statins provided no additional protection from heart attack, stroke and death from heart disease"
" Dr Steven Nissen, a prominent cardiologist with the Cleveland Clinic, disagreed with that assessment.
"The use of fenofibrates will decline precipitously," he predicted. "It's another troubling example of a drug that was approved that didn't work."
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1419942020100314



So don't just let someone badger you into taking a lifetime of medicine without asking what's the evidence that it will help...people need to know that there's a lot of bias and untruth out there - mostly foisted on the industry by fears of liability for not treating and pressure from the drug companies who argue their medicines are necessary.
I say you should decide based on all the facts.

Scheduling Philosophies and Bradley's Game with Duke

For years we have seen many say that Valley teams should never do guarantee games, or games on the road against big schools that are likely to beat you, then give you no return game at your home.

In fact, many head coaches, AD's, and even Doug Elgin, the MVC Commissioner have said thus...they don't want Valley members doing guarantee games.

Oddly, all are completely silent on the fact that Bradley has landed a monumental opportunity and will play at Duke this coming season.
I have even seen many fans also dis the idea of guarantee games, some of whom at the very same ones now lauding Bradley's decision to play at Duke.
So why the hypocrisy?? What's going on??
I have always been in favor of playing anyone tough whenever you can. I have never been an opponent of guarantee games per se...and have asked openly for years for our guys to keep up pursuits of great opportunities even if no return game is offered.
I obviously don't want to play a guarantee game at a low-level BCS school...say DePaul, Indiana, or Iowa State...so I am happy we always swung deals of home & home or home, home, and neutral on those guys. But the chance to play a reigning national champ or a #1 team is as good as it gets.

But if those who whine against guarantee games are really being honest, then where are they in this situation...or are they really only speaking against guarantee games selectively to make themselves look holier-than-thou on scheduling issues or deflect criticism when their schedules look awful and weak or that they'd really do the same as BU is doing if they ever got the chance (but haven't been able to swing it)? Then I guess that would make them hypocrites.

Here are just a few quotes..........

From Doug Elgin...who obviously speaks against guarantee games a lot..
"Conference commissioners such as Elgin are strongly discouraging teams from playing "guarantee games," which means playing a powerhouse school such as UCLA, North Carolina or Kentucky on the road without getting a home game in return."
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/ncaatourney06/columns/story?id=2383720
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=katz_andy&id=2603229

Also Tim Jankovich has said this many times....
"We don't play guarantee games. We're just not going to do that."
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3812982

" his basic philosophy....stay away from strong opponents, don't do guarantee games, and try to rack up easy wins..
Jankovich has long held a philosophy of wanting to avoid playing anyone tough if you don't have to. He even unilaterally quit a D-I head coaching job and preferred to coach at a junior college instead of facing tough opponents and risk actually taking losses on his career record."
http://bubravesblogger.blogspot.com/2009/09/isus-tim-jankovich-and-his-scheduling.html

"The one thing our league agrees with us is that we should never play a guarantee game. In other words, we’ll let a school buy us and we’ll play there. Why would you do that?
This past year...We weren’t ready to go play Kentucky or Duke (even on a neutral site.)"
http://www.videtteonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32003:jankovich-eldridge-weigh-in-on-2009-10-basketball-season&catid=64:sportscolumns&Itemid=55

And again just last year, when they had a solid, senior ladened team...
"ISU is not going to put together a suicidal schedule by playing “guarantee” games at major conference schools..."
and Jank even proposes...
"..NCAA honchos mandate that schools have to play a certain amount of nonconference games on the road.."

...seriously??? Is he dreaming???
http://www.pantagraph.com/app/blogs/main/?p=3890

And you can find the same thoughts and quotes from a lot of other mid-major coaches...they say they won't go on the road for any guarantee games, but if they ever got the chance to do what Bradley is doing, then they'd turn tail and jump at the chance, even if it meant showing their hypocrisy.
Want to see such an example??
Jim Larranaga swore vehemently they would never play on the road in a guarantee game..
"We don't do it," Larranaga said. "We play home-and-home games. We don't take guarantee games and we don't give any."
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=katz_andy&id=2603229

Larranaga reiterated this exact same stance many times in other interviews...then just a couple months later, he was invited to play at Duke and jumped at the chance, essentially whoring himself out for pay which is precisely what he swore endlessly that he would NEVER, ever do!
Then - on December 9, 2006, he goes to Duke for a guarantee game!!
Exactly what he'd said so powerfully that he'd never, ever do, proving that he'd stick to his beliefs unless the payday was big enough...or that he'd never sell out on his principles -- that is unless the offer was more enticing....
http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22726&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=717793

So I am still waiting for an explanation why it is bad and wrong to play guarantee games, but suddenly that entire argument disappears, and the idea's proponents go silent, when you get the chance to play a guarantee game against Duke.
It's a little like saying I would never cheat on my present girlfriend, but I'd make an exception if Erin Andrews invited me over...
Someone please help me out with this hypocrisy on this issue?



For more on Tim Jankovich's scheduling philosophy...
http://bubravesblogger.blogspot.com/2009/09/isus-tim-jankovich-and-his-scheduling.html

Lots of Valley Happenings and more...

Here's a funny one....after all the legal woes, DUI's and even coaches getting arrgrivated DUI's and other issues, and players being booted...
IN A LONG THREAD ON THE SIU BOARD...
a few of the uninformed posters tried to defend the horrible mis-behavior by claiming Bradley was worse...
Thankfully, one of their own sensible posters put them straight...
"Right now, SIU is in a class by themselves in the
MVC for players (and coaches) gone wild. It might
even be more tolerable if we were having success,
but we're looking at 9th or 10th again this year.
Btw, Bradley has not had any DUIs that I could find."
http://www.salukitalk.net/st/viewtopic.php?t=33031&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=373

And this is true...Bradley has had a few minor behavior issues, but note how incredibly some try to blow it out of proportion.
None of the BU violations led to permanent charges...all had either deferred prosecution or dropped charges.
One post I saw even tried to drag the Kevin Clancy thing back out...an event that happened more than a decade ago - and was a distant memory even before Jim Les was ever hired. Not to mention it was also a minor spat that did not prevent Clancy from leaving and transferring to just about any place he wanted.


One more SIU note - or ex-SIU note...
this morning a reporter who watched a pickup game at open gym of all the Dayton players...says this......
"I was impressed with the University of Dayton basketball recruits after watching them in pickup games with the veterans last week. Very impressed.
Juwan Staten could be the best point guard at UD since Negele Knight arrived in 1985. Staten protects the ball, can get his own shot and is a jet going endline-to-endline.
Ralph Hill, the 6-foot-6 Columbus native, has a sweet stroke and surprising range. He also has a chiseled enough frame to bang down low. Huge upside..."
He also had some nice words about Devin Oliver & Brandon Spearman...and Kevin Dillard, but said this...
"I’m cautious about going overboard since I’ve only seen..Dillard once"

But it does look like Kevin Dillard is going to have a lot of competition for PG spot.....



Here's a name out of the past.......Jelani Poston...at South Suburban CC...(junior college)..coached by John Pigatti...
He started at Chicago Lincoln Park and was getting some attention and mention even before his sophomore season back in 2003.
Then he transferred to Simeon, then Boys to Men Academy where he played much of one year, then a couple prep schools....and finally got an offer and landed at UIC.
He was originally in Class of 2006, then reclassified as Class of 2007, then with his couple years of prep school, reclassified some more.........
now finishing his 2nd year of juco after a short and unwelcome stay at UIC...
He was once rated #5 in Class of 2007..although 5 of the top 6 flopped as many of those older rankings unfortunately demonstrate...
http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/brianstinnette11.html

I guess what intrigues me is how a kid who first started getting writeups in Chicago in 2003, and who was first set to be graduated in 2006, then 2007...
how can such a kid still be just now entering his 2nd year of junior college and thus be a juco recruit for the Class of 2011!
jelani would be about 23 before he steps on the court at D-I after completing juco..

Here's another example of those who were so highly ranked in 2007 & 2008 and how many of them have been total flops!
http://midstatehoops.com/v5/index.php?s=chicago&paged=16


Just when the NCAA starts talking about passing rules to prohibit recruiting the really young kids, especially middle schoolers...Bruce Weber goes after even more of them...
now he's after a couple 8th graders, including one from Springfield, Larry Austion, Class of 2014...
if you can't get this premium article, it also talks about Bruce going hard after Jahlil Okafor, an 8th grader in Rosemont, IL...who is 6-8 and projected to headed to at least 7-ft!
http://illinois.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1097750

Here's the story about the NCAA wanting to put an end to such early recruiting..but don't expect it to happen soon as long as it benefits the BCS guys...
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/13562063/ncaa-proposes-end-to-early-scholarship-offers/isg


Gotta love John Calipari ..he makes a power grab for lots of credit for himself and a lot of ME-glory, and finds he has to take a little heat from the long time Kentucky fans for his selfish comments.
After coaching a ton of lottery picks and 5-Star recruits to a good but disappointing year...and after five get drafted, he claims this is the greatest day in Kentucky Basketball history!!
As if his accomplishments beat out their multiple NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS!!
Hu-uh, JC, don't think so.....
but just another example of the me-first attitude prevalent there and in a lot of other places...
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/12838/calipari-sparks-minor-backlash


Many will recall this ex-Valley coach who is now doing some WNBA coaching...
SORRY - but I think coaching in the WNBA is a good and honorable position, but coaching WITH A PINK SPORTS COAT is far, far below some of those high points in Nolan Richardson's career, especially winning the NCAA Championship.
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/06/28/1327181/nolan-richardson-finds-new-challenge.html


I noted a little grumbling over on the Iowa State boards about how well two of their ex-players did in the draft...both Craig Brackins and Wesley Johnson going in about the first 20 spots...
That immediately led to a few grumbles about how bad of a coach McD must have been to have two guys who were or who were just outside of being lottery picks on his team at the SAME TIME and still couldn't win a danged thing and couldn't stay out of the cellar of the league.


Here's a great soccer picture.....
http://www.sportskeeda.com/2010/06/28/love-for-the-game-soccer/


Here's an interesting report....actually an errant report.
"Creighton, Iowa State, and Northern Arizona will go north to play University of Calgary, University of Lethbridge, and Concordia University in the Battle of the Border tournament hosted by the University of Calgary."
http://www.azdailysun.com/sports/basketball/article_898632ec-7e8f-11df-bf78-001cc4c03286.html

...but this is wrong, Creighton is not going...
they just had a 5-game Canadian tour in 2007 and cannot go again for 4 years!
http://www.gocreighton.com/SportSelect.dbml?SPSID=89385&SPID=69&DB_OEM_ID=1000&KEY=&Q_SEASON=2007

Here's a more accurate report - Creighton will not be there...
http://www.godinos.com/news/2010/6/21/MBB_0621102339.aspx


I have always gotten a kick out of the scoring numbers in some of the summer leagues...and the Capital City League in Iowa is no exception...
I just checked some of the totals from this past week's games...

First - the hype and legend of Rayvonte Rice has stalled just a bit...as RR had a pretty bad game.
He was only 3-13 from the floor, didn't look good, 0-3 on 3-pt and only 3 rebs, and 6 points.....thus, not a lot of drooling posts about him this week...in fact nobody else will even mention his stats...
also........his team lost 115-114, which in and of itself shows the total lack of any defense being played, and the fact the the leather on the ball was white hot with those teams launching about 100 shots each during the game.
Here are some other stats from this week's games over there in Iowa....

Chris Babb had 35 on 12-19 & 9-15 on 3's
Karl Madison 20 on 7-20
Melvin Ejim 32 on 12-26
Iowa State walk on Babu Palo 20 pts
many of the other 20-pt and even 30-pt scorers are kids you've never heard of!!!
Clearly those stats are about as meaningful as the ones put up at the "Y" in open gyms....


Here's a story on several area juco kids
http://midstatehoops.com/v5/?p=5351

Just saw a report that Jordan Eglseder is on the Pistons' summer league team..
Eglseder and Ali Farokhmanesh have been invited to the ESPY Awards -- rumor they might get the award for "Best Upset"...

More on how scheduling is hard...
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/12511/scheduling-still-difficult-for-mid-majors



PS-- For Bradley fans -- a couple bits of good news are on the way...

and one more time....
Michael Ochereobia spells his name...
OCHEREOBIA not Ocherobia.....this has been mentioned several times...and yet we see "experts" still making this same spelling mistake...(especially on other boards)
http://www.bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?p=185058#post185058
http://www.bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?p=183700#post183700


Edit --
one of the pieces of good news is out...
http://www.bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?p=185514#post185514

one last riddle...
IFEANYICHUKWU

Levern Tart - Once a Brave......and more...

Noted is the passing at a relatively young age of Bradley great Levern Tart.
Tart was voted part of the Bradley Team of the Century (15 best players all time) as voted in 2003 - which was Bradley Basketball's 100th anniversary.

Levern was Bradley's MVP and the NIT MVP in 1964 - back when the NIT was essentially as prestigious as any other tournament.

He was a 6th round pick by the Boston Celtics & played 274 games in the NBA & ABA between 1967 - 1971. Just to show you how good Levern was, he has an astounding career average of 19.4 ppg over those 274 games, and an even more astounding 24.3 ppg in playoff action - 11 games. He also appeared in two ABA All Star Games.

Here are Levern Tart's numbers at Bradley - and you'll recall freshmen were not eligible to play on varsity at that time.

1961-1962 27 games, 124-273, 331 pts, 12.2 ppg
1962-1963 17 games, 82-175, 219 pts, 12.8 ppg
1963-1964 29 games, 177-353, 503 pts, 17.3 ppg
Career: 73 gms, 383-801(48%), 77%FT%, 1053 pts, 14.4 ppg

Here's some words from Joe Stowell on Levern Tart.
http://blogs.pjstar.com/pressrow/2010/06/25/remembering-levern/

Here are a few quotes from the Bradley player guides and Yearbooks of the early 1960's that I have among the items I have collected...

"After being one of the top freshman on the squad, Lavern (sic), a sophomore, was among the top scorers on the frosh squad with 133 points in eight games for an average of 16.5 per game. He was the number one rebounder as he grabbed 108 for a 13.5 average and hit better than 57 percent of his field goal attempts.
One of the "Florida Flashes" at Bradley, Lavern is currently the numbers two scorer for the varsity with a 14.3-ppg average...
His best effort to date (this season) has been a 26 point effort against the Gamecocks of South Carolina. He also had 26 against Notre Dame last year. He can play either forward or guard for Coach Orsborn.
A refugee from the cold of West Palm Beach, the biology and physical education major has not as yet learned to appreciate the "Yankee White Sand" which drifts down on Peoria through the cage season."

Finally by his senior year they had his name spelled properly in the publicaitons...
"Levern Tart has had some great nights in colege basketball including a 23 point game against LaSalle...
and a 26 point game against Notre Dame as a sophomore and a 26 pointer against South Carolina last winter...
He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Neal Tart, 1112 22nd Street and a graduate of Roosevelt High School, W. Palm Beach, Florida.
He ran into some scholastic trouble last winter that cost him some games but has worked hard to recover his full academic standing."

Here are some other links to info on Levern Tart..

His Wikipedia page and biographical info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levern_Tart

Obit:
http://www.legendsofbasketball.com/channel/187/

Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame:
http://www.gpshof.org/Inductees/tart.html
Team of the Century:
http://www2.pjstar.com/index.php?/bradleysbest/article/levern_tart

Some great pics!!
http://www.remembertheaba.com/TributeMaterial/Tart.html
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1734&dat=19680123&id=5dobAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QVEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5183,1480829






Here's a comment on how valuable is it to have recruiting experts rate kids who are still in junior high school.
This is the ranking of the Top 225 kids in the Class of 2010, but the rankings were done 5 years before these kids graduated.
Gues what...of the entire Top 225, only a handful were still in the Top of the rankings 5 years later when those kids were all high school seniors.
AND --
http://www.hoopscooponline.com/members/classof2010-7thgraders-230.html

Of those kids who were in the Top 20 5 years ago...only one (Ray McCallum who was #17 in the list from junior high and #20 now) stayed in the Top 20!

So I guess one could readily conclude that no matter how expert you are, trying to rank kids who are 7th & 8th graders, is next to completely worthless in trying to decide who will be the best recruits 5 years later when they are seniors!!
In fact, a full HALF of those kids who are ranked in the TOP 50 as junior high kids, are NO WHERE to be found in the rankings 5 years later -- in other words...they totally fizzled out and disappeared!
Best example is the guy who they ranked #1, Randy Collins! He is now a 2-Star recruit, totally outside the Top 225, and hasn't even gotten a high level D-I offer!!
http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&nid=3226290

Likewise, the #2 kid, Kevin Gray, is now ZERO-Stars, unranked, and has no serious D-I interest whatsoever!!!
Good thing Billy Gillispie, Tim Floyd, and Greg McDermott didn't make to stupid mistake as they quite often have, of offering those kids when they were in middle school!!
http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&nid=4334155


Happy Birthday to Osiris Eldridge....22 years old today but obviously disappointed he didn't hear his name on draft day.
He is still working out with professional trainers in Chicago hoping for a break at an NBA tryout or some other opportunity, or perhaps a gig in the D-League to try to convince the parent club GM's...
Here's a picture of Osiris getting mugged at a Memphis Grizzlies' workout a couple days ago...
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/jun/23/seeing-is-believing/

So just how desperate is Tom Crean?? (plus a little on player movement and the IBCA All Star Game)

As we've already seen, Indiana's Tom Crean has been desperately going after every high schooler, juco player, and available transfer with eligibility - just to try to land one iota of talent...
Names like Walter Offutt, Ben Brust -- etc....even though the chance of landing any of them was slim.
In the end, the only recruits he's got coming in are marginal Big Ten caliber kids...some are even downright marginal D-I candidates like the juco kid Guy-Marc Michel who averaged only 6 ppg at a low level juco.

But even with the marginal kids - the roster was overloaded for years to come, and Crean had more kids lined up than scholarships available - so he had to jettison some dead weight and recently creaned the roster once again and sent Bawa Muniru packing. I am not sure how the IU fans & gurus could be so wrong on the talent level of the big 7-footer Muniru, who some had as a Top 100, 4-Star talent.
But - after 6 years in high school and prep schools, the guy still couldn't score in most games. Shouldn't a 22 year old 7-footer playing against 16-17 year old high schoolers kinda dominate more than 2 points per game?? Bu tthe IU folks still predicted he'd be their full time starting center and he'd be a ton.

Oh well...nobody denies Crean works hard on recruiting, but he sure isn't the world's greatest judge of talent...

But now, as he is still going hard after anyone who can hit the rim, he's now beating the bushes for yet another well-traveled, multi-transfer kid....
Roburt Sallie........

Roburt Sallie - is a Class of 2004 SG - already nearly 25 years old!!
He is leaving Memphis but has a year of eligibility left...
(hard to believe since he was originally a 2004 high school grad!)
http://indiana.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1097181
http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=182864

Sallie went to high school in California, then was a non-qualilfier after verballing to Washington, so went to Laurinburg Prep (now closed down due to being a diploma mill), then Patterson Prep (now closed down due to the same reason -both now out of business) - then after signing with Washington and going back to a 2nd year of prep school - then verballed and even enrolled at Nebraska - then failed clearinghouse and went to City College of San Francisco and sat out 06-07..playing in 2007-2008.

Then, since he had enrolled at Nebraska and left - he was banned from playing at any other Big 12 school, so he finished the juco and went to Memphis..but
after 2 troubled years there he's transferring again...but eligible..due to already being a graduate - he can play right away.
BUT - does Crean know what he's getting into??
Sallie has baggage and issues com,ing from Memphis...
seriously - everyone at Memphis has issues and yet is still coddled and plays...but Sallie has issues where he's not even welcome at Memphis of all places!!!
Sallie and current Memphis coach Josh Pastner had major differences, which led to a reduction in Sallie's playing time, and he lost his startaing spot by lat ein the season.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:gp8yXuE0rVoJ:69.2.101.50/newsflash/index.ssf%3F/base/sports-303/127431041699790.xml%26storylist%3Dsports+%22roburt+sallie%22+and+%22arrested%22&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

So is this the guy that'll make a difference at IU?? I doubt it. If he does go to IU, and especially if he gets any playing time there, it's just going to make the other kids angry who have put their time in there and who, as usual, would expect playing time.
Anyway - if the kid only has one season left - would he want to go to a place that'll battle at best for last place?? Doubt it....if that's what he wanted, he'd go to Iowa State or Iowa where playing time would be assured...

So the roster turnovers continue at Indiana like they did at Boys to Men Prep...
funny how some schools have so many roster turnovers....Iowa State leads the known universe, but Indiana, SIU, Saint Louis and a few others are not far behind. Ex-IU players Armon Bassett, Jordan Crawford, Ben Allen, and others all shined for other programs, many making it to the Sweet Sixteen with their current programs after being run out at IU.



On that topic...
Here's a great letter from a Purdue fan to set his thoughts straight on why the fine Indiana in-state talent needs to rethink IU as the premier destination...
http://www.purdue.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=52&tid=144204623&mid=144204623&sid=892&style=2



Here's a story from yesterday...
Michael Beasley says now he should have stayed in college..yeahhh....rrrright...
baloney - he made millions and he never went to class anyway!
Had he stayed at K-State he'd have likely been declared ineligible or been kicked out for drugs...and he'd be saying he should have gone pro and taken the payday.
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/12697/beasley-advises-pullen-on-nba-draft

We all know that the number of lottery pick one-and-done players who skip classes is more than the numbers of Bruce Pearl's players who have been booted for drugs and guns!!

Ex-SIU player Torres Roundtree - is headed to D-II !!! Harris-Stowe!! Hard to believe, it's a little step below where Booker landed...although the way Iowa State's been lately under McDermott, not much lower...

As a recap...here's more on all the players who have bolted from SIU...
http://www.bigdeadsidebar.com/tag/siu-mens-basketball/

But this list doesn't even mention Drew Barham - Lowery's sharpshooting, Class of 2009 6-6 guard who decided to walk on at Memphis instead of playing under scholarship at SIU!!
BTW - Braham may just not be the sharpshooter Lowery though he was...
He ended up hitting only 27% of his shots this year at Memphis and 32% of 3-pointers, even playing a lot in garbage time. And he only averaged 4 assists for every 100 minutes of play....sorta a world record low for a guard!

Standing head and shoulders above all other D-I programs in players defecting.... Iowa State, Tennessee, SIU, Saint Louis, Indiana, and even DePaul...all have massive players leaving, coming and going .....even Creighton is headed in that direction now that McDermott is there.



The Boys IBCA All Star Games are this Saturday.......
http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=15858

I can't help but recall with some amusement, the conversations and message board rants we saw after last year's IBCA All Star Game...
The ISU fans raved at how great Terrence Johnson and Zeke Upshaw were, and how great of additions they would be to the ISU Redbirds..
Some even predicted that Terry Johnson would step right in and be not just a solid scorer but also compete right away for the point guard spot!!
This, of course, despite the facts being pointed out that he never bothered to pass in high school, what would make anyone ever think he'd do it in college?
And of course facts proved those thoughts correct. He was a horrible gunner/shooter with the worst shooting stats of just about any freshman ever in the Valley.
He hit only 8% of his 3-pt attempts (yes, EIGHT percent - that's NO typo..)
..which was even worse than the 18% Justin Clark hit.

Upshaw never even saw the court as he was redshirted from the outset......
So will we hear the same drooling rant over Jordan Threloff?? Time will tell...
But -- if Threloff has anything less than an outstanding game, maybe 20/10, then you would have to wonder what happened...
the IBCA 3A/4A South squad that Threloff is facing really has NOTHING at center...
they have only two players over 6-5/6-6 and both are extremely obscure 6-8 guys (NATHANIEL HAYNES and BRAD HALLSTEIN) - so Threloff ought to be able to score at will.

A report on Julian HS guard Phillip Greene

Chicago Julian HS teammate of Walter Lemon, Phillip Greene, is also a target that Bradley is recruiting according to reports...
a new premium DePaul article discusses Phillip Greene's progress and recruitment...
http://depaul.scout.com/2/979106.html

Here's a little about Greene from BradleyFans...
http://www.bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?p=175763#post175763

Since I strongly suspect most of you don't have a subscription to the DePaul site, I will tell you a little about the report.......

Phillip Greene is a Class of 2011 guard, 6-3 and a good scorer...he is at the DePaul team camp this week. it appears that since Julian fired Loren Jackson, that possibly Greene may not want to play there and that both may end up somewhere else...
http://depaul.scout.com/a.z?s=430&p=8&c=1&nid=4719792

Here are a few additional excerpts...
"Phillip Greene not only is trying to decide where he will play his college basketball in 2001, he is also deciding where he will go to high school for his senior year in the fall.
Greene is considering following his mentor and former coach at Julian – Loren Jackson to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida for his senior year. He is also giving thought to returning to Julian.
Greene said that he has scholarship offers from DePaul, Indiana State, St. John’s, Southern Illinois, and West Virginia. He is also receiving interest from Bradley, Dayton, Oklahoma State, Purdue and UTEP."

Catching up with another Ex-Brave

James Hamilton was a fine player in the couple years he played at Bradley in the early 1990's, and he left after the first year Jim Molinari was here.
He finished his career at Iowa State and has been playing professional ball in Europe and most recently in England ever since. He is currently one of the better players in the English top pro league.
Because he did not finish his career with Bradley, he's often left off the list, but is just another example of the great players Bradley has had.

Here's some info if you're interested......he's still active playing professionally!

He has been playing with the Cheshire Jets since 1999 and just re-signed last fall, currently he is captain of the Jets.
he is now 37 years old...

Here's his pic...
http://www.jetsbasketball.org.uk/home_htm_files/16.jpg

and his profile says...
"6ft 7 forward - Flint, Michigan"
http://www.jetsbasketball.co.uk/

His stats from this past season...
13.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 54% from the field
http://www.eurobasket.com/team.asp?Cntry=United%20Kingdom&Team=1399&Page=3

He had a 29 point, 9 reb game on Jan 2, 2010.

James is somewhat revered in Cheshire - they even built a statue to his honor!!
http://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/news_and_events/press_releases/2010_press_releases/media_releases_for_february_20/lord_mayor_unveils_seven_foot.aspx
http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/chester-news/local-chester-news/2010/02/10/seven-feet-tall-oak-carving-of-cheshire-jets-captain-james-hamilton-unveiled-59067-25803082/

Here's a YouTube video of James...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyM1B4e9hxw

An in an interview they refer to him as a legend!!
http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/chester-sport/cheshire-jets-basketball/2010/01/14/basketball-interview-with-cheshire-jets-skipper-james-hamilton-ahead-of-bbl-cup-final-59067-25595523/

http://pawprint75.co.uk/directory/directory_cheshire.html

A Few News Items

A member of Bradley's NCAA and NIT teams of the late 40's and of the team that finished 2nd in 1950 has passed....Don Schnake. He became a coaching legend in the Chicago area...
Once a Brave...
http://football.dailyherald.com/story/?id=389007



Bradley ranks 6th in the entire midwest among all Masters Level Universities in this latest 2010 US News & World Report ranking..
http://rankings.usnews.com/best-colleges/masters-universities-midwest-rankings

Creighton & Drake are also ranked in the Top 10...and in this same ranking SIUE is #47, WIU is #62, and NIU is off the rankings and called a Tier 4....they don't rank the ones that low...
ISU is listed among a different category...but outside the Top 128 and called a Tier 3...
http://rankings.usnews.com/best-colleges/masters-universities-midwest-rankings
http://rankings.usnews.com/best-colleges/masters-universities-midwest-rankings/title+illinois



Some nice press for one of the top kids BU is after in the Class of 2011 - Julian High School's Phillip Greene - teammate this past year of Walter Lemon.
http://blogs.suntimes.com/hoopsreport/



There was some talk of ISU assistant Paris Parham being a candidate for the head coach spot at Chicago State...and a column just this past week by ESPN said the new coach would be announced soon - and named Friday -- but Friday came and went and still no announcement.
http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/colleges/post/_/id/553/chicago-state-coaching-search-will-end-shortly

Why is it so hard for Chicago State to get a program going in the right direction, to even get a coach who wants to be there?
The answer is a little bit behind the headlines.

The place is filled with corruption. The people in the Mid-Con Conference knew it and booted them out.
And there have been a few exposes but for some reason it's as if nobody wants to say much about it....it appears to be a politically hot topic, but here's the truth...

Just read a few of these articles and see if things just sound way too fishy for you..
The state funneling tons of $$ ($40 million!!) to Chicago State for no clear reason -- looks like some kind of payoff to me!
They have a 16% graduation rate and are dead last in the NCAA data...so who's in charge of letting people into that university?
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/watchdog/college/chi-chicago-state-31-aug31,0,7740389.story
The last president they had was corrupt and was stealing from the school and the state despite her lofty salary!
http://senategop.state.il.us/index.php?Itemid=123&id=363&option=com_content&task=view
After she was booted, she still spent 418000 on a party for herself..
http://www.cdobs.com/archive/local-media/taxpayer-funded-tribute-to-elnora-daniel/

the new guy they picked is tied to corruption and is not well liked by anyone..
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/04/boos-greet-choice-of-new-chicago-state-leader.html

Even more corruption and scandal there....I guess you can now get the picture...
http://theeprovocateur.blogspot.com/2009/08/scandal-at-chicago-state-university.htm
http://www.examiner.com/x-3865-Chicago-Public-Education-Examiner~y2009m4d13-White-flight-Black-Phonies-and-Chicago-State-University



One of the departing Iowa State kids - a kid that was at one time a top, 4-Star PF, LaRon Dendy, has landed at Middle Tennessee. What kind of statement is this for Iowa State basketball, that their starting power forward leaves and transfers to Middle Tennessee...and on top of that their coach describes Dendy and a "probable go-to guy"!! What -- didn't anyone else want the guy -- not even Chris Lowery??
Iowa State's Chris Colvin is rumored to be going to Kansas State.



Anyone watching the World Cup - and did you note that the refs give Italy and Brazil all the calls....
..they totally ignore the hand balls, and in the Italy game, they saves Italy's skin by awarding a penalty shot on a foul call on a play that wasn't one tenth of the fouling that the Americans were hammered with in the Slovenia game and yet it was the Americans who got the goal taken away.
If the FIFA people ever want their game to become popular in the US and if they want the next generation to appreciate it - then they should clean up the cheating and bad calls.

The players are all back on campus

Just got back from spending much of the day up at Bradley at their team camp...
and I had the opportunity to talk at length with several of the players and coaches...virtually all of the players are there - but didn't see the new guys..

First - in case he does read this...I just want to say a HUGE thanks to Coach Les for the favors he did for our "guys"...at the camp...........
Coach Les was very busy running such a huge and chaotic camp with hundreds of kids running around from building to building and playing games all day long...most teams playing between 12 and 15 games between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning!!
I know he barely had time to stop and get a drink when he was thirsty...but he took the time to greet us and knows we are BIG Braves fans...that's what makes our program pretty special.

Willie Scott is a great personality and I had a chance to talk with him...he is really glad to be back at Bradley! After Willie had to spend so much time in Mississippi with his ill mother (she is recovered and doing better, his designing business slumped a bit and as was noted, while he was attending his mom he had the chance to get involved with coaching down in Mississippi. So when his mother had sufficiently recovered, he looked to give back to the game he loved and got involved full time in coaching and landed at Malcolm X College in Chicago...then rebuilt their team quickly into a winner.
One thing Willie said was it is the Bradley fans that make the job there as assistant so enjoyable...he was really thrilled at the great reception he's gotten already.

I also spoke with assistant Jim Platt......and he related some fond memories of Peoria even as a grade school kid when he came here to play in the big Lutheran School Tournament that Christ Lutheran has every year. As has been noted, he's a long, long time friend of Jim Molinari...so we had a little bit in common to talk about..

Then I talked a bit with Dodie - he's doing great...and saw or talked with Dyricus, Jake, JP, and several other players - also Theron Wilson was there as well as Cellus....but they were busy keeping all the kids and their games going smoothly.
...but as has been my policy - even though they all has some interesting things to say and were all equally excited about this coming season...I am not going to post openly and publicly the conversations I had with the players, as someone who reads it always tries to take something, even out of context, and make some issue of it...so anyone who knows me knows how to reach me if you want to know more......
I remain confident this is the best group of returning players we've had in my recent memory....and I am looking forward to a great year.

Some Valley News Items

Bradley's Preseason 2010-2011 Basketball Prospectus is now available online...
http://www.bradleybraves.com//pdf8/701023.pdf?SPSID=25964&SPID=1498&DB_OEM_ID=3400

One of their headlines right at the top says
"18 NBA Players",
but I think there's more than that...
Here is a link that lists 21...plus we've had a numbers of other Bradley people make the NBA in other capacities, guys like Dick Versace, Stan Albeck, Tony Barone, Chicak Hearn...
http://basketballreference.com/players/bycollege.htm?sch=Bradley+University



Here's a mention of a name that's new to some...Garrett Jones...they mention he has been hearing from Bradley........
http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/garrettjones2.html

...but if you follow BradleyFans.com you might recall we have talked about him....here's much more...
http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=13722



So now we hear SIU's Anthony Booker is transferring to Iowa State. For the last 2 months it's been Oral Roberts - and was even reported by FoxSports to be Oral Roberts..
FoxSports' list still says ORU (but it might get changed by the time you check this link):
http://community.foxsports.com/goodmanonfox/blog/2010/05/25/updated_transfer_list

I guess Iowa State's Fred Hoiberg has the open scholarships to fill, but he'll have to use up 3 years of scholarship to get just two remaining years of eligibility out of Booker, who has a total of only 297 career points thus far in D-I and 5 ppg, 3.7 rpg averages.
He has a penchant for launching 3-pt shots, but has hit only 15.8% of them over his career. He also has a total of only 26 career assists in 59 games.
One of the comments by Booker in the Iowa newspapers is that he likes that Hoiberg has experience in the NBA and knows how to help Booker get there....duhhhh.....
yeah.....there's a whole lot of guys in the NBA who were 5 ppg scorers in college..

One other quote from Booker stumps me...
"The 6-foot-8, 230-pound power forward is leaving Southern Illinois after two seasons mainly because he feels his type of game fits a different style from what he played with the Salukis.
"I had a great relationship with Coach (Chris) Lowery but what I realized after two years is that I didn't think I fit his style of play," said Booker."
http://iowastate.scout.com/2/978228.html

.....now wait a minute.....seriously???? SIU has had a slow-down, low scoring, defensively-oriented STYLE OF PLAY for more than a decade....
and it took Anthony Booker years and years - those years he was in high school and being recruited, and those two years he was at SIU --- probably FOUR full years - including TWO full years of actually playing in the system...
before he finally concluded that this style of play does not "fit" the "type of game" he has??

What the hey -- is this guy dense....??
He goes on to say that Coach Hoiberg at Iowa State
"said that they are going to play a more open and up tempo style of game and that is what I have come from throughout my entire playing career."
Amazing....so he sees himself as the type of player that would do best and flourish in an up-tempo and fast paced style, but he never noticed SIU plays 100% the opposite style and so he chose to go there anyway...figuring out after TWO full years of practices, sessions, games, and face to face meetings with the coaching staff, that maybe he didn't fit at SIU.
I don't know what's more incredulous...that he actually is saying this, or that he expects someone to buy it??

The other funny thing is a press statement that Hoiberg's time at Iowa State is so different thus far from McDermott's -- because McDermott's regime was characterized by tons of players wanting to transfer OUT - while Hoiberg's thus far is characterized by lots of players transferring IN!!
Booker also brags about how loyal he is - weeks after quitting at SIU and moving elsewhere. LOL!!

One thing the Iowa State fans are learning is that Anthony Booker tweets and is maybe just a little bit worse with his tweeting than any Bradley player ever was...
In between the foul and profane tweets, Booker says things like this...
"Is thanking god that It's official, I'm the newest member of the Iowa state basketball family...#cyclonenation here I come!!!!"
http://twitter.com/booker22/status/16412711068

but also these that I won't quote...and there's more...
http://twitter.com/booker22/status/16432336867
http://twitter.com/booker22/status/16441631625
http://twitter.com/booker22/status/16431120831



Many of you know about the semi-suggestive/obscene hand gesture that has become virtually the equivalent of the Wichita State Shockers' mascot...
http://espn.go.com/media/pg2/2006/0321/photo/667_350.jpg
http://image.minyanville.com/assets/FCK/Image/OBS/shocker.JPG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shocker_(hand_gesture)

Well now, someone has kinda got the ball rolling...wonder if the NCAA will allow this one when they won't allow the ones Bradley fans would love to have??
http://www.getpranks.com/images/items/big/shocker-big.jpg



Interesting discussion of some of the behind the scenes details of the recruiting of Manual HS's
Marvin Jordan...although I suspect we are not hearing all of the story from the Ball State side, since I suspect they are not able to talk freely.....
http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=15834



Some further discussion of Donivine Stewart and Bobo Drummond - looks like Bruce Weber isn't too interested...and a link to a column about Donivine by Dave Reynolds.
http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=15822



Yet another Canarias Basketball player is going D-I - and still only one out of roughly 25 of the CBA kids has ever had any trouble getting qualified by NCAA - guess which one...
http://www.cbacademy.org/index.asp?modulo=23&idioma=en#



Missouri State's Kyle Weems averaged 12.5 ppg in his four games in Poland as part of a touring squad.
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20100612/SPORTS040101/6120335/-1/BLOGS07/Weems++Williams+call+Poland+trip+a+success

A comment on Dinma still working out for some NBA teams..
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/jun/17/new-deal-waits-on-wallaces-signature/

Here is some video and a lot of video quotes from Tony Barone..
http://fanpeeps.com/-7Bsk

A comment about ISU recruit John Wilkins...he's presently in Europe and won't be on campus for a while..
http://www.pantagraph.com/app/blogs/main/?p=5172



As expected, Tom Crean is starting to unload the dead weight on his roster...
they were oversigned and had extended more scholarships than they had available so we knew someone was gonna go....

Sort of "Spring Creaning".....and this one was fully predictable well over a year ago....remember this kid only averaged 14 ppg and 7 rpg at a tiny high school in Alabama when he was a few years older already than everyone else...
and we're talking a high school that was about 200 enrollments - playing the kind of competition that a high school like Williamsfield plays here...
Then in his year at the prep school - he went scoreless in many games...couldn't even break into the starting lineup!!!

Now - Tom Crean, this morning, booted 7-foot center Bawa Muniru....so at least for now it appears Matt Roth is safe....
The IU folks had talked about Muniru like he was the next Hakeem Olajuwon - and the kid was a 4-Star recruit - but we all know how gaga those evaluators seem to go over every 7-ft African center who ends up panning out to be D-II material!



The NBA Summer League will start in about 3 weeks....it is possible there might be some Valley players on some of the rosters...but rosters won't be set until after the teams draft.
http://www.nba.com/2010/news/06/15/summer.league/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt2



As predicted - the NCAA is already softening USC's penalty even before the ink is dry on the document naming the sanctions!!
They have pushed the penalties back a FULL YEAR!!!
Watch for more of this as NCAA gradually lets USC off the hook and softens everything as the appeals and lawsuits go on...
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2010/06/usc-football-hawaii-season-opener-ncaa-investigation.html



Long, long after every other school has filled their coaching vacancies....Chicago State is still available....
It appears nobody wants to be head coach there. Of course all the corruption and sleaze that has gone on there has something to do with it - and also has a bit to do with why CSU was booted out of its own conference and is now such a horrible place to be.
Just in case you need more to know how bad a place Chicago State is ...they finished #343 among 343 D-I schools in the recent NCAA Academic data....dead last...
Chicago basketball writer Scott Powers says a new Chicago State head coach could be named as soon as today!!
"According to a source, Illinois State assistant coach Paris Parham, UIC assistant coach Tracy Dildy and Chicago State acting head coach Matthew Muhammad, an assistant under Taylor, have been among the candidates."
http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/colleges/post/_/id/553/chicago-state-coaching-search-will-end-shortly



A big contrast to the Chicago fans when the Sox won and recently when the Blackhawks won...there were no riots at all..
but Los Angeles had riots, cars burning, etc...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1287588/Riots-LA-streets-Lakers-WIN-NBA-basketball-championship.html?ito=feeds-newsxml



University of San Francisco slammed by NCAA penalties...keep in mind these were student athletes trying to BUY textbooks - the things people use to study...
they weren't getting money yet the NCAA still slams them...
NOTE *** this is a WORSE penalty than USC basketball got for paying OJ Mayo and other crimes!!!
http://ncaa.org/wps/portal/ncaahome?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/ncaa/ncaa/media+and+events/press+room/news+release+archive/2010/infractions/20100617+san+fran+summ+disp+rls



Lastly - the rumor mill gone wrong....
someone on the ISU board posted that some big announcement would be made soon...and before you know it other boards are now reporting that Illinois State could be leaving the Valley and headed to the MAC!! LOL!!
http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=440218

Some Obscure News Items related to BU

Here are some tidbits that in some way tie in to Bradley...or have interest to Valley fans...


Danny Granger's Indiana Pacers need help right away...they own the #10 pick in this year's NBA Draft, but are not likely to land anyone at that spot that is an immediate help...
So there's a deal in the works...
Denver - who don't have any picks owing to past trades, would like to deal for Indiana's #10 spot...and rumors have it that they are willing to peddle PG Tywon Lawson for the #10 pick.
(Lawson in his rookie year at Denver, had a nice year. 542 pts for an avg of 8.3 ppg & 3.1 assists per game in just 20 minutes per game & a nearly 3:1 A/T Ratio)
Denver is hoping a decent big man is still available at that #10 spot such as Patrick Patterson, Hassan Whiteside, Daniel Orton, or even Gordon Hayward..
http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/06/pacers-have-interest-in-ty-lawson-for-no-10-pick.php


Ex-BU recruit/commit Anthony Grundy is still enjoying a decent European career - and has changed teams...
He averaged 18 ppg with Carife Ferrara in Italy this past season, but at the end of the season he was dealt to a Venezuelan team and helped them to the Venezuelan title...
The Italian team gutted its roster in a rebuilding effort and jettisoned some high $$ contracts.
Here's a pic...
http://deportes.eluniversal.com/2010/05/31/lpb_art_marinos-sumo-a-grund_1920935.shtml


A little discussion on a couple of BU recruits - Bobo Drummond & Donivine Stewart...
http://www.bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=15822


Dodie Dunson's coach at Vincennes juco in 2007-2008 just got a promotion to Associate Head Coach at EKU...
http://www.ekusports.com//news/2010/6/15/MBBALL_0615100854.aspx?path=mbball


Ex-Chicago Farragut star Ronnie Fields, who never made it to the NBA but who became a CBA legend...
is also still playing professionally in Venezuela and is one of their best players and scoring leaders.
Also - we may soon see a documentary on him...
"Chicago filmmaker Thatcher Kamin is working on a documentary about Fields'
life as a high school star who never makes the NBA despite dominating the
CBA and other basketball leagues.
It is believed that Ronnie had a total of 372 dunks, 412 steals, 371 blocks,
350 assists and 500 rebounds in his high school career."

Fields is still friends with Kevin Garnett and keeps in touch.


Will Egolf's little brother bagged a big one in Alaska during the recent hunting season..
http://twitpic.com/1wmnf7


According to a Memphis Grizzlies blog Dinma Odiakosa was invited back to Memphis for another workout for the Griz staff...this is decent news for Dinma.
http://twitter.com/chitown007/status/16270430258


The Blazers worked out Osiris Eldridge yesterday -- no word on how it went..


Nets worked out UNI's Jordan Eglseder
http://newjerseynetsstore.co.cc/new-jersey-nets-working-out-jordan-eglseder-and-others/


Bluejays' Anthony Tolliver has gained a certain degree of internet fame with his getting posterized by Amare Stoudemire
http://phoenixsuns.veeclads.com/596/suns-tv/amare-stoudemire-destroys-anthony-tolliver.html


Anthony Parker press conference from last year in case you never caught it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5MsCLrz6Qs&feature=youtube_gdata
www.affiliatecrunch.com/anthony-parker-press-conference/topic114740.html


Patrick O'Bryant is all but gone from Toronto at the end of June when his current contract expires... likely his 4-year NBA career is over, as it is unlikely another team will pick up his contract - so he's probaby going to head to Europe.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/406258-wheels-in-motion-toronto-raptors-offseason-speculations-part-ii


New Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing had quite a reputation as a young assistant at Iowa a few years ago...as some internet databases still show.... ;)


NBA Exec compares Kentucky's DeMarcus Cousins to ex-Valley star Benoit Benjamin
http://twitter.com/goodmanonfox/status/16317550292

Not sure why but some celebrate the birthday of long-deceased rapper thugs as if there's a religion based on their words and deeds....
http://news.puggal.com/tupac-shakur-42697/


Last tidbits...
Just how bad do you need a mid-major football recruit...?
http://wvgazette.com/Sports/201006151041

Duhhhh..I didn't know a thing...
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/seahawks/2012126403_hawk16.html

A long but interesting piece on an obscure but great old college and NBA player..
http://deadspin.com/5564268/the-legend-of-black-superman-billy-ray-bates-flying-high-in-the-philippines

Mad scramble for conference realignment - so what's this all about and why is it happening now?

The news is filled with stories of Colorado and other Big 12 schools jumping to the Pac-10 and Nebraska jumping to the Big Ten, and other frenzied conference moves, along with the anguish of what might happen to those left behind.

But most of the stories won't say what's behind all this...
some people already know and some are talking about it...and pretty much this is all happening right now due to THREE factors...money, politics, current ecomony and the driection it's going...

I have read a lot of the opinions and done some digging.....and here's what I think. It's simply, it's plain, and it is understandable.

Obviously one of the factors is MONEY - and maybe the biggest factor overall. But the money has been a factor in college sports for decades, and there's been previously - no mad scramble like we're seeing. There's been a stability in conferences with very little change for decades. So of course I agree money is the issue, but let's pinpoint the other two reasons that explain why it's happening NOW and steamrolling!

College sports have come to be so much about money gradually, but it's the economy that has suddenly put the clamps on the budgets at universities and the available money has dried up quickly -- money to recruit, money to pay the top coaches, and money to use even under the table - and I think you know what I mean if you've been following the stories of scandals at USC and Kansas lately.

Fact # 1 is that almost ALL college athletic departments lose money and are NOT self-sufficient in funding. However - the programs that have big time football, big time football fans, and big time football boosters that give money - generally DO have the money and are not in any trouble - although many of the boosters give money to funds that are NOT used elsewhere in the university -- but only on sports.
Many football programs do generate the big time bucks. But the schools whose fans are mainly basketball fans just don't have that kind of money - are you listening, Kansas?

So - here's what has happened that brings these headlines of conference realignment to the front pages now...

--Political correctness, special interest groups, and pressure on legislators has caused a whole lot of schools to start up and promote sports that are HUGE money losers, especially women's sports. Let's face it - there just isn't a single women's sports program at any school that makes money, and virtually all are HUGE money drains -- and then indirectly those women's sports cause other men's sports to fail for lack of $$. Add to that - some schools cannot start up new men's programs that MIGHT make money (like FGCU is working on trying to get football started) or else, due to title IX, they'll also have to start more, new, money-losing women's programs to satisfy the Title IX requirements.

So all this crap over the past couple decades for the sake of political correctness has put the drain on schools' budgets and they're hanging by a thread in many cases.

--Then - along comes the budget woes....specifically the massive overspending by the governments both federal and state....now this only started within the past couple years...so with the massive overspending on giveaways, stimuluses (actually stimuli), and social garbage including the wasteful health care and jobs giveaways - there's suddenly no money left and sudden tight cutbacks are being issued towards the schools.
States are going broke - in case you haven't read the news....California is going first, but it'll be followed by most of the other states...
but even now the call is out to cut back on spending at schools.

Despite tuition hikes - schools are in trouble so their sports programs take the biggest past of the hit...
Don't buy it?? just read any newspaper, almost any day...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-05-25-tuition25_ST_N.htm
http://www.pbn.com/detail/50317.html
http://www.wsaw.com/news/headlines/95911394.html?ref=394

http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20100606/EDIT05/306069953/1147/EDIT07

The money that schools' athletic programs have been relying on that come from the taxpayer pockets - the money that many people keep trying to convince you doesn't exist - the money they are skimming away from the the citizens and students when they pay tuition...all that money is suddenly drying up and it just isn't there any more. Trust me - this is gonna hurt those public schools way worse, because this is money they have been sucking on for decades all the while denying they're taking it and claiming they are using their own "self-sufficient" funds!

So -- you have the sudden merger of bith increased burdens on athletic departments due to the political correctness crap, and the downturn in the economy so that some season ticket buyers are cutting back and well and booster support, then the recent government wasteful giveaways and the public funds have dried up...and bingo -- the schools MUST look for more revenue sources...
and the lure of the BIGGER EAST COAST, WEST COAST, and Big Ten (big city markets) dollars all of a sudden become very, very attractive to those programs who can make the jump -- which is mainly those programs with the BIG football fan base and appeal.

The whole conference realignment thing sadly - closely resembles the panic and frenzy that's seen when a massive throng of starving 3rd-World people is suddenly given food off the back of a humanitarian aid truck....


So, yes you can blame greed -- but the greed has always been there, the money has always been there...but the trigger that is making it all happen NOW as if something's about to fall off a cliff....is the liberal political correctness that caused so many athletic departments, even at big schools, to buckle under the ridiculous requirements to fund sports that are huge money losers, and then the sudden economic woes brought about by the enormously wasteful government spending that has sent the entire land into an economic downspin.
http://westernfarmpress.com/mag/farming_california_going_broke/

Keep in mind, most people are smarter, most people are frugal, and most have not spent wastefully - so most people can last a little longer without thinking of bankruptcy...
But most governments are out of money, and they've raped the taxpayers so much over the years there's virtually no place left to turn to get more money....
You can't turn to Europe, they're all going bankrupt as well. You can't hike the taxes much more, the people are literally beginning to revolt and those in government actually ARE fearful of the "Tea Party"-type anti-government voices, and the liberal government's lust to keep handing out money to perverts, criminals, lazy people, do-nothings, and many others who simply do not deserve the handouts, virtually guarantees the whole government situation isn't going to get better without a total overhaul of who is there in Washington, Springfield, etc...

But this is about college sports....and yet the sudden moves are all about what is happening behind the scenes....the money at most of the BIG public schools (take Nebraska for instance) is drying up...and those AD's like the Kansas guy who are drawing those $4 million salaries have to begin looking for more wealth and right now it's sitting in a few certain locations like the Big Ten and Pac-10.
The Big 12 - with local markets like Lawrence, KS & Manhattan, KS simply don't have the pull to call the shots any more......

How's this going to affect Bradley - well...a whole lot less than it might affect a few nearby public schools.
Bradley has a HUGE backing from fans and boosters and has never gotten itself drunk and addicted to public funds. Those schools who have and who do NOT have the means to get funded when the cutbacks arrive are going to be hurting...
Those few, constantly whiney fans who blubber at the possibility that maybe ONE Bradley game every year or two might be held on campus simply don't understand what's behind this. If the fans (like the ones griping) always want to just be on the take and demand they be served by the sports programs, then they are living in a dream world. The schools HAVE TO look at other options...every other option...that can help solidify their finances in the future.

Those who whined for years about BU not having an on-campus arena, now are the exact same whiney fans who are crying over the possibility that some of the games might actually be played there. It's kinda funny, really....what would they rather have, maybe the possibility that Bradley would have to drop other sports? Maybe the possibility that BU would have to raise ticket prices more? Or scale back to a D-II-level program??
Nope - if you want to prepare for the coming money crisis, then BU is doing the right thing...they are good at balancing the $$ without using public money and taxpayer dollars that are soon going to dry up, and they are already working on a plan to be more efficient in the future with the money.
The great donors who do give substantial support to Bradley are being treated very well........and that's why they are being given preferential treatment in many areas. People still just don't get it....if you call yourself a Bradley fan then give them support...don't just sit and complain.....the more you sit and complain, the more you both define yourself as NOT really being a Bradley fan and the more you get left out of the future plans at BU.

Boston Celtics beat LA Lakers to go up 3 games to 2...
chack some facts about Kevin Eastman here...
http://twitter.com/xb7

Valley News and More

First - get well wishes to Missouri State freshman Michael Porter...
Porter didn't play much of his first year at Missouri State due to injuries and should get a medical redshirt, but now he's facing the unfortunate prospect of missing playing time next year as well, although right now the more pressing issue is just for Porter to get well.

Late on Wednesday night, Porter was injured severely in a one-car accident in which he was ejected from the car. Early reports indicate he has suffered a severe hip injury.

"According to a Missouri Highway Patrol report, Porter was not wearing a seat belt when his car overturned at a sharp curve on a highway in Christian County, about 5 miles south of Rogersville. He was thrown from the vehicle.
The accident happened at about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Porter was taken to a Springfield hospital and underwent surgery on his hip.
MSU coach Cuonzo Martin told the News-Leader that it's "a true blessing that it was nothing more than his hip. There weren’t any broken arms, wrists, knee or any head injuries."
Martin said that Porter "has a long road of recovery ahead of him, but all things considered the doctors indicated he was very fortunate. I'm just thankful that he's going to be OK."

The 4-6 month timetable would mean he is unlikely to be back and able to play basketball until perhaps Christmas or so.


Also at Missouri State, freshman Jerome Jones is leaving and transferring elsewhere, likely due to playing time issues.
Jones came pretty highly touted and many people had buzzed about his athletic ability and some of his dunks.
In fact, after a 65 point scoring performance there were people saying this kid would have the ability to be a starter from the outset at MSU
http://www.bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=8623
http://www.bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=10793
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20100609/BLOGS0701/100609027/Jones-won-t-return-to-basketball-Bears


Also at Missouri State - the NCAA's new academic data shows some pretty poor numbers at MSU...they are being penalized with the loss of ONE basketball scholarship and 2.83 football scholarships.
http://web1.ncaa.org/maps/aprRelease.jsp

In general, most D-I schools made improvements but some were punished.
http://ncaa.org/wps/portal/ncaahome?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/ncaa/ncaa/media+and+events/press+room/news+release+archive/2010/academic+reform/20100609+apr+release

When all sports are looked at, Bradley is clearly superior in the Missouri Valley!
Bradley's numbers are best overall, and among the top 3 in basketball and a number of different teams scoring a perfect 1000....while on the major upswing in all sports -- something that simply cannot be said elsewhere as explained here...
http://www.bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=15793


Ex-Drake star and ex-MVC Player of the Year, Adam Emmenecker has retired after a couple years of pro basketball and will enter the business world...he was pretty banged up..
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100601/SPORTS05/6020352/Keeler-For-ex-Drake-star-Emmenecker-real-world-is-waiting&theme=KEELER

Here's Adam Emmenecker's blog...He's a Blackhawks fan!!!!!!!!!!
http://adamemmenecker.wordpress.com/


Jake Kelly left Iowa and transferred to Indiana State - stumping for immediate eligibility and getting it from NCAA. But he had a horribly unproductive year last year - taking a little while to adjust to what is maybe tougher defense in the MVC???
Then after struggling and not putting up all that impressive numbers - given that some had Jake as a 1st Team All Conference, and virtually everyone and their mother had him as Newcomer of the Year, while some said he'd be the Player of the Year!!

Then he hurt his knee and missed the rest of the season but played 12 games so he's not eligible for a redshirt - so in effect he wasted one of the only two years he had left!

NOW -- there's talk that his knee rehab is going very slow and that he might well (and even WILL per some sources) redshirt this entire coming year 2010-2011!!!
That means he isn't going to play until fall of 2011 if he can recover by then....
Hmmm...things clearly did NOT play out as most had thought or as Jake had planned.


Here's a funny post on the ISU message board -- I got a laugh out of it...
One guy posts a picture of a broken backboard and asks who did this??
http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/ac80/45otseoj/30108_1351225899272_1190100371_3106.jpg

The one of the very first responses is...
"Dinma practicing free throws?"....LOL!!


Osiris Eldridge due in court again Monday - probably alcohol related...
http://www.mcleancountyil.gov/circuitclerk/PA_App_Date.asp?case_person_id=1147223


Still not confirmed by ORU, but it is being reported that SIU's Anthony Booker will transfer to Oral Roberts.

Chasson Randle now getting interest from UCLA!!
http://qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=496780


FIRST World Cup match is complete and South Africa stuns Mexico -- almost beating them...
Mexico scores at 79 minutes to salvage a 1-1 tie.
Mexico is the 17th ranked team in the world per FIFA, while South Africa is ranked #83!!!
(USA is #14)
http://www.fifa.com/live/competitions/worldcup/matchday=1/day=1/match=300061454/index.html
http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=m/fullranking.html


Here's another laugh...a guy on the Saint Louis Billikens board
(a team that's a bad fit in their present conference but who wants to go to the MVC & the teams in the MVC really don't want them)...
and the guy is poking fun at Missouri because they are a team that's a bad fit in their present conference but who wants to go to another conference & the teams in that other conference really don't want them.....
So it's kinda like the pot calling the kettle black...



Lastly - touching on the Southern Cal penalties....everyone is saying they are severe...
but USC is down anyway and likely wouldn't have gotten to a major bowl this coming year anyway - they sure didn't last year when they went to something called the Emerald Bowl after a lousy season.
But these guys have cheated so blatantly for years - and the "investigation" (also known as whitewash) took more than 5 years and didn't bother to note those USC players driving around in luxury cars that don't belong to them and never made a tiny mention of the cash, gifts, and cheating that surrounded OJ Mayo - thus USC basketball is totally off the hook. What gives with that?? The evidence of cheating there is so overwhelming it's laughable!

As I said, watch USC get lawyers and appeal...then NCAA will back down like they did in the Oklahoma case and cut the penalties way, way back - thus in the end USC will get away with miniscule penalties. (also - only football was penalized - nothing applies to the basketball program or any other sport!)
If you recall they hit Oklahoma with hard penalties, then later reversed almost everything kinda quietly...
Georgia also got lots of their penalties overturned on appeal!
http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/sports/1244794575133970.xml&coll=2

Also - recall that many of these USC violations came while they were still on probation from their 2001 infractions....and yet the main penalty is just MORE probation! This is laughable -- that if you get caught cheating while on probation you get more probation - when you just proved it didn't work!!!
In the NCAA's release on their response they used the word "serious" almost endlessly - but let the entire basketball program totally off the hook.

NCAA's response on why no TV ban --
"It was not imposed here because we felt we fairly treated the penalties that were deserved by other means."

Report that USC's AD Mike Garrett is gone soon...
http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/delusional-usc-ad-gone-at-end-of-the-summer-28510

Just more proof, as if anyone needed any - that ANY woman who has a child with a man like this is CRAZY!!
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/people/news/article_1562529.php/Dennis-Rodman-allegedly-owes-more-than-300-000-in-child-support

Bruce Pearl priming himself to enter politics when he's done coaching??
http://www.volunteertv.com/home/headlines/96144929.html

And is there anyone out there with a brain who'd let your 16-year old daughter try to sail around the world totally on her own and unaccompanied??
These parents are very lucky but not smart...
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hho9HeUIufE-e94A4h33vE8jokfw

It's a dead heat - the two stupidest stories of the day!

Story # 1 is really two stories....and maybe even a third story in that the major networks actually showed this crap, likely prompting other stupid people to copy this behavior....

-first, here was the beer guzzling two year old at the Philadelphia Phillies game. Sure, if caught, the parents will claim the bottle was empty or had lemonade, but I don't believe them -and it's still an amazingly stupid thing to do. You gotta wonder just what other really stupid things this family lets this kid do...
http://www.620wtmj.com/shows/johnjagler/95844344.html

But within a day was this story...the two year old that's smoking cigarettes. And not just smoking a cigarete, but apparently an addicted 2-pack a day smoker who is being supplied these things by the family. This one takes the cake, and probably by itself ranks right up there with the stupidest things I have ever heard. If this kid gets lung cancer, he has every right to sue the hell out of his family!
http://www.break.com/index/two-year-old-toddler-smokes-cigarettes.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?entry_id=64498&tsp=1


But story #2, I think, entails far, far MORE stupidity...because this one shows how not just hundreds, not just thousands, but even MILLIONS of people can demonstrate the same degree of remarkable stupidity all at the same time, all while claiming to be well informed and doing exactly what they want to do in a well thought out manner!!!

Have you seen this story....as if we haven't heard other similar stories here in Illinois...
That the voters in the South Carolina Democratic primary election voted sufficiently for a guy who is currently facing a felony charge, that the guy won the primary election for the United States Senate!!
Seriously, the Democratic voters in South Carolina selected a guy who is horrible candidate that now nobody wants on the ticket!!!
I guess it doesn't surprise me that jerks can get a petition and get on the ballot, but the relatively surprising thing and truly stupid thing it that hundreds of thousands of voters, who have absolutely NO INKLING of who the man is or what he stands for, they voted for him anyway!!
Even long career politicians are at a total loss to explain this phenomenon and are surprised by it!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/09/AR2010060905512.html

So, now the Democrats have a real dilemma...but it just happened a few months ago here in Illinois when Scott Lee Cohen won the Democratic Primary election for Lieutenant Governor/2010.
Again, the guy got a LOT of votes, enough to win in a huge state like Illinois, and no sooner had the guy won, then everyone says this is a horrible mistake and all the voters admit they really didn't know about him and now they regretted voting for him.
As with all these candidates, even his own fellow Democrats turned on him viciously and forced him out, and they're now planning the same approach in South Carolina.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/04/scott-lee-cohen-divorce-p_n_450282.html

In case you still think this kind of stupidity is rare, check this...
Flash back to the Democratic primary election in Illinois in 1986 when two totally unknown, unqualified fringe candidates won the Democratic primaries just because they had nice sounding names...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaRouche_movement

Janice Hart won the Illinois Democratic primary for Secretary of State and Peoria Central grad, Mark Fairchild won the Lieutenant Gov spot on the Democratic ticket!
This caused chaos as the Democratic Governor candidate Adlai Stevenson III had to step OFF the Democratic ballot and run as an Independent because Fairchild wouldn't step down..
They were Larouchies, subversives who hate everyone associated with America -- and really far out loonies who had simply gone through the channels to get their names on the primary ballot, but didn't even bother to campaign or get their names or messages out there.
And yet they WON!!!!!!

This shows how shallow many voters are...and in case you missed it and I have to point it out to you....there's something else all these candidates had in common...
Let me recap a few things they all shared...

--they were all very bad candidates and if anyone had known the least thing about them, they wouldn't have voted for them

--these guys had nice sounding, middle-American names...Fairchild, Hart, Cohen, Greene...

--they got onto the ballot but nobody expected them to be taken seriously and thought nobody would vote for them

--yet they won the elections when people in droves clearly gave their votes to a candidate that they obviously didn't know a thing about and who they never would have voted for had they done the least tiny bit of checking

In other words...large numbers of these voters simply made a horrible mistake at the polls, making a mockery out of the TREMENDOUS blessing and gift of being able to vote to select their leaders.

After each one of these elections, voters by the thousands admitted their mistakes and stupidity and basically said "I didn't know, I thought those names sounded nice".

Hmmm..so they used as their single main criteria, that the names sounded nice??
How shallow and how stupid...but see if you can figure out just what segment of the voting population really seems to have defined itself and the stupidest...since, as I noted, all those stealth candidates who won shared yet one more feature...

So, time and time again here are examples of how a candidate wins who has absolutely NO credentials...and who is such an incredibly BAD candidate that even most of the people who voted for him say later they were fooled by the nice sounding name and ended up voting for guy who wasn't really what they wanted!!

Make what you want of it, but I at least know who it is I am voting for...
I would NEVER give a single vote to a candidate that I didn't know FOR sure who he was and what he stood for...
I have to wonder if these same millions of stupid people would also close their eyes and eat human waste because they didn't know what it was...
or maybe they'd let their daughters go out on dates with Joran van der Sloot because they didn't bother to ask about him....or maybe these same people would go right out and invest their money with Bernie Madoff because they liked the sound of his name (that's really funny!)...

Oh well....there's enough stupidness every day to write a blog about it...but today I just had to include these two stories.....they really win the World Cup of Stupidity.



Lastly - a BIG shout out and CONGRATULATIONS to NEW Bradley assistant coach Willie Scott.......now, someone please see if he'd answer this question...
"What ever became of your old friend and teammate David Thirdkill??"