Bradley loses at home to WCU

Not only did we lose a very winnable game, we really didn't exploit the matchup difficulties WCU would have had in the paint, we didn't make FT's, and at times didn't play as smart and as energetically as they did.
All of these opinions aren't just mine - but they are echoed by numerous other people who have stated their opinions - even the guys on the post game radio show.
We still have a long way to go....

Its a rebuilding year and I can be patient -- but clearly we are seeing more of the fallout from the coaching changeover - we just don't have good PG play (last night out PG had one assists) and we don't hit the FT's (Walt's misses really hurt) or the open jumpers.

BUT - a few things being said are astoundingly stupid and need debunking.....
..we have a few comments from people who claim they saw the same game and yet they say some pretty astounding things!

Here are just a few of the ridiculous things I have seen or heard since last night...

First - someone last night said to me ..
"we're getting better"....
..but nobody else sees it - we're actually struggling - and that's exactly what many others saw and agree - and even the coach's post game comments echo that - and point out that we NEED to get better...
In many respects - outside shooting, FT shooting, PG play, turnovers, etc...we are not seeing improvement yet.
I still strongly support these guys and am 100% behind them and cheering - but let's open our eyes and be realistic -- we're a long way from where we want to be.
We have the personnel to do way better.


Then I saw someone who decided that this must all be Jim Les' fault with this comment..
"how incredibly stupid Les was for scheduling a 2-and-1 with a SoCon team"
....I fully expected some to blame it all on Jim Les - but this is pretty silly - we need to play games like this - winnable home games against decent teams....
I suppose we should have done what ISU does and scheduled Chicago State instead? LOL


"I think there were any number of encouraging things you could take from the game"
...strangely the guy who says this then fails to actually name anything encouraging but instead notes a few pretty negative observations.


"I didn't think it was ugly.....I am seeing some progress."
...keep whistling...I am as big of a Bradley fan as exists - but I thought it was unfortunately an ugly loss and so did Dave Reynolds...
"For Bradley to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory — as the men’s basketball team did .. — took poor play in several phases of the game."


Then I saw where the old injury argument got dragged up again and someone says this..
"Creighton lost Nate Funk for a whole year and still finished ahead of us in league play."

..Well... but this same person repeatedly points out we never finished higher than 4th so how impressive is it that Creighton did the same thing that year?
Anyway - someone has to shine a light on ignorance so I suppose it has to be me since nobody else bothers to straighten out this asinine comment..

The facts will easily prove that Creighton's loss of Nate Funk that year was HUGE and cost them dearly.

First - Nate Funk never missed "a whole year". He did only play 6 games in 2005-2006 so I suppose that's the year referred to - but in those 6 games, Funk averaged 17 ppg and Creighton went 4-2 in that stretch BEATING Dayton, beat a 19-win Nebraska team, and CLOBBERED GEORGE MASON by 20 points!!!
Remember - George Mason was a team who went 27-8 that year and made the FINAL FOUR!
They were very, very good and obviously Creighton was likewise VERY good when they had Funk!

In other words -- Creighton was just maybe George-Mason-good with Nate Funk and showed beyond question that had the talent to possibly go deep in the NCAA Tournament or even be a FINAL FOUR team!!!
Everyone in the universe agrees that with Nate Funk in 2005-2006 Creighton was at least a 25 win team - and would have won the Valley and gone deep into the NCAA!

BUT - without Funk - they finished out the rest of the season going just 15-7 and got hammered badly by Bradley in the MVC Tourney.
Not to mention BU finished pretty close to Creighton that year had a better RPI, got an NCAA bid while Creighton did NOT.

So...
Without Funk they finish 20-10 overall, lose several games they should have won and get knocked out of the MVC Tourney by a lower seed!! - scoring only 47 points...
they then falter in the NIT while BU makes the Sweet Sixteen -

Had they had Nate Funk - this might well have been their best year ever at Creighton basketball!
So how can anyone say or even hint that in 2005-2006 Creighton did just as well without Nate Funk as they would have done with him?
CLEARLY - in the context this argument is being thrown around - YES you can blame injuries because they do account for MASSIVE changes in how a team does.

BTW - the very next year when they did have Nate Funk - the won the Valley, swept through the MVC Tourney easily and went to the NCAA Tourney...case closed on another mindless comment.


OK -- just a few more comments on what might have been...

One kid who really wanted to be at Bradley but landed at ISU when BU had a coaching change back in March...
is Tyler Brown...who last night single-handedly saved ISU from an embarrassing home loss to UALR.
Brown scored a career high 23 points hiting 50% on his 3-pointer and all 6 of 6 of his FT's.
For the season Brown is hitting 48.3 of his 3-pt attempts, 80% on FT's, and is arguably their BEST player right now - averaging 13 ppg, 4 rebs, 3 asst - all of which would put him among BU's leaders - and he really wanted to come to BU - settling for ISU only as a 2nd option given circumstances.
Unfortunately nobody really saw Brown's fine performance last night - as their claimed attendance number of 3100 is roughly 2000 more than believable - and here's a ton of photos to back that up...
http://www.goredbirds.com/view.gal?id=108954


Here's another - last night Tyler Les - who would have been here had JL had his own way - equalled a SCHOOL RECORD eight 3-pointers and 24 points...whoa - we coulda used that!!
He was 8 for 9 from beyond the arc and moves his season's shooting pct. on treys to 44% (31-71) and scoring average to 10.1 ppg.
Sadly UC-Davis doesn't have much else this year and are rebuilding.
http://www.ucdavisaggies.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/122111aaa.html


Wow - UNI sure got hammered at home last night against Ohio.
Outside the top two Valley teams were may not be as strong as some are saying.


NIU drops to 0-11 - and their team is in shambles. Recall their new head coach Mark Montgomery was one of the first choices for the BU spot but declined in favor of taking the helm at NIU.
Their heralded freshman Abdel Nader - who some hyped as an immediate impact player - is also struggling. He averages 9 ppg but takes 12 shots per game to get those meager 9 points. Meanwhile his Assist to Turnover ration of 0.25 is telling.


In NBA play - Anthony Parker had a nice game for the Cavs as they lost a 1-pt decision to Detroit. AP had 12 pts, 5 rebs, 2 asst. Hi snumbers were considerbly better than the two guys hyped in the press - Brandon Knight & Kyrie Irving.

The Bulls won again over the Pacers - 93-85, Rose 12 pts/9 asst, Rip Hamilton 13 pts, 6 asst, Danny Granger had a bad game 12 pts, 1 reb, no assists.