Welcome Coach Ford & Thanks KSU

Nice to meet & greet with Coach Ford....now hit the ground running, and get it done... and hopefully we'll have little outside distractions or interference.

Actually, we may just have some such distractions as a reason why we have Geno Ford....seems there was something beneath the surface at Kent State that may have helped Geno Ford look to Bradley.

Read this...it's all based on comments and factual events...and much of it is what the Kent State Athletic Director himself says that may be a bit that helps clarify some of the other facts...

Just this morning an article appears in the local press at Kent State making it sound like the current AD there is a bit miffed and bothered that Ford left so "suddenly" or that he even wanted to leave at all and not give Kent State the chance to negotiate and keep him there.

Read the comments and you decide.......

Geno Ford was not brought to Kent State by the current AD..but was hired by former AD Laing Kennedy..in April of 2008 to replace Jim Christian who had just been hired away from Kent State and Christian went to TCU to be their head basketball coach.

In his first year at Kent State, 2008-2009, Geno went 19-15, then 24-10 the next year - pretty worthy of praise I'd say -- and the guy who hired him, Laing Kennedy was more than happy and had lots of great things to say about Geno.....but just try to find some praise coming from the current administration or AD -- it's pretty non-existent...

Then, after being Geno's boss for two years, the Kent State AD Laing Kennedy, in the spring of 2010 - almost precisely ONE year ago...Laing Kennedy said he was going to step down and retire. But before he did -- he happily and PROUDLY negotiated a two year contract extension for Geno Ford that took his original contract that was through 2013 and extended it all the way out to 2015 - at a considerably boosted salary of approx $300K per year. It was obvious Laing knew how to treat and keep Geno who was otherwise, at that time, being named as possible successor (in 2010) to the head coaching spot at Marshall.

Then -- Kennedy retired after 16 years as AD and Joel Nielsen was hired as the NEW Athletic Director at Kent State in March of 2010 - taking over active full time duty in June of 2010 -- just less than one year ago.
At that time...Nielsen left his position at South Dakota State to take the spot at Kent State...but was not that familiar or close to Geno Ford.

Basketball had been Kent State's most successful sport -- and the local writers knew that and sounded off loudly that Kent State basketball needed to be KEPT as the premier sport!! They needed the new AD to come out strongly and support the basketball program.
This writer even points out that Kent State is the butt of jokes except for the basketball program!!
Basketball, he argues, needs to be "the face of the institution"!
http://is.gd/YVatFr

And, at that very time....Kent State football had been mediocre for years...with the previous several seasons being...
0-11, 2-9, 1-10, 6-5, 3-8, 5-7, 5-6, 1-10, 6-6, 3-9, 4-8, 5-7...
Only ONE winning season (6-5) since 1987 and only TWO winning seasons since 1977!!
Seriously -- look at those W-L records -- Kent State football was the pits!

But what was the very first proclamation made by new AD Nielsen???
"Football is going to be a priority,” the Golden Flashes’ new athletic director insisted"
http://is.gd/CdwkUZ

I suspect initially Geno Ford had no problem with that -- maybe a little worry - but a strong football program couldn't hurt his basketball program. However, gradually Geno began to feel like basketball was Kent State football's poor sister....

Gradually these kinds of comments came out...
"The message was clear and concise. If any coaches of other sports had needs or problems that required Nielsen’s attention, they would just have to wait a little while for help. For now, the department’s focus was firmly set on turning around a football program"

Keep in mind -- Geno Ford turned Kent State right back in the right direction and won 24 games in 2010-2011...also winning the MAC Coach of the Year again for the 2nd consecutive year!!
...And just maybe he was thinking his basketball program shouldn't be treated like a pot on the back burner...

Although Ford was very gracious in thanking his institution and staff for the opportunity to coach at KSU -- I simply cannot find even one public comment made by Joel Nielsen about Geno Ford's great season and post-season awards!

Then Nielsen went out and spent tons hiring a new football coach and making more football promises right in the middle of the basketball season...
Kent State's commitment to football over basketball can be seen here where the AD seems to drool all over about the new football coach who starts at Kent State with a salary and contract that's likely better than what Ford sees his as...
http://is.gd/iiXO9Y

Then, late last week....Geno Ford went to his Athletic Director and asked for and received permission to speak with other universities..clearly he was thinking it might just be time to get out....
This was reported late Friday and the very first mention in or anywhere around Peoria was on the BradleyFans message board...right here...
http://is.gd/2klwaU

Note in that recordpub.com article ....the Athletic Director at Kent State chose NOT to speak at to the press and instead designated a spokesperson, an underling.....to say that Ford was indeed talking to other schools -- and the suggestion was that those schools were Bradley and Fresno State, and perhaps Dayton if Brian Gregory was leaving.

The article also chooses to bring this up about why Geno Ford might be inclined to look at his spot at Kent State and think of leaving...
"For years, KSU has talked about building a similar
practice facility for the Golden Flashes. But with
expected budget cuts in the coming year, there is no
reason to expect those hopes of becoming a reality
anytime soon."

...all while the AD was trumpeting his priorities and talking only about their miserable football program! If I were in Geno's shoes after what he had done in three seasons at Kent State -- I'd have been a little miffed and insulted.

Then between Saturday and Sunday....Ford spoke with people (reportedly) at both Fresno and Bradley then flew to Bradley to accept the position as new head coach at BU...

Obviously this was a whirlwind...but in order for it to happen, I strongly suspect Ford had to move fast...and in the interval...clearly he CLEARLY DID speak with his Athletic Director and told him what was going on....it says so in the article below...

But then the AD Joel Nielsen says this after the obvious hits him in the face, that his facilities and his salary/contract offer isn't even in the same galaxy as what Bradley is offering...
"Joel Nielsen found out he had lost his men’s basketball coach Sunday night via the Bradley University website.

The Kent State Athletics director said in a press conference Monday afternoon he never had a chance to counter-offer ..

“My final conversation with coach Ford was around 5:30 (Sunday) afternoon,”
The surprise at the announcement left Nielsen unable to offer a counter to Bradley’s proposal, which has been rumored to be around double Ford’s $300,000 salary at Kent State.
“We would have liked the opportunity to sit down with Geno and talk further about what we could do at Kent State,” he said. “We had every intention this week to sit down...."

So this sounds like he had "intentions" of sitting down and talking with Geno about sweetening the pot but it never got done....maybe he was just too busy working on football things?? Maybe Geno wondered if it was ever going to get done.

Maybe Geno realized his sport was being pushed to the back burner despite his success and popularity!

If you do a search for any kind of info on Geno Ford & Joel Nielsen -- you don't find much....which I find quite interesting....after a fine, banner year -- not ONE public comment anywhere in the press, on the Kent State web site, not in blogs or anywhere -- not one comment by Nielsen about Geno's fine accomplishments or any open congratulations!
I think it's obvious that KSU's new AD had little if any respect for or appreciation of all of Geno's accomplishments and performance.

Instead....Nielsen says publicly that he thinks he's shown enough commitment simply by citing the new contract negotiated more than a year earlier by his predecessor Laing Kennedy..
"“We are confident we showed our commitment to coach (Geno) Ford when we (renegotiated) his contract at the end of last season,” Nielsen said."

Hmmm..that sure doesn't sound like much of a current commitment -- in fact it sounds kinda cold and rude -- saying he will offer no current positive words or tone - just that what was said a year ago ought to be enough!! And remember, it really wasn't even Nielsen who said that a year ago it was the now retired, long time previous AD Kennedy!!

The writer of the 2nd article linked below says this...
"Ford’s contract does not give him the opportunity to add years based on his performance. So, while Christian would have been automatically extended by one year after leading his team to a Mid-American Conference title, Ford’s deal is still set to expire in 2014-15.

Typically, a coach does not lose a year off of his contract after hanging a banner...
But Kent State could go a long way in strengthening its commitment to Ford by adding a year to his current deal. Ford probably shouldn’t lose a year from his contract after everything his team accomplished in 2010-11."

So -- others definitely noticed that the time was right to focus on Geno Ford, to applaud him for his accomplishments at Kent State and to REWARD him with both WORDS and DEEDS....but Nielsen obviously just brushed it all of....

It looks like the AD's promise to talk down the road was just a bit too little, too late, and showed waning interest in the basketball program...it had to be a factor influencing Ford.

http://is.gd/c14yqW
http://is.gd/o3WIJR


Then check this....
Geno Ford's comment at BU was...
"I am excited about the support for our program and the resources we have to achieve at the highest levels,” Ford said. “The investments made in our program will give us a chance to achieve our maximum potential.”"

Kinda sounds like he was not happy with the lack of commitment at KSU and was making the distinct point that with no football at Bradley and with the kind of fan support Bradley gets from it's core group of fans, that this decision was apparently a no-brainer.
So even tho a couple other candidates did not see the BU spot as a good fit...Geno did...and in part we have the Kent State AD to thank for it....
http://tinyurl.com/69578m3

Congrats to Geno Ford and some contradictory words on the hiring...

Congrats to Geno Ford - new head coach at Bradley!!

But some of the wording in Dr. Cross' comments is intriguing...
and there are those who claim that since he said it -- then it must be 100% undebatably true that he offered the job only to Geno Ford.

Well, I guess if every single thing Dr. Cross says is always 100% certifiably precise and accurate...then you'd have a very hard time with this one.........so take it and run with it --
but prefer to use common sense...I have no problem with what Dr. Cross is saying -- after all half his job is PR and "damage control"...

but if you are going to be a stickler and swear everything he says is guaranteed true and accurate, then you have blown your own credibility...

Note that on 3/16 Dr. Cross said this in the PJ Star...
" Bradley athletics director Michael Cross,
through sports information director Bobby Parker,
would not confirm whether anyone had yet
interviewed for the position that opened March 6
with the firing of Jim Les.
“Dr. Cross won’t have any comment on the search
process until a coach has been hired,” Parker said."

and then...

on March 24 -- well before a coach had been hired...and to defry angst about several candidates turning Bradley down...
Dr. Cross had a WHOLE BUNCH to say "on the search process".........and said this...

"There is nothing abnormal about our coaching
search timeline,” Cross said. “Twenty-six Division I
schools are currently searching for a new men’s
basketball coach and I am sure we are all operating
under different parameters.”

Cross said the search has gone as he thought it
might so far.

“My focus is to find the best basketball coach for
Bradley University and there have been no surprises
thus far in that quest,” he said. “There are a lot of
people with a tremendous amount of interest in being
the head coach at Bradley.

“The challenge is to find the right fit to lead our
program where we all want it to go. I have every
confidence we will find a great coach to lead the
Bradley basketball program.”

Cross said he felt no more urgency now than he did
when the search started 19 days ago.

“As I said from the beginning, we will be quick, but
we will not hurry,” he said. “In that regard, the
search has not changed for me. We will find a great
coach for Bradley basketball in the very near future.”

Is he concerned about not having a coach in place
by Final Four weekend (March 31-April 4) because of
how that event can effect the coaching marketplace?

“There are a lot of factors that affect the SEARCH PROCESS
and many attractive candidates are involved
with programs that play deep into March,” he said.
“That often makes the ability to talk to certain
coaches difficult, but it is not unexpected."

http://is.gd/xZfgcV


So, anyone blindly swearing allegiance to every word being said is going to have a hard time with this one and will have to concede -- it's all just PR...
the words have to be looked at in the context of what they're trying to achieve.
Even the mention on Ford being "the only one" was a little odd...as he didn't need to mention it...everyone is already on board and supporting Ford..
but it's obviously a stab at the press and reports he thinks were inaccurate...
recall numerous reports that have since been disproven and discredited and some even retracted (see 3/26 blog entry in this blog)!


Hopefully everyone will support Geno Ford and give him his due -- even if he fails to win an NCAA game in his first couple seasons...Bradley fans are not always so generous and some quite illogical.

Congrats to Max and Clearing Up Some Misconceptions

I have enjoyed watching Max Bielfeldt play basketball since he was a freshman. I think I can easily say what I like best about watching him play -- his level of effort. He's not always the tallest guy out there, nor can he jump highest, or shoot with the most accuracy...but exceedingly rare was the game where Max failed to score 20 and grab 10 rebounds.
He worked as hard as anyone I have seen at the high school level, and despite some opinions he DOES have the talent to go with that effort.
In Max' freshman and sophomore seasons at Notre Dame few if any ever said he'd be playing in college. But by Max' junior year the comments about whether he'd play in college started and have never stopped. The prevailing opinion has always been that he was a low level college player. He'd never get a D-I offer or never play at D-I.
Well, Max has proved most of those claims wrong and now he's about to head to Michigan and prove the rest of them wrong.
Congratulations to Max -- I will become a Michigan fan now....



Misconceptions might be just a kind way to say mistakes...even some bad mistakes and dumb mistakes...that have been made since the firing of Bradley head coach Jim Les. In yesterday's blog entry I detailed the things that have happened..and yet there are strangely some who doubt and deny every report....but then those same people turn right around and lap up everything said by the local press as if that means it came from their own Wikipedia entry (which of course in their minds is proof positive of veracity).

Let me give just a handful of examples, but some are downright laughable.
Just yesterday the very first confirmation was made that Scott Sutton was interviewed. This confirmation was made in the form of a message board post on BradleyFans citing a source named SportsbyBrooks, and claiming that Scott Sutton had indeed interviewed and turned down an offer of $725,000.
Honestly, I don't know for 100% that this is true, but that goes for everything on message boards -- virtually NOTHING is verifiable to a 100% degree of certainty.
But then...it is just a report and it is left for the reader or fan to decide if he wants to believe it or not.

Well..as is generally the case with anything said on a message board -- a few people filter out of the woodwork - many who are new names or people who rarely post except to complain or call someone else a liar...
and the attacks began....even some rants that sounded like crazed Wisconsin union workers!!!
I have no problem with that either -- believe what you want, but then those same people turn to the Peoria Journal Star as gospel and get riled up to the nth degree if anyone dares claim the PJ Star is in error.

Well -- it just doesn't get any funnier than this...guess what shows up on the front page of today's Peoria Journal Star Sports Section?
If you wanted to design the biggest Jay-Leno-type laughs, you'd design a column where the PJ Star says exactly what the "disputed" message board post said and then the PJ Star uses SportsbyBrooks to back it up!

Ha, ha and that's precisely what has happened.
The PJ Star states...
"on Friday, a sports website, SportsbyBrooks, reported..."
then the column goes into the detail of how Scott Sutton was indeed interviewed for the Bradley position, and he turned it down..then they cite SportsbyBrooks to even say that now, since Missouri has also declined to interview or hire Sutton, that he may be interested in the BU position once again!
I won't hold my breath to see those who ranted and wailed about the use of SportsbyBrooks on the message board -- in hopes of seeing those same people stay consistent and take the local paper to task....nope --

But let's take a look at just a few more of the things that have been reported various places, even in the local press and by so-called experts that have since been undeniably refuted, and in most cases even RETRACTED...

-an entry on BradleyFans.com by one poster on 3/18 claimed that Bradley had interviewed Ray Giacoletti for the head coaching position.
Recall that Giacoletti, a Gonzaga assistant, still had team priorities as Gonzaga was still playing...and immediately after that claim was made -- it was refuted by a knowledgeable person who pointed out how silly it would be for Giacoletti to take time away from coaching his team in the NCAA to interview at BU...so as they always do -- the false-rumor spreaders even enhanced their rumor to claim that Bradley personnel travelled to Denver to interview Giacoletti.
WELL - now we have word right from Giacoletti himself - who at one time said he was interested in the job, but who is quoted this morning as saying..
"That's totally false, I have had not one conversation with anybody from Bradley."

Now watch those guy take off with the "not one conversation" comment and claim well...that's because it was two conversations or was by e mail....will it never end??

-It was also reported locally in Peoria that Taylor Brown was fully released medically..and someone went with this on the message board. But in fact, this is NOT true....he has received some positive news from doctors, but he is not yet released to play -- and this was so wrong that Bobby Parker even came on to the message board to correct this one.

-Then there was the local newspaper report that Bradley had OFFERED Max Bielfeldt which was a pretty odd report given that at the time BU supposedly offered they didn't even have a head coach. Later a report retracted that claim and tried to clear it up.

-There were a few reports that Dan Monson was interviewed...but he was NOT interviewed and he said so himself. Monson said NO to the Bradley head coaching position flatly and didn't want to even bother with an interview. There are some pretty strong reasons why Monson turned the position down so powerfully and we can get into it later -- but it's what a lot of people seem to not want to hear ---

-Then there have been conflicting and erroneous reports of what the salary will be that Bradley is offering....some reports said $250-400K, some higher, some in the $500K range, and now we are seeing reports in the $700-$725K range...
Can all these reports be true?? Or is it just possible some are just fabricated and the rest represent poorly done homework.

-then there's the report that Bradley had so many candidates that wanted the job so terribly badly that it would only be a heartbeat before we had a new coach in place at Bradley.
This wasn't supposed to take long at all. This IS a great job and barring any other complications, then for what they are offering (if it's in the $500-700K range -- then top candidates ought to be banging down the doors to get this position. Instead, candidates seem to be fleeing and turning down the position as if it required working in a leper colony! Gotta wonder why -- could a few of the reports that fit this scenario actually be true?? Could there be some problem that top coaches and candidates see that some Bradley fans either can't see or do see and are unwilling to acknowledge? And what's behind their unwillingness to acknowledge?? Is it the fear -- the spine chilling fear that they might have to agree with those who have said all along that Jim Les deserved at least another year and that those who wanted him out with a vengeance and at ANY COST may have created the very environment and situation where we are paying the cost that was not fully considered....and that it will indeed BE very hard to get a top replacement for head coach now....stuff that cannot be undone are the complicating factors!
You decide........but you sure won't know what's going on reading the local media reports given that so many have been wrong and since retracted.



Lastly here's a couple examples of what other sports writers are saying about Bradley
http://twitter.com/Tom101010/status/51637779985219584

http://www.csnchicago.com/03/21/11/Kaplan-Predictions-for-Sweet-16-games/kapman_article.html?blockID=445594&feedID=661

Sam Maniscalco

I won't bore you but I wanted to say a few things about Sam...
I will be one of the most unhappy that he is leaving and will not play his final season at Bradley. I have known Sam and his family for four years, and have come to respect them all as fine individuals and Sammy as a great player whose value to the team goes way beyond X's and O's and ppg.

First - let me start with Carl Maniscalco and Sammy's mom Coyla...
you can tell they did a fine job raising Sammy in the few minutes it takes to meet and see how polite and generous Sammy is. But talking further...Carl is a self-made, successful man who gives enormous amounts of his time to youth sports and coaching kids -- and enjoys every minute of it. Sammy's mom is kinda quiet when I have talked with her but I'll bet she's not always that way -- and she seems personable and travels everywhere to follow and support her son.
There is no doubt that Sam's really strong work habits, study habits & good grades, and his personality that leaves you knowing he will always be successful wherever he goes...are products of a very fine family and upbringing.
Hey--- if we didn't already have a lot of kids I'd look for a way to adopt Sammy myself!!

Sammy has overcome injury and a certain amount of criticism and given Bradley four fine years -- even though one year cwas cut severely short due to the surgery. Get back to me in a year and I'll bet we'll be talking about how much his contributions next season at Illinois were surprisingly more than many thought and how it would have helped Bradley a ton!

Anyway -- I have nothing but the highest admiration, respect, and enjoyment in knowing and rooting for Sam and his family. I know the full truth to the situation will likely never be known by most and thus some will judge on inadequate data and misjudge because they don't know or can't see.
If you give me just one big man then I would take 10 Sam Maniscalcos and I am convinced I would beat you most of the time no matter who you have. Sammy has been part of an awful lot of wins and great games at Bradley. I hope he has a great year next year. Already my friends who are Illini fans who know much at all about Sam are asking if I want a thank-you card because they are so ecstatic to have him in their current situation. They know they got a super steal!

God Bless you Sam & family....you will be missed severely - and I hope you know that -- you'd better stop by in Peoria sometime down the road and say hi!!

Speaking of lawsuits -- blogging & tweeting just got more dangerous...

"Blogger must pay $60,000..."
http://www.startribune.com/local/117805398.html

and even tweeters are getting sued.......
http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2011/03/15/nba-referee-sues-writer-twitter-post/

Insanity masquerading as a lawsuit...

This lawsuit is being pursued by non-qualifiers who were then forced to go to junior college to become eligible then to go to Division I schools and be on scholarship...

They claim the NCAA determination of who is "qualified" and who is a "non-qualifer" is arbitrary and unfair...and it is especially unfair to minorities....
even though nothing at all in the wording of any rule in NCAA that determines qualifying is in any way specifically dealing with race or ethnicity!!

They claim NCAA disqualifies certain kids from being eligible to go straight from high school to D-I and play and be on scholarship..

http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/03/15/34936.htm

But note this...
"Many student-athletes rely on athletic-based financial aid to get a college
education, including "a disproportionate number ... [who] are from
communities of color or who grew up in an at-risk environment.."

In the end we actually see that the real motivation for this (read at the bottom of that link) is that some people think that by
requiring a kid to GET decent grades, you are a RACIST and since a disproportionate number of kids who are non-qualifiers are minorities...
It isn't just enough for them to claim NCAA is racist -- and to stop this policy -- they, of course, want some money paid to them as a settlement!!

Of course they don't point out that in the big time sports such as football & basketball -- a HUGE and disproportionate percentage of the kids who DO play, who do succeed, and who do move on the professional sports ARE also minorities....
is this lawsuit gonna correct that "imbalance"???

Waiting for info on our new coach, and more on Sammy, Remy, and other MVC & Illinois news...

I am still not 100% satisfied with the explanations we have heard and am still unhappy the way the firing of Coach Les went down.
Of course I am still a lifelong Bradley fan and anxiously awaiting the hiring of the new Bradley basketball coach.
we have chance to hit a home run -- and a similar chance to whiff ...so let's hope we get the job done right.
Obviously I am not alone in feeling that the firing was done poorly, as the University is apologizing a bunch -- but someone there has little regards for how badly this all looked in the press and among some of the Braves' boosters.

Here's the guy at the extreme top who may want to know how people feel.

Mr. Michel A. McCord, Chairman
Chairman - Bradley University Board of Trustees
c/o Illinois Mutual Life Insurance Company
300 SW Adams
Peoria, IL 61634

Mr. McCord is the new Chairman as the previous Chairman, Gerald Shaheen is no longer Chairman. Shaheen was the one who brought in and hired Dr. Glasser -- but recall that the campaign and the raising of the funds that largely built the new practice facilities and the Renaissance Arena were spearheaded before that and Jim Les is largely to be credited.



A nice premium story on the Illinois Rivals site went into detail about Sammy Maniscalco and his getting the release from Bradley.
Sources at both Bradley and with the Maniscalcos are quoted...here are just a few short blurbs...
"Maniscalco's statement on his release....."I am very thankful Dr. Cross has granted my request to speak with other institutions as I pursue my post-graduate options. Bradley University is a wonderful place and I've had an amazing four years here, but I have the opportunity to explore other options as a graduate student. I simply want the chance to gather as much information as possible, talk with my family, and make the best possible decision for my future."
http://is.gd/FuIWHp

Meanwhile Illinois opens the NCAA Tourney against ex-Illini coach Lon Kruger and UNLV.



You prob saw this..
http://is.gd/HzheMe

Obviously Remy Abell is blowing up big time...and we may lose him because of the way things were bumbled.
then this...
"My opinion: He's MUCH better than .....Eastern's Remy Abell hasnt asked for release from Bradley right now"
http://is.gd/uBd1pV

Also -- as I predicted, Butler knows they missed big time by not offering Remy...
and now they want Remy bad -- they now see they missed the best kid on that team...
http://is.gd/XHghVu
http://is.gd/f8XjSH



One of the BEST NIT matchups is Wichita State getting to HOST Nebraska!
Nebraska will be Big Ten next year and this is a home date for the Shockers who would love to play BCS schools like this but the big boys won't bite!

Creighton is hosting San Jose State -- an easily winnable game for them



Here's an interesting connection between Coach Jim Molinari at WIU and Bradley.
One of WIU's top incoming recruits, Obi Emegane, is from Edmond, Oklahoma Memorial HS -- the same high school Bradley's redshirt freshman Andrew Davis was form.
Obi's Edmond Memorial squad just won the Oklahoma 6A State Championship!!
http://is.gd/eNVZJN

Speaking of Andrew Davis, he was nowhere and apparently did not accompany the team in St. Louis.



Is it any surprise that this year the NCAA selection Committee gave out a few more at large bids to mid-majors, and presto -- everyone who's a BCS defender is ripped and criticizing!



Breaking news -- Oklahoma's Jeff Capel -- just fired....
Same with Loyola's Jim Whitesell...
Continued rumbles that Bruce Pearl will be out as soon as Tennessee's season ends.



Here's an interesting link -- use it next time someone says the athletic departments are self sufficient and don't run off student fees, tuition, and taxpayer revenue...
only a few big time BCS schools are self sufficient.
Note...these are just the BCS and FBS schools..so a lot of smaller schools are not listed but they draw even MORE of taxpayer money, except the private schools.
http://is.gd/VpfR2o

Note, for example, that UNLV gets nearly $20 million directly from "University subsidy" -- which is just taxpayer money funneled through the school's general fund into Athletics!
NIU gets over $4.3 million in state university funds PLUS over $8.3 million in "student fees" - meaning they take money directly from what students pay in tuition -- and most of those students have no clue that even if they couldn't care less about sports, lots of their tuition payments are funneled to Athletics!

Note Rutgers takes $18.4 million in state money plus $8.4 million more in tuition funds and with all that money they still suck big time, and the state of New Jersey is going under!!



Latest rumble on coaching changes....with Arkansas firing John Pelphrey they will go hard after Missouri's Mike Anderson or Minnesota's Tubby Smith..

also some rumors of who may leave the Illini team to open some scholarships...Bertrand?? Griffey?? Head??
If Illinois gets bounced really early and if they take in - say a juco PG -- then could Sammy see the writing and avoid UIUC like a plague??



Anyone wonder how Anthony Davis did in the IHSA State Tourney?? Recall Davis is ranked by many as the top player in America...
Shouldn't his team have done some butt kicking in the State Tourney against all those teams laded with kids who'll never play ball beyond high school?
Davis' Chicago Perspectives squad got whalloped in their own regional by Chicago King, 63-48. King then got clobbered by Chicago Hope, who in turn got beat by Chicago Lindblom.
Lindblom faces Chicago Brooks Tuesday and doesn't have a whole lot of hope to beat the 27-3 Brooks squad.
In his loss to King -- Davis filled the stat sheet -- 30 pts, 19 rebounds -- but you wonder how he'd have done if he wasn't playing every minute and taking every shot on his woeful team.

You have to admire Davis' loyalty in sticking with his team...as it was said...
"The decision (not to transfer and play at a bigger or better school) cost Davis a chance at experiencing a winning season and competing for a state title. It cost him winning ESPNChicago.com’s and the Chicago Sun-Times’ player of the year honors. It’ll probably cost him Illinois’ Mr. Basketball, too."



Hmmm..noted an interesting surge of referral traffic coming from a particular page on the PJ Star board...
it never ceases to amaze me that people can find such simple words to be so hard to under stand...
Like when I give a link to a private blog on the IU Hoosier site and say that it is private, yet the PJS reader thinks I am talking about the BUBravesBlogger blog being private.
And I made a little joke about all the players on Tennessee all wearing their gangsta-style headbands...and one guy wants to argue that Tennessee is an adidas school so somehow that means something....
Oh well ...thanks for the referral anyway....maybe some day if traffic is high enough I'll cash in and sell advertising space like most other boards and sites do.



Speaking of the PJ Star...looks like the exodus is beginning -- now that some there are eligible for a buyout -- they are taking it and running -- a couple of long time writers are leaving...
Is this like the Coaching Carousel -- and will there be more??
http://is.gd/RCXZ2i

Season's Over...

Our season's over -- as is the season of most conference bottom dwellers after getting bounced from their conference tournies...

And I am anxiously awaiting news on the coaching search...here's a few things I hear...
-lots of good candidates are interested - some are busy with teams still playing but if they look like good enough options for BU then they will NOT be cut from the list until they can be interviewed
-in the end all parties will work out their differences
-the people at the top at BU will do whatever they can (and in many ways already have) to keep the Bradley faithful loyal in the future
-BU is a legit option for MB
-I am a bit more optimistic after hearing some good news...more later


NOW ----....... here are a couple teams whose seasons ended yesterday or this past week or who will soon -- that I at least somewhat enjoyed watching or following anyway....not all for the same reasons...


--both ISU and SIU -- not that I am big fans of either team, but several kids on each squad (Carlton Fay, Blake Mishler, Bocot..) are kids that I have watched since junior high....and as long as Bradley was at the bottom this season, at least we didn't have to face the Redbird or Saluki fans rubbing it in...


--Drake -- I met and talked with numerous Drake fans in St. Louis -- and there really is NO team whose fans are more pleasant, polite, patient, and longsuffering than Drake fans. Their whole team is back next year except Ryan Wedel, and so I wish them well.......BTW -- Keno is available again...


--Southern Miss -- got bounced out last night in a loss to Memphis, and our old friend Larry Eustachy's season may still be on life support...
They finished tied for 5th in CUSA, 22-10 (but only 19-10 against D-I opponents) with RPI and SOS about 100 but their non-conference SOS was well over 200.
They will probably get a CBI or CIT opportunity, but packing teams like Cal State-Monterey Bay and Spring Hill onto their schedule, and building a resume with wins over teams that look like they belong on ISU's schedule isn't making the Southern Miss fans happy.
Their home attendance dropped to just 3300 and 3500 the past two seasons...so is Larry on the hot seat?
There have LONG been rumors that Larry Eustachy has dirty deals with AAU guys and can still land the big time kids -- so even if he can't coach them and he gets fired, you can bet someone will hire Larry right away.


--DePaul ended another miserable season -- losing their final two games horribly...
107-59 to Syracuse, then 97-71 in the Big East Tourney to UConn.
They lost 18 of their final 19 games - beating ONLY Keno's Providence squad for their only win since December 22!!
Sure BU had a bad year -- but how'd you like to be a DePaul fan?


--Northwestern -- I actually liked watching these guys a lot....
John Shurna is a fun kid to watch and a good shooter..but his stats fell off the 2nd half due to injury...paralleling their downturn...
Northwestern also has THREE kids Bradley had pursued...Nick Fruendt, Jershon Cobb, Drew Crawford....all of whom would have been good players at BU. Plus, as bad as BU is this year, I am sure they'd have still had a better chance of getting to the NCAA at Bradley than at Northwestern.
Losing Juice Thompson will hurt them a lot and they are going to come in 2nd place in the Sam Maniscalco sweepstakes...so they have no point guard for next year.


--Iowa State -- I hope Fred Hoiberg does well at Iowa State -- but I still can't figure out all the glowing optimism I have already seen about Iowa State and all the talk that Hoiberg has done so much in such a short time already!
Hey -- they finished dead last in the Big 12 with only 3 wins, and among the few nc-wins they had at all .. none were Top 100 opponents, and most were the Alabama States, Kennesaw States, and Chicago States, and SEMOs of D-I.
They still have a very long way to go and will still be a bottom dweller next year I am afraid...unless Royce White stays eligible and produces like some believe he can...


--Maryland - of the ACC, even though they were 7-9 in a weak ACC this year, will still likely get an NCAA bid just because they are an ACC team....
I am stumped as to how Gary Williams has ever gotten a date with the personality he has, and how he's avoided massive coronaries from the way he goes ballistic even when his team's winning!


--Tennessee is still alive but should be put out of their misery soon...at 9-9 they should be relegated to the CBI then fire Bruce Pearl before worse things happen.
If and when Bruce Pearl is fired, the stock value of Nike and most other athletic apparel manufacturers will take a steep hit from all those players not buying any more sweatbands....


--Saint Louis -- these guys also lost a couple of their starters -- but not to injury -- instead to moral problems, yet the kids are being welcomed back....it makes me sad nobody takes a stand on moral issues any more save for a few schools and BYU..
Their final record of 12-19 (one win was vs. Rockhurst) ought to bring some calls to jettison Majerus, yet oddly fans want a winner and even if the kids are rapists, the fans still support RickMa


--then finally - Indiana --
as an Illinois kid I grew up hating to hear the IU fans endlessly hoot and holler about how great they were, how many dusty old banners they have and how Bobby Knight was such a great coach and always graduated his players.
But Knight is a bankrupt personality and a bully, the line about graduating his players was a lie and he never did any better than anyone else (which I have since proven), and in the end Knight had plenty of issues even if he was never caught by the NCAA.
BUT -- Kelvin Sampson surely made up for it, leading Indiana to the top of the "MOST CHEATINGEST college basketball programs ever" list....
So -- for a while I was happy to see them devastated and losing -- cheaters deserve as much..........but now I'd kinda like to see Matt Roth get a little chance to play and win..but it just isn't going to happen.
Now - three years into the Tom Crean era...after he's now recruited and landed many top recruits and Top 100 stars and had top recruiting classes every year -- he still has by far the worst team in the Big Ten.
They are actually funny to watch as they are so inept at times....
His 3-year Big Ten win total is just 8 -- fewer than perennial worst Big Ten team, Penn State, had already gotten just this season alone.
When IU finished last season with four conference wins, everyone said they'd double that this year and at least get an NIT bid....
But -- it wasn't going to happen even though Christian Watford really is one of the better players in the NATION. Watford is a real NBA player along the lines of a Danny Granger...
But -- Crean's offensive style of everyone just putting their heads down and dribbling into the defense and launching shots is marginally entertaining......it's like watching a bunch of middle schoolers act out their dreams of what it would be like to be Kobe Bryant...just that none of them have a thread of Kobe Bryant-skills.


Speaking of Matt Roth....here's the latest..
in a premium interview he talks about transferring to other schools...
this is a premium/Insider blog -- so likely you can't see it.
http://is.gd/3qUU8a

Here's some clips.......

"Yesterday after the game we got a little more detail from Matt Roth about his future. He's doing something fairly unique, graduating in just three years and that opens up some possibilities for him. One of those might be an opportunity to move on to another school if that fits his academic path. But that's all to-be-determined. The NCAA does allow players to avoid the need to sit out a season after a transfer if the move is to a school that offers an academic program not available at his current university. That's how UNC forward Justin Knox was able to play this year for the Tar Heels after playing last year for Alabama.

Here's what the Illinois native had to say to us and you can also see his comments (click here):

Roth: Yeah, I earn my diploma this April/May, I don't know, been so busy with basketball. But I'll get my degree and I am in process of applying to grad schools and hopefully will continue on to work on my masters while playing a little basketball.

More on his academic specifics:

Roth: My degree is in sports communication and broadcasting and I think I want to go with a sports administration masters program to give a little bit of communication and handling with compliance and all that stuff. It's a great opportunity and I'm blessed to be in this position."

Now -- here's what's really the key part of this story -- Matt Roth's MAJOR, as he said, is in "sports communication and broadcasting". And Indiana DOES have a graduate program in that area...so why would he say...

"I am in process of applying to grad schools and hopefully will continue on to work on my masters while playing a little basketball."

Answer -- the only reason is because he's planning on not being at Indiana next year. Which means he would have to change curriculums as the only9 option to leave and be eligible without penalty is if his current school does NOT have that program.

So this is pretty strong evidence he is leaving Indiana at the end of this year, Matt will get his undergrad degree...and will go elsewhere under the graduate-student waiver and play elsewhere next year...my bet -- ISU, BU, or SLU...

One last thing on Matt -- sadly if he does get out of Indiana he will avoid a dubious distinction that would have been his alone for centuries to come had he stayed at Indiana...
IU has lost 66 games already in Matt's career there...and could quite possibly get close to 100 career losses if Matt stayed there a couple more years. That would have cemented Matt as having the most career losses as a Hoosier and it would have held up forever!

Also -- this same blog says Tom Crean was intensely pursuing Remy Abell and was in Kentucky watching him this week...
Some of their fans think the Hoosiers should also go hard after Bradley's Dyricus Simms-Edwards and pry him away from Bradley...
"Also, noticed that Dyricus Simms-Edwards is having a nice year for them and playing 30 minutes a game. I will admit that I haven't watched Bradley, but could we have chosen the wrong teammate between him and Roth?"

and

"We definitely got the wrong guy."
http://is.gd/qEmvU1



Here's a name to keep an eye on -- an ex-Iowa kid putting up some pretty good numbers....
http://is.gd/ISaTT7



As good as St. John's has done this year with one of the Iowa juco kids as their star -- things just got a bit tougher as one of their top 3 players is done for the season....
http://is.gd/zwzSJ0

BU Topics

We have seen many times in the PJ Star and elsewhere how important this hire is...but aren't ALL hires at this level and at an institution as prominent and influential as Bradley quite IMPORTANT?

Thus I agree with the importance of the new hire...

-we should not bring in some obscure east coast guy with a career record under .500
-nor would I want an assistant or a hire from a lower tier Ohio Valley school..

Hey -- I will give one example of how you can come so close but whiff...and whiff badly...

In 2008 when Bradley was hiring a baseball coach...the two final candidates who BOTH really wanted the job were Mark Kingston & Rick Heller...These two were contacted, interviewed, evaluated and screened by then Athletic Director Ken Kavanagh.

But, someone stepped in, overruled Ken and hired E. Dominguez with a career .450 success and only two seasons ever over .500 ..and I hope he succeeds, but in the interval he went 17-31, then 20-32...it's too soon to tell this year but we're a game over .500 - and fortunate at that as we have hit poorly -- team BA .260 and only two regulars hitting over .260..

In that same interval...
Kingston was subsequently gobbled up and hired and is now head coach of ISU -- his first year there he took ISU to the Missouri Valley regular season championship, then WON the MVC Tournament, and won to advance in the NCAA Tournament!!
They hadn't won a game in the NCAA Tourney since 1976!!!!
He was also the MVC Coach of the Year - leading ISU to the most wins their program has had since the mid-1990's. Hmm...what could have been.....

Rick Heller was snapped up and hired by Indiana State and promptly had himself a 35-19 season - likewise the best season there in a decade and a half!
It was the most wins for any first-year head coach in ISU baseball history. and they received votes in the National Polls under 1st year Coach Heller.

Just look it up....Bradley had a chance to quickly get back into NATIONAL prominence in basebvall but is still languishing in mediocrity with a ways to go.
Again -- I hope we do make it all the way back, but the ticket to get there was already on our hands and punched, and yet it got taken off the table.
Ken Kavanagh was then let go and is now succeeding at FGCU -- they are fast on the rise in many sports...and one of the White Sox' great young pitcher Chris Sale is from FGCU!



Now the topic of Sam Maniscalco going to play elsewhere is hitting the discussion boards..but duh......I guess I never cease to be amazed at how uninformed people are -- this was a no-brainer, as was the back tracking in the words of Donivine Stewart and the words of Sean Harris' coach all of whom now may NOT be interested in Bradley.
The value of Coach Les to this institution will soon become apparent even to those with blinders on and biases raging.



Yet another nice honor for Andrew Warren....it'll be a long time before we see our next 1600 point scorer!
http://www.bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=18058

Some interesting things

Had a great weekend in St. Louis -then things have been different since....and there's a reason nobody's talking because there's a stranglehold on people's vailable and the facts can be found on any number of realty-related web sites....as every home ever listed for sale nowadays can be found on the web and certainly every home that ever sells is easily documented because all those transactions are matters of public record...

So just search his home on realty.com or homes.com or elsewhere and it's as easy as pie to prove beyond even the tiniest doubt that his house has not sold and has not even been listed for sale since August 2002 when he bought it.

But, of course, that won't stop boneheads from making things up.....
Also -- when some predicted that a couple of the incoming BU recruits would not likely want to play atm past empow, there were those who found that idea incredulous..but events have since proven them shortsighted as well. Give it more time -- a lot that will unfold will disappoint even the most ardent fan of what's happening.

Lastly -- BTL...
http://is.gd/FcdeWx

Some more interesting college basketball news...

Jimmer Fredette gets the first POY award...
today he has been named the CBSSports National Collegiate Player of the Year...
http://is.gd/Vw2yL9



Another couple head coaches fired...Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Perry Clark and Kennesaw State's Tony Ingle.....
One Illinois kid on TAMU-CC's roster will be familiar...Demond Watt played at Thornton Fractional North for ex-Bradley Brave Tim Bankston.



A couple top level recruits, Devauntes Smith-Rivera (Xavier) and Michael Chandler (Florida) met in a Sectional game in Indianapolis last week and a fight/brawl broke out...
players have been suspended and the IHSAA officials are still reviewing tapes and suspending more kids....
The video of the brawl can easily be found doing a search......

Indiana fans are pretty bummed...they figured by now they'd be a winning team -- three years into the Crean era...still a bottom dweller, though...


Here's a nice, LONG article on Peoria's Bill Cole...

"Bill Cole Not Ready To Conclude Career"
http://illinois.scout.com/2/1053753.html

Here are a few excerpts...I especially like the one wheery game or losing every game, you're gonna have a couple people on you. We know we have real fans out there; we know they're supporting us. You hear stuff, but you've just got to block it out and play your game."



The Bulls are fun to watch.........if they can land one more good SG they will be tough to beat in the east...I am hoping for a couple Celtic losses and get the Bulls the home court all the way through...

Get on board and support the Bradley Braves!!

Send an encouraging message via e mail to any or all of the Braves & coaches......
http://www.bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=17937

In that post is a representative message but here's the full text of what I personally sent....

"Coach Les, Drew, Dodie, and all the rest of the Bradley Braves....

and even trainers and assistants........

....I just love your enthusiasm and effort, your hard work and what you've all done in the face of a lot of difficulties and negativity.
My family and I are 100% behind you and will be there loud and proud wearing red Thursday and all the way through the weekend to support the Bradley Braves.
Aim high and go for the prize!!!
We love you guys............Bradley basketball is my lifelong passion ranking just a little behind God & family!

...............so......GO Braves!!!!

I have and will continue to voice my opinion as loud and often as I can that this IS my favorite group of Bradley Braves and I am VERY MUCH anxiously looking forward to a great run in St. Louis this weekend, then a great summer of development and getting our wounded warriors back, a fine incoming recruiting class, then, of course, and CHAMPIONSHIP YEAR next season!
...........(signature..)"


Here's an interesting story out of SIU suggesting that a whole bunch of the biggest donors and supporters want to buy out the remaining part of Chris Lowery's contract and then go get a new head coach.
http://www.thesouthern.com/news/local/article_cb037e4a-43c5-11e0-bac5-001cc4c03286.html

I think the key feature is that Lowery's contract being bought out by "corporate donors" -- NOT by the university...so obviously monetary issues demand that without the corporate donors' actions the university simply couldn't and wouldn't be able to do a thing...

BUT -- there is NOT a groundswell among the biggest donors at Bradley other than to say they all want to KEEP Jim Les -- they know him well, and big time fans, and like him...
They see beyond petty personality issues and the negativity being reported in the paper.

I cannot say what will happen, and it's not in my control....but I just don't see it happening at Bradley unless someone come forward with the funds to buy out the contract. BUT -- if this confirms anything -- it confirms what a lot of message board posters claim they are blind to or are in opposition to -- that corporate and big time donors DO have a say and sometimes their "say" is exactly" what drives the bus. The bus isn't always driven by the guy who buys a ticket and wants to have a different coach.


More on what NCAA might do to Tennessee & Bruce Pearl for lying to NCAA investigators...
If they don't nail him hard they owe Dick Versace an enormous apology...
http://www.mrsec.com/2011/02/doyel-the-ncaa-is-going-to-hammer-tennessee-like-a-one-inch-nail/