Several topics today - in addition to a little info about Bradley's upcoming opponent on Saturday December 17, 2011.
Bradley travels to Drexel in Philadelphia, PA as the return for BracketBusters in the 2009-2010 season.
Bradley won that game in Peoria on Saturday February 20, 2010. Bradley beat Drexel easily 76-60, with Chris Roberts scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds (along with 5 assists, 4 steals, and 10 deflections), and Andrew Warren scoring 18, and Sam Maniscalco scoring 20. Dyricus Simms-Edwards scored 8 in his very first start for Bradley.
Drexel's starters scored only 25 points combined, and we held Drexel to 34% shooting and 25% from the arc.
That was 2 seasons ago and now we go to play there...
The Drexel Dragons, coached by James "Bruiser" Flint - a Calipari disciple from UMass, is coming off a season where they went 21-10, and 11-7 in the Colonial Athletic Conference - good enough for 5th place. They were 12-2 at home there in Philly and were 5-0 in non-conference games.
Their RPI was 74 and SOS 137. Their best quality win was at Louisville over a team with a 17 RPI.
They only lose one starter - Gerald Colds - who averaged 9.7 ppg and was a solid teamn leader, but they return their top two scorers Chris Fouch (14.9 ppg) and Samme Givens (12.2 ppg - but also a remarkable 10.1 rpg). Givens is a prolific rebounder at just 6-5 and returns as a senior. They also have two other returnees that average 7.4 rpg or more - Dartaye Ruffin, 7.4 rpg and Daryl McCoy 7.8 rpg.
Fouch is a prolific 3-pt shooter but came off the bench last year and is projected off the bench this year, also.
Freshman point guard Franz Massenat & SG Dartaye Ruffin both made the conference All Newcomer Team.
As you might guess, they outrebounded their opponents on average 40.3 to 30.9 - and they are always a tough team, consistent with their coach's personality and nickname!
They did turn the ball over a lot at 12 TO per game. they got killed by 28 points at Syracuse, but also boast a win over Final Four participant VCU.
Their worst loss was at 9-22 William & Mary.
With 21 wins and a decent fan base they were surprisingly snubbed by the NIT & others, and went nowhere
Drexel plays in front of an average of just 2040 fans in their home arena in the Daskalakis Athletic Center which holds just 2300 in downtown Philadelphia.
A few tidbits about Drexel...
-Drexel plays Rider in the ESPN 24-Hour Marathon November 15, played at 6AM a.m. for TV purposes at Rider.
-Their schedule this year is believed to be another decent one, but they do have a plethora of 250+ RPI teams on both the conference and non-conference part of their schedule - but they haven't yet released the entire slate.
-Drexel was just picked #51 in the HoopsReport preseason Top 68.
These guys have a fairly decent preview as well.
http://www.thehoopsreport.com/article.aspx?id=777
Bradley is 7-1 all time in BracketBuster matchups since the concept began in 2003-2004 - beating NIU, Tenn. tech, VCU, UWM, Loyola, Drexel, and Tenn. Martin. We have lost only at Western Kentucky in 2005.
Bradley is not so successful in the BracketBuster return games. Our record is 3-3, with wins over NIU, WKU, and UWM - but losses to Tenn. Tech, VCU, and Loyola in the 2010 return game.
This morning I ran into one of the very people who told me last spring that he wanted to see BRADLEY LOSE IN THE MVC TOURNEY because, as he said then, "if they win a few games I fear they will keep Coach Les".
I have heard this hateful attitude many times - especially on the message boards but I fail to see how anyone who has or had such an opinion could ever call themselves a Bradley fan if they were rooting for Bradley to lose!
Anyway, this morning he claimed he still held hard feelings against those who supported Coach Les because he had actually wanted JL fired sooner.
Now here's where I find this whole argument so incredibly stupid and wrong...
This is one of the very guys who bought hook, line, and sinker into the story back in April 2010 that Les was fired after an argument with Dr. Glasser and who swore that it happened even though the evidence weighs 100% against it both then and NOW.
But now he blames people who DID support Bradley and Coach Les for his misery of having to sit through last season with with a coach I guess he did not want.
BUT -- does this idiot "fan" think that somehow fan support for JL kept Coach Les from being fired even ONE minute earlier than he actually was fired?
Like some JL friends held sway over the one in charge of the firing?
Of course not -- JL was going to be our coach last year no matter what - it would have simply been too expensive otherwise and that's why the story of the buyout back in April 2010 was so ridiculous.
Anyway -- hardly a heartbeat had passed after BU's season ended in 2010-2011 when JL was fired regardless of any support for him. So I guess the support held no sway whatsoever and anyone with a tidbit of common sense sees that!
So the guy's premise that the JL fans somehow annoyed him because he'd have had his way sooner had the JL fans backed off - is so ridiculous and wrong that I really didn't have the tiniest bit of trouble showing him how wrong it was and even in his unreasonable and illogical state -- he actually realized I was right and that he was ridiculously wrong.
I am happy to move on from this firing issue and haven't even given it a thought in months -- until this misanthrope approached me this morning to drag it back out again - but I guess there's still people who falsely claim they are BU fans but who obviously only think of themselves.
These are not Bradley fans in my opinion.
Oh - and by the way -- the record of donors to Bradley and the web page that shows the level of membership for the Braves Club just happens to NOT include this guy's name or any of those who seems to continue this anti-BU diatribe. It figures -- the folks who bellyache the most and call themselves Bradley fans (you know where they congregate) simply couldn't prove it with any objective evidence - but even pointing that out to them gets them riled - case closed.
Here's some interesting news regarding Usain Bolt.
Internationally, track has gone to a ZERO-TOLERANCE rule on false starts. It used to be that you got one false start and then were eliminated with your 2nd one. But runners would take advantage of it and some races had to suffer through numerous false starts as each runner tried to get a little advantage.
So now - you're done if you false start even once!
Hardly anyone argued this rule and it's seemingly served the sport well for a couple years.
UNTIL NOW -- just as soon as the top runner in the world defaults ONCE in a major competition -- well....now we have to rethink this rule!!
Gimme a break -- talk about kissing up to the money angle of this and cowtowing to the stars in the sport.
So after numerous other runners in many competitions have been eliminated for breaking this rule -- suddenly there are calls for changing it -- just because poor little Usain "got robbed"!
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/sports/30iht-arena30.html
Just one note on how know-it-alls in the government can be so wrong...
Hey -- they have every right to be wrong -- even stupid -- except that in doing so they ruin people's lives and spend endless amounts of your money.
Example: the Detroit area public schools (or you could probably substitute Chicago or even Peoria if you want).
I won't bore you - but BILLIONS of dollars have been pumped into public schools like this via gobs of wasteful programs like "No Child Left Behind"...
And there isn't the tiniest evidence that it has helped at all -- in fact there's overwhelming evidence that it has sent the quality of education in these big cities down the toilet!
Half of all Detroit public schools are failing... and the answer is that Michigan is now asking the Federal government for a 10-year waiver from NCLB because they know the feds' policies are killing them!
The head of the Federal Dept. of Education is Arne Duncan -- hired by President Obama from the top spot in charge of the Chicago Public Schools! As if the CPS was doing good and Arne deserved a raise and a promotion??
Even Arne says Detroit is "Ground Zero" to aim his policies at.
But just to show you how corrupt this guy is...here is Arne Duncan's plan on how to get a better percentage of school kids in Detroit to pass or hit the minimum standards for education:
Arne says we should lower the grade that will allow a kid to pass to the next level...
Seriously -- if half the kids score under 60 and get "F" on their testing and grades, then let's just lower the minimum to pass down to just 50 or maybe go to 40 and send those really stupid and uneducated kids along to the next level and call it a success.
If it wasn't so TOTALLY SAD...it would be funny...
http://www.freep.com/article/20110815/NEWS06/110815018/717-Michigan-schools-fall-short-No-Child-Left-Behind-goals
http://www.mlive.com/education/index.ssf/2011/04/arne_duncan_detroit_schools_ar.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/IFGA/arne-duncan-no-child-left-behind-school_n_875486_92223636.html
But here is the real solution -- if government and taxpayer-paid employees do such a bad job in education then why not FIRE THEM!!
Why not take the money spent in educating these kids and spend it wisely -- spend it on an education that is far better and on a system that works!
Indiana just started their school voucher system and not only IS it working -- but I guarantee you it will work and FAR better than the feds even fear!
Why are they SOOOOOO afraid of a policy or a system that gives their previously poorly educated kids a great education and a great start in life...
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2011/08/29/vouchers_prompt_indiana_school_exodus/
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2011-08-28/Ind-school-voucher-program-cheered-criticized/50169064/1?csp=34news
http://www.jconline.com/article/20110823/OPINION01/108230303/Voucher-s-critics-lose-first-round?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cp
In case you're interested - just a little more on how the government really doesn't give a da*n that it's you're money they are wasting --
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2011-08-28/Pentagon-pays-720M-in-late-fees-for-storage-containers/50168840/1
That's $720 million right down the drain simply due to federal workers' stupidity, laziness, and incompetence.
Talk about kissing up to the superstar and giving in because they're more important!!
I have read of men getting arrested and even jailed for going into women's restrooms and violating their privacy and decency....so I am left wondering why this is any different?
Just because Lady Gaga is a pop star - she can do the same and it's fun -- it's a great gig??
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2011/08/29/exclusive-lady-gaga-took-male-alter-ego-to-limit-by-using-male-restrooms/
I guess Gaga had thought people would be in awe of her "performance" but instead many wrote that she was "crass" and
"Gaga's shtick wore out its welcome in the first two minutes.
Gaga...degraded an otherwise enjoyable VMAs.."
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