Words of wisdom from BU's Charlie Steiner

A couple interesting columns in the news this morning and they do tie into sports....

First - in the Sports Section - a story about Bradley alum and ESPN sports expert and commentator Charlie Steiner - who now is the radio voice of the LA Dodgers - spoke at the Summit on Communication and Sport in Peoria.

He really had some telling comments...I will simply quote him...

Steiner was the keynote speaker to launch the three-day event at the Embassy Suites, hosted by the Bradley University department of communication.

He said...

"In my opinion, journalism has gone to the dark side where immediacy has become more important than being factual,” Steiner said. “The editorial process has been corrupted by the need for speed and how many hits a website receives. The so-called social media has radically changed the way a story, a message is reported. The times, they are a-changin’. And I’m not sure for the better."

"Sports used to be little more than a sideshow on the stage of real life. Now it’s an industry. Sports have become the new show business."

"As we begin this conference, one thing that has never changed is our jobs are based on telling the truth,” he said."

http://www.pjstar.com/sports/x221024558/Sports-summit-has-social-sentiment



So - he concedes that the media nowadays has morphed from being careful and accurate and seeking primarily to be honest and tell the truth and the facts...
..to now just racing willy-nilly as fast as possible to beat the non-experts who seem to be getting every single bit of news and happenings - posted onto message boards and bloges before the newspapers do!
Accuracy and honesty be damned - we gotta get it out there first!!!
Getting the story is actually the story!! It's all about me!!

Bingo - Charlie is the first one of "them" who finally admits the truth about the reporting process in the 21st century!




The other column is one detailing some interesting numbers and media ratings...

http://www.pjstar.com/news/x140149574/On-the-Air-Breaking-down-those-website-numbers

The writer, Steve Tartar, cites one single source to proclaim that the PJ Star web site is by far the most popular but it's a service they pay and who admits on their own web site that they do their surveys by phone and the non-response rates are as high as 20%.
Everyone knows that how the questions are asked and who is selected to call are major factors that will bias the outcome and findings.
But oddly - if they include a 4-county area - then suddenly WMBD's web site wins - with WEEK roughly neck & neck with PJStar.
But there are numerous networks and ONLY ONE newspaper - should they NOT get more viewership on the web than any of the numerous network sites that specialize only in giving a few headlines?
The fact that they don't is quite remarkable!

Also - he doesn't mention that quite routinely the google-type news searches show hits for just about all pages of a newspaper's web site - but (and you can easily show this yourself) they rarely will show hits on anything except the front pages or title pages of certain other sites - and WMBD's is that way.

BUT -- even so -- does it surprise that the opnly newspaper in all of Central Illinois actually gets looked at by a bit over 20% of the people in the Tri-County area?

Like this is shocking? Over in Bloomington - the rates are over 30% for local people viewing the Pantagraph web site...so compared to other communities the boasted 27% popularity is not much to brag about.
Just note that if and when other newspapers brag of the popularity of their web sites, it kinda leaves anything in Central Illinois in the dust...

The Dallas Morning News has close to 2 million unique visitors, and they don't even rank inside the Top 10! The NY Times has 15 million.
A recent study in Rochester, NY showed...
".... in the Rochester, NY local market - The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle ...Together with its website, www.democratandchronicle.com, the publication reaches 81% of the Rochester market on a weekly basis."

81% !!!!!!!

BUT - the overall point is and is also conceded by Tartar...
"You can't turn the clock back. The corner newsstand has moved to a screen. The movie image of the kid crying, "Extra! Extra! Read all about it" has been replaced by TV and Internet video that flashes before our eyes in seconds."

But he throws in this...
"So long as our society treats the disappearance of newspapers as strictly a business matter - with no implications for the future health of our democracy - this problem will continue to worsen," he wrote."

...so like a lot of journalists with massive egos....he cites a guy who links writing stuff in newspapers with the lifeblood of our democracy.
They are sooooo important that we need them every day - we should be checking their web sites even more!!

I think it's the other way around -- our democracy assures a free press - and not the other way around...
And the growth of other viewpoints and other avenues of opinions such as forums and blogs as well as cable channels - has helped keep the newspapers accountable........

Anyone remember the Dan Rather debacle and scandal?
Had it not been for the cable channels and the bloggers, this pompous egotist Dan Rather would have succeeded in cramming a filthy lie of a libelous counterfeit report onto the unsuspecting public because they'd have been told to trust Dan and his sources.
Instead Rather and his sources were proved to be a fraud - but what followed was even more staggering.
Rather - instead of just admitting he was wrong or bought into bad data - has to this day STILL championed the accuracy of those reports and documents that have since been UNANIMOUSLY debunked as completely fraudulent!
Dan Rather is the prime example of how if you get your facts from just one source and naively assume they are honest - then you are going to get lied to a lot and you will never know!

An age-old adage to life by is that EVERYONE is biased - they just are biased in different directions - although some will lay claim to being unbiased. Those are indeed the most dishonest sources of all!
Those who do choose to promote lies - do so with an agenda and that agenda is now quite obvious.

So as always - and this holds true for all sources of info including this blog -- buyer beware....make your mind up for yourself.

BU recruiting

This is just a general commentary on Bradley recruiting....
as I have followed Bradley basketball recruiting longer and more intently than some people.

Some just don't care about recruits until they get on campus & enrolled. There have been times I begin a conversation with another Bradley fan and mention a name of a recruit and get a puzzled look in return - then a comment like..
"I don't have time nor do I care who are all the kids Bradley's looking at."

But - I have followed recruiting since the Versace era and find it interesting. I do go and watch some off-season events and view a few of the recruits personally, I subscribe to a few sites where writers actually go and see the kids, comment on them, rank them, and even talk with them and post interviews..
I have never claimed to be an expert - just an interested party willing to share observaitons.
So I have some background with which to compare, and there's definitely something different going on now that I have never seen before.

Throughout all the time I have followed Bradley basketball - we've had various people writing in the local paper on Bradley topics - Kenny Jones, Dick Lien, Phil Theobald, rarely Bill Liesse, sometimes Greg Stewart, Dave Reynolds, Kirk Wessler, and others.
In general they all do a fairly good job almost all of the time - although I have made a point that some reports are clearly biased at times with an agenda to embarrass BU or the past coaching staff, and I have also noted that in the past there were often LONG, LONG stretches, especially in the off-season where we got absolutely ZERO coverage....

Maybe they think there's no reason to talk about Bradley basketball between March and October - but for decades that's how it was. That's a large part of why we now have the message boards, since lots of the more intense Bradley fans want to talk about, read about, and learn about what's going on in the off-season...
including recruiting topics. The BradleyFans recruiting forum is VERY active - because of that interest - more active in and of itself than the main basketball board at more other Valley sites.

Anyway -- MANY people have suddenly noted a significant departure from the way reporting has always been done.
Starting last summer and continuing now - we are getting lots of little snippets and reports in the off season. And for the FISRT time ever - the local writers are actually doing not just comments about - but coverage of Bradley's recruiting....in the off-season.

Now - most head coaches keep any and all recruiting info pretty close to the vest and secret and DON'T want any writeups of what they're doing, who they're recruiting, and where they go...
In fact - confidentiality in recruiting is one of the foremost facts of college basketball.
BUT - in stark contrast to the way it's always been - what we're getting now is more openness and recruiting.

I will leave it to others to debate whether that's good or bad..........I really don't care - although I do read the reports, even though virtually everything in the press is something that is, or long ago was obtainable elsewhere - especially if you follow recruiting closely or are subscribed to other recuiting sites.

Some of this new-found info in the standard media is actually quite dated (Bradley still strong onto Fabyon Harris) and some downright INACCURATE (John Wilkins verballing to Iowa State, and the older - Manual Cass verballing to Bradley..)...but....some is actually in the realm of a bit odd - maybe even controversial.

Everyone knows people are entitled to personal opinions, speculation, and even a bit of marginal accuracy on message boards - but in the newspaper don't you think we should just stick with what's fair, accurate, and proven??

Then there's comments about recruits like this...

"he didn't distinguish himself"
"looked fatigued"
"likely not going to stand out unless he's a freakish athlete. Mislav isn't that.."
"took very few shots ...was tentative..."

Then the responses others post on message boards -
"he won't be a Brave - no way, no how.."
and then one poster throws this into the debate - that the kid can't sign until April 11...
..so his failure to verbal is, what, a really good sign??

Well - I guess it is as it is.......if talk of recruiting is being done openly in the media - then people seem to want to debate if that's good or not...
Again - I will let the readers decide...........but certainly the local press
STATING uncomplimentary comments about the kid after being given the invitation to view them - can't possibly HELP Bradley recruit and land the kid!
If anyone thinks it does help to have a newspaper criticize the kid by saying he shot poorly or was disinterested or fatigued, or didn't "particularly distinguish himself" then let me know this helps Bradley in any conceivable way!

I can only assume that Geno Ford wants the kid ...that's a no-brainer - and I sure wouldn't do anything in the press to ruin that possibility.
But then I guess everyone's entitled to their opinions....

Geno Ford is now pretty much into the LATE quarter of his 2nd recruiting cycle....
He's about the close his 2012 recruiting class after landing a 5-man 2011 recruiting class.
Time will tell - but one way or another people will some day be looking back and asking if Geno got what he set out to get -- did he land a "difference-maker".
I wouldn't want some reckless comments publicly to hamper that recruiting effort.

As noted elsewhere....Within the first TWO recruiting cycles under Jim Les - the recruits included top players like Marcellus Sommerville, Daniel Ruffin, Patrick O'Bryant, Zach Andrews, Lawrence Wright, Danny Adams, Tony Bennett, JJ Tauai, etc...

Thus far the names on Geno's list for the first two cycles are Donivine Stewart (already gone), Devon Hodges (already gone), Nate Wells (hasn't played yet), Jalen Crawford (some solid outings), Shayok Shayok (shows promise), Ka'Darryl Bell, Tyshon Pickett, and then maybe Brzoja, Buovac, and the few other names being bandied about...with big time losses like Remy Abell, Sean Harris, Tyler Brown, Max Bielfeldt, and others...

Again - time will tell - but are we going to get 'er done in this recruiting cycle??
Do we have a "difference maker" yet?



Get the latest recruiting info here...

http://twitter/com/#!/xb7
also on the premium twitter and Facebook sites........

Brzoja not committed yet - and are you having a great day?

Now reports are that Mislav Brzoja came and left Bradley without committing and will visit elsewhere.
But -- this comes as little surprise - and I have heard a few reasons why -- and you may disagree but take it or leave it...
Mainly he's going to check out other options and select based on factors that we may not quite understand. Sure location, coaching, style of play, and chance of immediate playing time are considered - but they often aim for the perceived "highest option" regardless of some of those other factors.

Almost all the Euro players that come to the US - and who land at high schools or prep schools, are being guided by someone else. And unless they are all filthy rich - you'd have to presume someone else is arranging for the kids' tuition at those prep schools to be paid. That someone who is paying for tuition is hoping the kid some day can jump to the pros and start making money and then "paying back" some to those who arranged and guided them. So ability to play quickly is a consideration.

In fact - it's odd how many of the Euro kids don't even bother to finish school and head back to Europe to play professionally even before they use up their eligibility in college.
Lucca Staiger, Gal Mekel, Jermaine Raffington, Linas Kleiza, and many others come to mind.

If you recall - all those Euro & Afro kids who were at Decatur Christian and even many of the African kids who are at prep schools like La Lumiere and Brehm are being brought over by organizations that are purportedly "charity" organizations - however they seem to ONLY bring basketball playing prep school kids. Believe what you want but there's more to this.

And - as I have stated many times - these kids are often overhyped and flop at the next level -- I have given plenty of examples..
In fact I have challenged anyone to name a single kid from any of the midwestern prep schools who has had more than a modest college career...and nobody has yet taken that challenge or answered the question.

One other thing -- many of the Euro kids seem to favor schools on the east coast...there are reasons - easy to figure out-- mostly proximity to the major media markets, travel considerations, and playing with other Euro kids...

Sure they might land anywhere --and the most talented ones get offers from all over, but just check the rosters of these schools out east....


Manhattan
[url]http://www.gojaspers.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=12500&SPID=5439&SPSID=52462[/url]

Siena
[url]http://www.sienasaints.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sien-m-baskbl-mtt.html[/url]

Canisius
[url]http://www.gogriffs.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=20500&SPID=12016&SPSID=97897[/url]

Fordham
[url]http://www.fordhamsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/ford-m-baskbl-mtt.html[/url]

And just about any other eastern mid-major you can check ALL have MULTIPLE foreign (Euro & African) prep school kids....Fordham even has one from Traders Point in Indiana - same schools Brzoja came from.

Rhode Island - who are also strong after Brzoja, and want him - just hired a new head coach but they also have a couple Euro prep school kids....
so they may have an advantage if Brzoja wants to head back east.

I am not going to worry - Geno is hard at work and he'll get someone -- if it's not Brzoja or Buovac - then it comes as no surprise to me, but it sure seems like it's gonna bum the heck out of a few folks who did not want to see Geno striking out - although that's part of the game!


So - no need to worry or fret -- why do people freak out when things don't go their way.
In fact the message boards seem to be a magnet for folks who have serious trouble fretting and freaking out.

Read some - you'd think we were in the midst of the worst times in all of history!
I think we are living in great times.....
On the BU basketball front - we can be optimistic -- and even if we don't win much next year -- I can still cheer for our guys and have fun. too bad that's a concept beyond some misanthropes.

In fact look at the various things people complain about the most throughout society!

People complain endlessly about the economy...but did you read the front page today?
Thousands of kids spending lots of money seeing a movie about teens that hunt down and kill each other for sport! Then there's stories about all the pro athletes who are soon to be millionaires, and all the college head coaches who earn millions per year, and the massive numbers who travel and pay big bucks to see all those sporting events.
Can someone actually point out the bad economy in all this?

I don't see it - seems like people have more expendable cash than ever yet don't appreciate it and whine wanting more!


People complain about global warming...but can you imagine the complaints we would have seen had we experiences a VERY cold winter?
A truly frigid winter would have cost the average family in the midwest or upper midwest at least an extra couple hundred dollars per month in heating bills..
In other words - especially if you have a big family or a large home - you saved THOUSANDS of DOLLARS this winter in bills! PLUS if you have a business you spent VIRTUALLY NOTHING on plowing your driveways and parking lots and salting your walks and steps.

See -- there's plenty of GOOD in every situation so why dwell on some ridiculous potential far-future bad??

People gripe about gas prices....but half of the places people go are places they really don't need to go.
And gas prices really haven't changed much in a decade -
Check for yourself - the price of a gallon of gas a decade ago was right at $2.00.
Five years ago it was $2.50.
What hasn't gone up in price since then??


Lastly - people seem to complain endlessly about politics and what others say -- we see trashing of everyone from Sarah Palin to Rush Limbaugh to Barack Obama to governors and local politicians...
BUT even if you disagree with someone - is there a need to trash them, call them juvenile names, use immature insults.
I am convinced the people who ARE the most miserable make themselves miserable with their own attitudes of misery.

I think we live in the best of times and have a lot of reason to be optimistic....
Just too bad so many miss the good that exists.....

Bradley - Optimism

In my day to day work I encounter Bradley basketball fans all the time and talk about BU hoops --
Today is no different in that respect, and yet today IS different in one respect...
I noticed something today for the first time since last fall....

I actually noticed that optimism is growing........
I have and will always be optimistic about Bradley basketball. I always root for wins, and am disappointed by losses - although would never trash the team or players as many have.

I am always watching all the news on Bradley's players, coaches, even on recruits...I've even been told by others that I am always way too positive, you know - the Koolaid lines and rose colored glasses. But that's just optimism - I always have it but since Bradley's few early season wins last fall - I haven't seen much optimism anywhere else.

Fans disappeared, grumblers popped up everywhere, fair-weather fans looked immediately for someone to blame - be it Jim Les or other fans who just aren't as miserable as they are...

BUT TODAY I saw some optimism....
One guy I chatted with said it was like the morning after getting the flu and vomiting all day - when you wake up and the first thing you notice is that you no longer have the urge to vomit!
Doesn't seem like a much but it's really a huge bit of progress.....a reason for optimism!
This fan I talked to said for the first time since last fall he's actually interested again in how Bradley's doing and wanted to know who we might get in the off season.

The other person I met and chatted with this morning is a guy who checks the message boards often but only rarely posts...
He noted that the hostility among a few of the posters is disappearing although what he might really be seeing is that many of those who have been hostile simply do not post anymore on the Bradley message board.
He noted lots of threads about recruiting, players visiting BU, players leaving to open up an opportunity to bring in new players, and the ongoing thread about next year's schedule taking shape.
But one thing he did comment on is the astounding hypocrisy some fans who post on message board seem to proudly display.
That some people go ballistic and rant when they see a post they don't like - they try to "shout down" any opposing opinion and try to brand anyone with whom they disagree as a lunatic or a sub-human...
and yet those SAME people are the first to whine about NO freedom of speech if one of their foul or hateful rants gets moderated...they're the most incessant whiners about 1st Amendment Rights when it's their speech being attacked, yet they appoint themselves as the fiercest attackers on the planet of everyone else's right to a polite opinion. Hmmm...sounded familiar.

He also noted another HUGE hypocrisy in opinions in that when BU was winning 20 games, finishing in the top half of the Valley and going to the post-season -- that simply wasn't good enough for the malcontents - who hated finishing 4th and ridiculed EIEIO tournaments...
Now those same people seem to think there hasn't been any fallout....seem to think we really didn't have such a bad year after all - even though it was pretty much the worst year for Bradley basketball in 110 seasons of playing -- and maybe even in my lifetime (;))
They were even willing to sink the whole boat for a year just to get rid of the captain...placing us where we are right now.

BUT next year will be a do-over -- so where people said last year..
"how can we possibly do any worse?" now that question is a BIT more legit...
Obviously those shortsighted enough to think we couldn't do any worse than last year learned a lesson the hard way.
But truly now, it's not likely we'll do worse in 2012-2013....or at least good BU fans wouldn't think so.

So, all in all I have enjoyed talking Bradley basketball more today than usual because I see some optimism in a few fans who have felt this was a terrible year.

we're finally talking MORE about next year, new players, returning players, and how Bradley's going to be doing in the FUTURE..
than the constant harping on how we did in the past.



Just a few notes regarding the recruiting...
The only player now known to be visiting Bradley is Mislav Brzoja...a Croatian forward from Traders Point Academy in Indiana.
BUT -- he's also on the radar screen for several other schools.....the Rhode Island people think they have a leg up on landing him because they are also going to try to land one of his Euro friends who transferring.

As for shooting guard Matej Buovac from la Lumiere - it's looking as if Bradley is facing serious competition from a couple other schools and some recent tweet activity might hint there's more to the story of why Buovac is NOT coming this week to visit.

Dave Reynolds gave an explanation but there's some hint that there may be more - as in maybe he's narrowed his choices already - more on that later...



BU recruit Fabyon Harris has been the subject of several recent articles as he is rated by some as the top available juco point guard and by others as the top available juco player in the nation!
He talks at length about his recruitment and never mentions Bradley in any interview.
This is not a good sign especially when his teammate last year in Idaho, Pierre Jackson, went to Baylor and had an awesome season there - and is now playing for the Elite Eight!
I think Fabyon wants to go the Big 12 route and he certainly has the chance as he is holding a couple Big 12 offers.
We had the lead at one time on Fabyon Harris and word was we were certainly CLOSE to landing a commitment - then other factors "stepped in" and made it next to impossible to land him -- PM me if you want to know......



BTW -- there's been an ongoing debate about players just maybe having talent that the coach did not see because the coach really only sees SOME of the players in practice and not in games when he doesn't give them a chance.

Well - yet another example...
and it's a kid whose name will be familiar....

It's Mitchell Anderson, Jr - the son of BU Legend Mitchell JJ Anderson.

Mitchell, Jr. was at Arkansas- Pine Bluff -- he never played...coach admits he didn't think much of his abilities...
Mitchell, Jr. basically had already sat the bench a whole year.
Then again the first half of this season - Mitchell was riding the pines again (at Pine Bluff) all the while the team roared (they are the "Golden Lions") out to a truly unimpressive 1-16 record, then 2-19...
(beginning to sound familiar??)

In most of the early games Mitchell didn't start, didn't play much, and wasn't given a chance...
Then gradually when the coach figured out he didn't have a whole lot of chance to win ball games with who he WAS playing - he began to play Mitchell MORE!

By the time UAPB was 1-16 Mitchell was starting and the team was playing better...
they finally won their 2nd game - 18 games into the season and Mitchell started having consistent double-doubles.

From mid-January thru the end of the regular season they went 9-5 and won 8 of their final 10 games.
They even advanced all the way to the semis of their conference tourney before falling to ultimate champion & NCAA Tourney participant Mississippi Valley State.
Their final 11-22 record after a 1-16 start literally saved the coaches job (4th year coach George Ivory) and he gave credit to Mitchell saying he had no idea how well Mitchell could or would be!

In the end - Mitchell turned out to be one of their two BEST players - finishing with averages of 11 ppg, and 6.3 rpg -- and gaining ALL Conference recognition!!!

http://www.pbcommercial.com/sections/sports/sports/uapb/laying-foundation.html
http://www.pbcommercial.com/sections/sports/sports/uapb/lions-sweat-out-close-one.html
http://www.pbcommercial.com/sections/sports/sports/uapb/

Here's Mitchell...

http://www.pbcommercial.com/sites/files/styles/large/public/article/32998_web_UAPBJacksonprev02-24-12.jpg

http://www.pbcommercial.com/sites/files/styles/large/public/article/31070_web_2-20-PV-vs-UAPB-mens-Bball.jpg

And thanks to finally getting the chance to play the coach's job is secure and Mitchell is even being listed now as a long shot on future draft prospects web sites!

Just a thought on players coming and going...

Well - I am going to start off having a little fun with the ISU folks since they seem to have a never-ending compulsion to argue that their head coach Tim Jankovich does NOT have all that much player turnover....

OK -- but I really don't want to waste the time going back too many years - so I will only list those players on the ISU basketball team WHO WOULD STILL BE AT ISU had they not been Janked...or who were Janked sometime at ISU in the past four years...

..Here is just an abbreviated list of the players ...

Kenyon Smith
Bobby Hill
Kellen Thornton
Jeremy Robinson
Ty Modupe
Justin Clark
Terry Johnson
Trey Blue
Landon Shipley
Sead Odzic
Mike Vandello

Even Lloyd Phillips was Janked but came crawling back...
http://www.bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=11182

..plus they're currently oversigned by a couple and are going to have to boot one or two more of their current players - with Zeke Upshaw, Darious Clark being the names mentioned as possibly goners...so that list could be as long as 14 player shortly...

In the same time span no where near HALF that number of kids have been booted at Bradley -- even with the addition of Donivine and Devon to the few others like Darian Norris & Eddren.



And to close the door on the argument that some have made that we as fans have NO RIGHT to question anything because we have never been there in the practices so we don't know anything!

Well -- that's a stunner of a comments - especially when we just went through nine years of the Jim Les era where a certain set of anti-JL fans questioned, criticized, and attacked everything he ever did - from the recruits he got, to the game plan, to his coaching abilities, all the way down to what he wore and how he dealt with the media.
Now -- all of a sudden - there are some self-proclaimed fans policing the message boards saying we cannot offer any opinions because we just don't know!

BUT of course I fully disagree -- everyone is entitled to his opinions -- it's the same about talk at the water cooler. Everyone has that right.
BUT - that right conflicts with the management of the message board when it crosses the line and violates standard, long held policy against such personal attacks.

But let's offer this example...

We're watching a baseball game and the inexperienced pitcher is giving up gobs of hits and runs...5 runs every inning...
at some point isn't it fair game to question why the coach hasn't made a change, especialy if we have experienced pitchers sitting on the bench? Maybe even by the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th inning we would all want to know why hasn't a pitching change or a lineup change been made?

Let's say, for the sake of argument, that the coach goes all the way with the same pitcher and same lineup and way down in the bottom of the 9th inning when the game is hopelessly lost and the score is 50-0, then he makes a few minor changes but still NEVER brings in the only guy on his entire roster who actually IS and has played the position of PITCHER!!!

The astoundingly some apologist for the teamn steps up to the microphone after the game in the post-game press conference, and says...
"hey - none of you have ever been at a practice so none of you have any right to question or criticize. We're the only ones who know what's going on and we still think we made the right moves.

Oh, so we don't even have a right to question?? And BU was playing a lot of players OUT OF POSITION and losing games in long streaks by 30 points or more....
so is it a stretch to wonder why only certain players were ever tried??
I think it is a fair question and It isn't even within a million miles of the harsh and personal criticism and attacks we have seen over the past decade and more...
If anyone thinks so they simply have failing memories and cannot recall the insulting and unfair criticism aimed at Jim Molinari and Jim Les during their stays at Bradley. Insults aimed simply because they had worked as stockbrokers or were openly religious men. Harsh personal attacks and even attacks of their supporters, calling them racist without even knowing who they are - just knowing they favored choosing JL over WM.

By this fall we should have at least two more new players - maybe three added to the two incoming new recruits (Bell, Pickett) - and we might have one or two 2013 recruits committed.......
and if those are all added to the five new players who debuted last fall under Geno...that will give Geno his first DOZEN or so new players to debut on the Hilltop under Geno.......and time will tell just how solid they end up being - and how far they carry BU.

BUT -- just for comparison -- you decide how relevant -
Here are Jim Les' first dozen new scholarship players that HE LANDED when he was hired...some had already committed to Mo (one was a walk-on named Danny Adams who also became quite a productive player)...

Jabbar Battle
Stevan Marcetic (had committed to Mo)
Joey Paul
Ryan Sunley
Michael Rembert
Marcellus Sommerville
JJ Tauai
Patrick O'Bryant
Jeremy Crouch
Lawrence Wright
Tony Bennett...
Dabiel Ruffin

Not a bad list -- they did their part to putting Bradley back on the map again -- and I hope our next batch are at least equally as successful.
Bradley in almost every sport has been way too far down and for too long......
at what point do we need to begin making even MORE big time changes.........?

Donivine Stewart transferring

As expected Donivine Stewart is leaving Bradley and is likely headed to SIUE. This is unfortunate as he has had very little opportunity to play in games or prove himself.

I think he will be a good D-I player and wish him well - sad that there are people still taking shots at the BU players...after all, it's not like players leaving to find more playing time elsewhere is a rare situation....it happens every year.
It even happens a bunch at ISU where some of the criticism of the BU players seems to come from.
And for those ISU fans who like to rip on BU - duh....at least the Bradley kids are leaving in GOOD standing, with great grades, on the Honor Roll, and never a hint of trouble or off-the-court things....
You sure can't say that about the ISU kids where we've seen multiple DUI's (Dyer, Sampay), rapes (Bobby Hill), robberies & thefts (Kellen Thornton - has yet another court date next week), attacking and beating up people in the streets at 2AM in front of bars like Darious Clark and Tyler Brown (who got an enormous 1 game suspension vs. SIUE!! - whoa) and drug arrests & citations (too many to list but even include some "stars").
There's even big names from the ISU teams who have had their cases concluded then never paid their fines and remain on the collection rolls...

http://webapp.mcleancountyil.gov/WebApps/PublicAccess/PubAC_Dispostion.asp?case_person_id=1009518

http://webapp.mcleancountyil.gov/WebApps/PublicAccess/PubAC_Dispostion.asp?case_person_id=1048939


Anyway -- here's a compilation of things that were said about Donivine in past media coverage - so it sure isn't his fault he was lured to BU and recruited here by someone who didn't feel he was going to fit the system...

"Geno Ford's take: "Donivine has been getting better. He's learning the
system and where we're trying to get the ball and to whom. He's playing with
much more confidence, which is encouraging. Donivine was the only freshmen
in the first game who distinguished himself as ready to go."

JS scouting report: Stewart lacks all the attributes Ford loves in his guards -
speed, quickness, athleticism. But he owns intangibles in spades. He knows
the game, provides leadership and heady play, is a great passer, is unselfish
yet can score when needed. Defense is still a foreign concept to him. He
must improve it to see major minutes."
http://www.pjstar.com/bradleyhoops/x916009754/Five-freshmen-give-Bradley-a-new-look?zc_p=1


"I see a great future here for us,” said 6-foot-7 forward Devon Hodges of
Bolingbrook. “This group of guys has been battling real good since we got
here."

“I don’t see anything but great things coming out of this group.”

Wells and Stewart are the two Jim Les recruits of the bunch. Both jumped on
board right away when Geno Ford was named the Braves’ new coach on March 28.

“I’m glad to be here and anxious to get started,” Stewart said."
http://www.pjstar.com/bradleyhoops/x1722637466/A-Chemistry-Class


"Ford adds, “It’s an exciting time to be here for coaches and players."

“Our class of recruits, Jalen Crawford, Devon Hodges, Donivine Stewart, Nate
Wells, and Shayok Shayok can be one of the top freshman classes in the
conference,” notes Ford. “As a group overall, five freshmen is a big number,
but I think our fans will enjoy seeing kids come in and play and develop over
four years. We felt it was important that we added four-year players — kids
who are good students and good people who represent the University well
and also do well in the classroom. They’re going to have opportunities that,
quite frankly, they wouldn’t have at a lot of other places.”
http://www.bradley.edu/about/publications/hilltopics/2011summer/ford/


"Ford didn’t reach the NCAA in his three seasons at Kent.
During the meeting, he laid out his vision for a tough, rugged team that dives
for loose balls, takes charges and attacks on both ends of the court. Ford
said he prefers to play fast and wants to lead the Missouri Valley in scoring
and in field-goal percentage defense. He summed up his philosophy in three
words: confidence, trust and attack.

Another top priority will be to contact the four recruits who have signed with
the Braves, in an attempt to keep them in the fold.

Limestone High School guard Donivine Stewart attended the news
conference and met Ford before the proceedings began. Stewart said he’s all
in with the new regime.

“I think they made a great hire,’’ Stewart said, “but I never had any doubts.
When I said I wanted to play for my city and play for Bradley, I meant it.’’
http://www.pjstar.com/bradleyhoops/x796074168/Current-future-BU-players-like-what-they-see

So good luck to Donivine - I hope this doesn't come back to haunt us....
You gotta remember - DJ Cooper - one of the best point guards in the nation was the top target for Jim Les when he was recruiting the kid and Ohio got DJ but Geno when he was at Kent State - as well as just about EVERY other coach - especially BCS coaches - passed on DJ Cooper -- thought he was too small and not athletic enough - until it was too late and missed on him.

An Updated Look at the IHSA Multiplier and How It Has Failed Miserably - and Other College Basketball News

It's an interesting time to look at the IHSA Multiplier again..

as many know the IHSA was a success-penalty aimed at private school to slow them down and prevent them from being so successful in state tourney play...the expansion of the classes was also aimed at allowing more opportunity for the majority public schools to get titles.

-First - has it worked?
Some will say yes, but in reality - easily done checks of who has been winning state titles in various sports, shows that the multiplier has had very little effect on preventing private schools from dominating certain sports.
The idea was to bump the privates up to higher classes so the smaller schools would have more chances.

Let's just look at a few representative sports and the sports that are most popular.


1)Baseball - almost all state champs in baseball have always been the public schools...
In 2007-2008 they went to 4 classes from two..
In the four seasons since, a private school has won one of the smaller classes (1A & 2A) twice & the larger classes (3A & 4A) once.
(there were also four MORE private runner-ups)

BUT in the prior full decade (10 seasons!)!!!! Only one private had won in any class in any year!! (Niles Notre Dame on 03-04, Class AA)
...so CLEARLY the Multiplier has NOT accomplished it's desired effect in baseball.


2)Boys Basketball - in the past four seasons since going to 4 classes, two privates have won the smaller classes.
In the prior DECADE before that it had only happened twice (Hales 02-03, Leo 03-04)


3)Football -
the only classes that were ever in question were 2-5 where schools like Joliet Catholic and New Lenox Providence Catholic used to dominate before the Multiplier.
BUT - the Multiplier hasn't even worked here where the MAIN purpose of it was intended to force the privates up a class or two so they wouldn't win.

Again - it didn't work...Joliet Catholic again got to the title game again last fall in Class 5A and faced YET ANOTHER private school (Lombard Montini) - so anyone who doesn't see that instead of always dominating Class 4A - now the Catholic privates simply dominate 5A!
In Classes 2-5A 13 title game participants were private since 2008, compared to the exact same number the previous four seasons - and if you go back into the 1990's before all the talk of eight classes and the Multiplier - then in the final four-year span before those changes came - between 1997-2000
THERE WERE ONLY 11 PRIVATES THAT WON ANY OF THE SIX CLASSES.
So again -- the expansion to eight classes plus pushing the privates up to higher classes has resulted in NO perceptible changes.


4)Boys & Girls Golf
We've now had five years experience with expansion to 3 classes plus the multiplier -
In those five seasons - fifteen of the 28 teams awarded either champion or runnerup trophies were private!!
That's essentially the exact same percentage as was seen in the prior 5 seasons under 2 classes and before the Multiplier (11 of 20)

It's even more noticable in Girl's Golf...
Past 5 seasons with 2 classes - 10 of 20 champs & runnerups were private.
The preceding 5 seasons only 3 of 11 were.

5) Boys & Girls Soccer
Here we really see the futility of the Multipler!

Past four seasons under the Multiplier and a 3-Class system -
Boys - 12 of 24 teams in the title game were privates
Girls - 8 of 18 were privates

in the preceding four seasons it was 6-16 for boys and 6-16 for girls
so - once again - the percentage of title game participants that are privates is UNCHANGED by all the manipulating and new rules.


6) Girls Volleyball - now get ready for some really stunning facts...

-They went to five classes under the Multiplier in 2007, so in the past FIVE SEASONS...
16 of 32 title game participants were privates...including 5 of 8 this current season.

In the comparable five seasons before that in TWO Classes,
only 6 of 20 final game participants (Champs & Runnerups) were privates.
So...the Multiplier has been a CLEAR failure.

And on and on it goes - in every sport....
In fact -

Here's the kicker
In Girls Swimming and Diving -- there was NO PRIVATE school champ nor runnerup all the way from the beginning of the state playoffs in 1975, through 2001 (25 seasons)
.......and only ONE in first 28 seasons - up to 2004!!!!!!

Then the multiplier kicked in and guess what??
I don't have an explanation for it - but since the Multiplier in Girls Swimming and Diving...
SEVEN TIMES in the past 9 seasons there's been a private school among the Champs or Runnerups with four champions being private!!
Whoa - the Multiplier sure BACKFIRED here, I guess...


So I think we proved it didn't work -- so how do the other schools feel about it...

Many are NOT happy and want further rule changes...

as expected many are not happy - they see the IHSA as incessantly meddling with something that was already working just fine and now it's got even more serious problems...

http://www.newstrib.com/articles/sports/todays-n-t-sports/default.asp?Article=28235&aname=Column%3A+Are+IHSA+changes+needed%3F

http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/columnists/kindred/article_efdc0772-9c77-11e0-b138-001cc4c002e0.html

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-06-16/sports/ct-spt-0617-prep-ihsa-changes-20110616_1_ihsa-multiplier-charter-schools

But to me the funniest part of this whole Multiplier thing is this....
The Multiplier itself is EXACTLY what the public school folks demanded -- they pushed and pushed until they got their way...
and even when they were told that we all KNEW they wouldn't be happy with the outcome -- they still said it WAS WHAT THEY WANTED!!!
So are they happy that they got EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANTED???

Well - read for yourself...of course not -- they want more, and more, and more --
I guess the only thing that'll make the public school crowd happy is to either BAN all private schools - something that has been resoundingly a failure elsewhere
as so many of the most prominent and wealthiest citizens then no longer support the public schools and their playoffs costing state organizations MILLIONS...
Or just give the trophies to the public school just for participating NOT for being actually any good at anything!! ..yeah...that'll surely make them happy!

http://www.morrisdailyherald.com/2011/06/02/multiplier-is-a-good-thing-ihsa-but-its-not-enough/aagujrq/



Some College Basketball News....

Coastal Carolina has their 3rd player arrest since summer
Their top scorer now arrested but we see the coach really defending him

http://www2.scnow.com/news/grand-strand/2012/mar/05/ccu-hoops-ellis-responds-gradnigo-arrest-ar-3356627/


Texas State head coach's home was robbed and ransacked by two former Texas State players!

http://www.newschannel10.com/story/17083288/2-ex-players-arrested-in-heist-of-tsu-coachs-home

So...the odd part in this story is...why did the head coach have $500K in stuff just sitting in his home to be stolen?


Drexel star was arrested and suspended a couple days ago..
http://thetriangle.org/2012/03/02/basketball-star-arrested-and-suspended/

He probably cost his team the game last night
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201203050172


YAHOO ARTICLE PROVES THE NCAA LOOKS THE OTHER WAY WITH THIS STUFF...
anyway -- why are all the cheaters always being caught by the bloggers instead of the NCAA?

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=dw-wetzel_syracuse_basketball_investigation_030512


Watch ESPN2 tonight at 8PM -- Coach Jim Molinari has his WIU Leathernecks in the Summit League Championship game at 8PM!!
Go MO!!!!

Let's start talking recruits for the next couple years!

Here's a listing of all the players that each Valley team will be bringing in next year.
I have far further details and links to other pages on each player but will be adding that info later.

BU
2012 - Ka'Darryl Bell, Tyshon Pickett, up next...Mislav Brzjoa (see below)

CU
2102 Andre Yates, Isaiah Zierden, Tevin Calhoun

DU
2012 Richard Carter, Micah Mason, Joey King

UE
2012 Adam Wing, DJ Balentine

ISU
2012 Aaron Simpson, Anthony Beane

InSU
2012 TJ Bell, Rhett Smith, Mike Samuels

MSU
2012 Marcus Marshall, DeQuan Hicks, Bruce Marshall, Gavin Thurman

UNI

SIU
2012 Desmar Jackson (transfer from Wyoming), Bobo Drummond, Travis Wilkins

WSU
2012 Fred Van Vleet, Henry Uwadiae, Cleanthony Early, Deontae Hawkins (? not signed?), Derail Green
(one good, legitimate site detailing that Providence is also after Deontae Hawkins states that he is not signed and maybe not even strongly committed to Wichita)
http://providence.scout.com/2/376093.html

2013 Earl Watson



Here's an update on Bradley's guys...
Tyshon Pickett didn't play, his team is getting ready for their Regional juco tourney.
They play Wednesday at Kansas City CC.

Ka'Darryl Bell and his Oak Park River Forest Huskies won their Regional Title..
their first since 2008...

The Huskies overcame a slow start with a strong defensive effort and beat Morton HS (Cicero), 56-46 Friday night. They will play Schaumburg on its home floor in the sectional semifinals at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Ka'Darryl Bell had 6 pts, 10 rebs 6 asst.



UC-Davis now goes on to play in their Big West Tourney - facing Long Beach State on March 8 in their tourney.



Coach Jim Molinari and his WIU Leathernecks play in the Summit semi's vs ORU tonight!
Go MO!!



Here's a good summary of all the best kids - ranked to 100 - that have come out of Illinois high schools since 2003.
http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/high-school/post/_/id/2649/top-100-hits-misses-of-illinois-depaul

Of course you can't hardly argue with those ranked at the top like Derrick Rose, Anthony Davis, Shaun Livingston, etc...
..but I am puzzled as to how Jereme Richmond gets in at #13 ahead of Jacob Pullen, John Shurna....when Richmond was a flop and didn't even show enough in high school to deserve this ranking.
I am also surprised at Koshwal in the Top 25 ahead of many more talented kids.

Sam Maniscalco is on the list as is Osiris...
and a lot of big time flops like Nate Minnoy and Brian Carlwell - yet fine players who completed great college careers like Jeremy Crouch and Dodie Dunson don't get a mention.



As for who Bradley is targeting - we all know at least one or two scholarships will open up and our coaching staff will try to fill them.

There's talk of a couple prep school kids - the name above is currently the one showing most interest in BU and may commit once the scholarship opens.

I have made my feelings known on the bulk of the prep school kids in the midwest....most aim too high!

I hope we are NOT banking everything on just one or two of the Indiana prep school kids...I hope we're looking at solid juco talent as well and a few names have been noted.

As I am sure you may have seen my other comments - I have a long held opinion that almost ALL of the midwest prep kids are overrated...and have been from the word GO.

They play on hand-picked prep school teams that play mostly other regular high schools and thus the depth of their hand picked talent means they win all the time and look way, way better than they are...

As I have said -- I have been tracking the careers of all those kids from Boys to Men, Decatur Christian, Brehm Prep, Culver Academy, La Lumiere, etc....
All those schools and coaches went out and RECRUITED the best kids who were already on target to be good players and probably stars in college....
SO even without knowing anything you'd certainly expect plenty of those prep kids to have already proven their talent with GREAT college careers.

YET once they play a year or two at any of those prep schools, their talent seems to dry up...we simply have NOT seen what would be expected.

Where are all those studs that were rated 4-Star and 5-Star at Boys to Men, etc???
Leon Freeman, Xavier Crawford, Clay Holloway, Jelani Poston, Elijah Dildy, Angel Garcia, Jesse Childs, Beas Hamga, Darrington Hobson, Demario Wade, Mario Stula...

All of these kids were at one time up there rated highly, 4-STAR and even 5-STAR!!!

Not one had much impact in college anywhere...and the same has been a pattern since the day BTMA opened up.

(BTW - one example - despite all the hype at prep schools - Jelani Poston finally finished up his college career with a grand total of 56 total career points in a few games at lowly UIC!!!)

The few of them who got out quickly and went somewhere else like Craig Brackins - actually did go on and do well in college but had he stayed at Boys to Men he would have gotten worse for sure..and he was good but not good enough to get Iowa State out of the basement or keep McDermott from getting run out at Iowa State.

Another example - Everyone said Mac Koshwal had NBA talent...
He put up fairly good numbers at DePaul but it's because he was all they had and he played 38 minutes...
then he's struggling to even be average over in Europe...
He played 25 games with a Spanish team that wasn't even in the top pro division - they were in the LEB Gold....and averaged a whopping 7 pts, 4 rebs per game
His contract was NOT even renewed!!!
Where is he now??

Remember James Siakam -- highly touted from Brehm Prep - and some had him inside their TOP-3 players in Illinois in 2010...and also the kid Bruce Barron (2011) -- both went D-I and Barron was kinda worthless at Oregon and is gone now - Siakam even after a whole redshirt year at Vandy still can't even get but 1-2 minutes per game occasionally in garbage time.
http://www.vucommodores.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/2011-2012/teamcume.html


I know part of the problem is they always aim too high - so when they go DePaul, Big East, Big Ten, even Pac-10 - of course they flop...
so maybe we'd have a decent player at the MVC level if that's what they choose, time will tell...
- But I am still waiting for someone to give me even one solid example of ANY of those prep schools producing a DIFFERENCE-MAKER or even a solid starter yet in the 6-7 years we've been tracking the kids from all those mid-western prep schools.

Even the IMG players have yet to impress much...remember Andrew Davis and Shayok were both IMG...
Again -- overrated and they play the typical undisciplined prep-school and AAU style and are wild and hard to coach into a good team philosophy.

(pps - I know there's a few solid D-I kids currently at La Lumiere - but most all of them were committed before they went there (Bobo, Perea, Davis)...let's hope their careers haven't been hurt in the time they've been at La Lumiere like many of the kids before them.
I can name plenty more but it is not my intent to disparage the kids who really are doing the best they can but are getting sub-par guidance and sub-par coaching.

As I have said - even random, decent schools like Whitney Young, Simeon, Manual, etc., have regularly produced many, many more and better D-I players than these prep schools.

I think the kids get their heads filled with hype and think they're better than they are, they develop lazy work ethics (remember Beas Hamga - a 5-STAR sure one-and-done that came out of Decatur Christian?) and they are NOT that well coached....
In fact - some of those prep schools have totally horrible coaches.....if the best players out of Brehm Prep can't even get 1 minute per game of playing time at average D-I schools (we're not talking Duke, here).

Remember "Dre Henley"?? (Andre Henley) rated by many as top-10 in Illinois then went to Brehm then to NIU (and everyone said he was a GREAT GET for NIU!) and flopped so badly that they sent him packing and he's never been heard from since.

One of the other really top kids at Brehm signed with Arkansas State - ought to be a star there, right??
Nope - Rakeem Dickerson -
they have nobody else so they even start the kid and gets just 3 ppg on 30% shooting
http://www.kfvs12.com/story/14527235/brehm-prep-school-basketball-player-signing-on-with-arkansas-state
http://www.astateredwolves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7200&ATCLID=205347379
http://www.astateredwolves.com//pdf8/830477.pdf

So -- final lesson to those prep school kids........do not aim too high like so many of your counterparts.
Go midmajor - then you'll have a chance to be a solid contributor and maybe even a starter.

Michael Ochereobia

Nice story on ex-BU recruit Michael Ochereobia...

http://jucojunction.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1338433

Here are a few clips...

"Michael Ochereobia will play next season in Macomb, Ill. for Western Illinois University. Ochereobia is a sophomore at nearby Highland Community College in Freeport, Ill.

"Michael is a rugged power forward with a great frame that gets position in the paint..."

Ochereobia is currently averaging 6.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game this season for the Cougars. The Cougars are 23-7 under head coach Zac Roman."

Ochereobia was once a lock for BU - he is a powerful guy in the lane and a good defender...

Read at your own peril...New story in Forbes details massive lying, corruption, and fraud in the GLOBAL WARMING PROMOTERS

http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterferrara/2012/03/01/fakegate-the-obnoxious-fabrication-of-global-warming/


Even many of those who fabricated data and lied are admitting it now - so whether you want to buy into global warming or not - you simply do NOT have any valid data to go on - it's virtually all been corrupted and fabricated...
Thus if you say you believe in global warming then you might as well also say you believe in Leprechauns!

Greedy, immature, and self-sentered youth starting protests and riots on college campuses...

And certainly MORE to come........

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/03/protest-rallies-planned-at-college-campuses-around-the-state.html

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/20120302_Hundreds_of_students_call_for_lower_tuition__debt_forgiveness.html

On the surface it looks reasonable -
They seem to be saying "we just want quality education at a decent cost..." -- right??

NOPE -- read carefully -- they want one of life's MOST valuable and expensive commodities, something many of us have paid hundreds of thousands for or mortgaged our futures for...

AND THEY WANT IT ALL VIRTUALLY FOR FREE!!!
They want the students to opt out of every paying for their tuition or their loans...!

Prediction - these protests, just like they have in Europe will grow and get more violent as the spoiled Generation-XYZ want everything for free and expect everyone else who took care of their own debts to pay for theirs, too...
This is the ultimate end result of what we get when he have an entitlement society and freebie-handout policy from the government.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/nov/10/student-protest-fees-violent

Nice job guys - you've succeeded in starting a class-warfare environment...

Lots of miscellaneous news and items...

Bradley bound Ka'Darryl Bell again lead his team to victory in their Regional game -
Ka'Darryl's OPRF Huskies won their Regional semi last night 60-51 and now advance to the Regional Final against Morton (Cicero) - the guys involved in the brawl..
The stories say Ka'Darryl was a stud!
http://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles/02-29-2012/OPRF_boys_basketball_holds_off_LT,_advances_to_regional_championship

Ka'Darryl's coach states the player that the opponents "have been keying-in on" is Ka'Darryl Bell....he is they best player.
http://media1.oakpark.com/Images/2/2/10403/2/2/2_2_10403_2_2_350x700.jpg

Also-
-Their team has been practically unbeatable when Bell plays, but were little better than a .500 team when he was out with injury
-Comcast and long time prep basketball expert Taylor Bell raves over Bell and calls him a "superstar" and one of the two best players in their conference- http://www.google.com/search?q=%22superstar+athletes%2C+ka%27darryl+bell%22&hl=en&safe=strict&tbo=1&gbv=2&tbs=qdr%3Am&prmd=ivns&ei=-IlPT8yeNIiCtgfI04WjDQ&sa=N&gs_sm=3&gs_upl=11172l21079l0l21985l25l24l2l0l0l6l281l2673l5.11.3l19l0&oq=%22superstar+athletes%2C+ka%27darryl+bell%22&aq=f&aqi=&aql=

http://www.csnchicago.com/preps/news/Bell-Levin-lead-Oak-Parks-revival-?blockID=647450

-Ka'Darryl was honored with an invitation to the 2012 Chicago United Hoops Classic All Star Game -
http://twitter.com/#!/chihoopsclassic/status/175006121306759168

AND - contrary to some uninformed opinions - Ka'Darryl is the ONLY player on his team with a legitimate D-I offer.
Some reports say Gabe Levin had some interest but he is NOT going D-I, he'll be going to prep school.
He'd have been redshirting and even admits it - he'd have to get his body ready for D-I, and it's NOT there yet.
http://www.csnchicago.com/preps/news/Bell-Levin-lead-Oak-Parks-revival-?blockID=647450

BTW -- the Charitable Foundation that is putting on this All Star Classic is the

Norm Van Lier Scholarship Fund
Chicago United Hoops Classic LLC

honoring ex-Chicago Bulls star Norn Van Lier...and his wife, Sue Render Van Lier is a Bloomington HS grad!
http://classreport.org/main/selectprofilemain.asp?dname=/usa/mn/bloomington/bhs/&clid=945846&cl=1965&hs=BHS&clr1=forestgreen&clr2=forestgreen&clr3=lightgrey&stcnt=915&item=1154065
http://www.chiunitedhoopsclassic.com



UC-Davis' Tyler Les LEADS THE ENTIRE NATION in one stat....

- "Three-point FG point %" - the measures the portion of a player's total points that come from three-point shots.
Tyler Les is #1 in the nation at 81.42%.



Coach Mo and WIU won again last night.
They go to 16-13 with a home win over UNO in front of 2276 fans - and end the regular season with their best record in 15 years!
They have the #4 seed in their conference tournament.

A quote from Mo...
"That's what you want Western Illinois basketball to look like, that's always been my dream in a sense of playing tough defensively, rebounding the basketball, get good shots and then sharing the basketball. The other thing is just having our students here to enjoy it. Peers love to perform in front of their peers. They were so thrilled by that."

Also - Coach Molinari and one of Mo's best players - Ceola Clark - have gotten some encouraging news...

Clark appears to have a good chance of getting a Sam Singh-like 6th year.
Ceola Clark missed ALL of his first year at WIU in 2007-2008 with injury, then
he also lost all but 6 games last year - and both seasons should qualify for medical waivers and he fits the criteria as a good student to get that 6th year..
http://www.mcdonoughvoice.com/sports/x1481616814/WIUs-Tyler-takes-his-final-shots-at-Western-Hall
http://www.goleathernecks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=49949&SPID=4947&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=12000&ATCLID=1283682&Q_SEASON=2011
http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/BKC-Ceola-020912

When the time arrives, Billy Molinari should also be eligible to get the 6th year...
Billy has already missed THREE seasons and even if he gets the 6th year he'll end up with only 3 seasons of playing...

I personally believe Mo should be COY in the Summit - he has done an incredible job with a barebones roster hit by injuries and losses and finished among the top four in the league.

WIU was picked DEAD LAST by some and in every preseason poll either 9th or 10th in the preseason polls...

All of the three team that currently sit ahead of WIU in today's standings (ORU, SDSU, and Oakland) all were picked 1-2-3 in the preseason.

So just how good of a coaching job does it take for a guy to lead his team to exactly where everyone unanimously expected them to be...

BUT -- it takes a HECK of a job to take the team picked LAST, then lost 3 key players unexpectedly to injury and ineligibility - and yet finish 4th SIX spots higher than expected - and higher than ANYONE even imagined.
http://www.thesummitleague.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=3900&ATCLID=205314393



It was noted previously that ISU reserve Trey Blue had left the team and wouldn't play in St. Louis...
but now it is being reported that backup center Jordan Threloff will miss the games in St. Louis..
He fractured his right thumb in practice Tuesday...
Now if Jackie Carmichael gets some foul trouble they could be in a difficult situation.
http://www.goredbirds.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/030112aaa.html
http://www.pantagraph.com/blogs/redbirds/isu-basketball-threloff-injury-will-hurt-at-mvc-tourney/article_d5166022-63b9-11e1-9acb-001871e3ce6c.html



Sammy Maniscalco is a very valuable part of the Illini but he's having to play through pain..
http://www.illinihq.com/sports/illini-sports/mens-basketball/2012-02-29/maniscalco-its-about-pride.html



Nice Andrew Warren article and picture...
http://www.nbl.com.au/taipans1/news/article/2012/march/its-up-to-us-says-warren/

Andrew is averaging 14 ppg, 40.4% FG shooting, and 36.3% from 3-pt, 3.3 rpg, 1.2 apg...and 113 made FG and team leading 61 made 3-pointers

http://www.nbl.com.au/uploads/pics/drew_3.JPG



Patrick O'Bryant played one final game for his team in Greece.
He is done playing now for Kavala and led them to a win - with a nice 12 pt, 6 reb performance, with a block & a steal.
Kavala is in 6th place in a 13 team league but only 4 games out of 3rd...
Patrick is among the top 2 or 3 in almost every stat category...
he's Top-10 in the entire LEAGUE in rebounds and is #1 in the whole league in blocks.

Patrick is leaving to play for a new team closer to home in Puerto Rico.

BUT -- here's the really interesting part of this story -- almost every decent player in the entire Greek League has quit their team and is leaving the country...
Five of the league's top 10 scorers are leaving, as are many of the top rebounders and leaders in other categories...
http://www.eurobasket.com/Greece/basketball.asp?NewsID=261871

The basic problem is the Greek economic crisis and the fact that many of the Greek teams are having trouble making payroll and the future looks even worse...
The Greek League playoffs have historically been plagued with low attendances and financial losses not to mention fans rioting -
so the playoffs have been scaled back to just the top two teams so all the other teams' players are packing up and leaving.
As teams elsewhere in the world are looking to bolster their lineups for playoff runs, now appears to be the time for the best players in Greece to get the heck out...
http://www.mlbb.gr/feed-items/greek-cup-final-be-played-again-almost-empty-elliniko



News on Ex-Brave Lawrence Wright - It appears Boogie was robbed...........

Thanks to some last minute voting - Lawrence Wright did finish 19th in the online voting (the results of which have now been removed from the web site)
and then those fan-voting results were given to the head coaches in the Canadian League to select the All Star teams
...BUT they were not obligated to pick the players who got the most votes....they just promised to be guided by those results...


But the emphasis all along was to try to get as many Canadian players into the all Star Game as possible so Boogie was at a disadvantage ..
Thus three players from Boogie's team got selected ahead of him...
even though Boogies stats are better than any of them!

The three players selected from the Rainmen are...
Taliek Brown
Joey Haywood
Tyrone Levett

Here are the Halifax Rainmen stats...Boogie's numbers are superior yet he was left out of the All Star Game!

Wright, Lawrence 16.12 ppg, 5.18 rpg 2.15 apg, .463 FG%, .39 3pt%
(Boogie's 16.12 ppg is tops on the Rainmen & 13th in the entire league, his FG% is 16th in the league, and he's also Top 25 in both rebs & blocks)

Haywood, Joey... 13.61 ppg, 2.27 rpg 1.79 apg, .531 FG%, .36 3pt%
Levett, Tyrone.... 13.20 ppg, 5.97 rpg 1.40 apg, .422 FG%, .36 3pt%
Brown, Taliek...... 12.91 ppg, 3.09 rpg 2.97 apg, .489 FG%, .20 3pt%



NIU finally wins one - on senior night - with ex-BU recruit Tyler Storm getting his first career START and having a nice game!
They beat Toledo 64-61.



If Illinois or Northwestern fire their respective coaches, will any of their players or their recruits be seeking to go elsewhere??
Remember - kids like DJ Richardson, Drew Crawford, and many other of those kids had Bradley on their radars.



UCLA sure had one mess..
This story is self-explanatory
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/magazine/02/28/ucla/index.html

However - contrary to claims I have seen that "no rules were ever broken"...
I disagree........

"There were nights out with current and former NBA players, television stars and models.
One evening the partying started at the Beverly Hills mansion of a wealthy UCLA fan.
The Bruins were then chauffeured in a Rolls-Royce to a West Hollywood club, where several players
were ushered past a long line of people and given VIP treatment at a table in the back."

Say what??? Party buses, freebies, special privileges, VIP treatment, ladies provided, underage boozing, DRUGS, etc.....plus - read on - intentionally inflicting injuries on other players -- like this stuff isn't against the rules??

Yet the article says that head coach Ben Howland knew all about all of this and failed to ever issue any discipline and by his actions even promoted this stuff...

if the word "renegade" ever applied anywhere....



Every once in a while some obscure rule makes the headlines....
remember this one ? when Chicago North Lawndale wore uniforms that had one little piece of trim that was a violation of rules and it cost them a shot at the state title...
http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=927371

Well - here are some other little known and obscure rules....feel free to add others you may know about, but I have seen many times where the failure to know about some obscure rule cost kids who violated them..


-In women's college basketball there is no 10-second backcourt violation...
so if they want to stall they can stay in the backcourt and play keep away for the full 30 seconds making a full court press way less effective.
http://www.dailyiowan.com/2010/02/19/Sports/15721.html


-In the pregame warmups a player dunks and a ref calls a technical. (remember, a technical also counts as a personal foul)
Does that player START the game with one foul on his tally? Let's say he dunks three times before the ref can alert him that he's been called for a violation. Then does the player start the game with 3 technical fouls, thus be ejected?

Answer - quite simply any and ALL dunking in pregame is a technical ON THE BENCH...it does count on the team total of personals so the team starts with one foul but no individual player.
After being warned if another player also dunks, the ref has the option of calling a 2nd technical and ejecting the head coach.


-basketball players are called "cagers" because at one time there was an attempt to change the game by installing a cage around the court to prevent all the out of bounds plays.
At one time there were deemed excessive delays when balls went flying out of bounds, into the stands, or down stairwells, and there were also fan injuries when players and balls went flying.
http://hooptactics.com/Content/Pictures/Picture.ashx?PicId=135871

http://www.blackfives.com/blog_pics/vintage_cage.jpg

My own father told me about the "cage playing days" but sensible rules to control and settle out of bounds situations made the cages impractical.
One thing that led to chaos and ushered in the cages was at that time the rules awarded the out of bounds to the player who retreived it first. Thus there were all out brawls up in the stands, and down the stairwells with players fighting for the loose out-of-bounds balls. This obscure old rule also has since been changed.


-also back in that era - after every made basket, the ball was brought back to the center circle and re-tipped - kinda like how they do a new face-off in hockey after each goal...but the ball was not necessarily tossed up high - just tossed in between the two centers....
This made having a strong, powerful guy playing center quite a premium so instead of using tall lanky guys as centers, they usually went for guys who looked like this...powerful & muscular who could dive in and get the ball like a rugby scrum.
http://www.hickoksports.com/images/krause_moose.jpg


-what is the penalty if a guy guarding the inbounder reaches across the end line?
Answer - it is a delay of game warning. If it happens again it is a technical on the bench.

BUT - what if the defender reaches across the end line while defending the inbounds and touches the ball or the player?
That violation is different and results in an automatic technical without any warning.


- The "air dribble"...
This is one I'll bet 95% or more people will not only say they've never heard of but even dispute it...

BUT -- definitely there was a time around 1915-1920 when air dribbling was allowed. Similar to dribbling by bouncing the ball off the floor - there was a time when it was legal to bat the ball in the air as well - and allowed a player to move as long as he was NOT carrying the ball. Air dribbling has been disallowed and removed from rule books for at least 75 years.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_Air_Dribbling
http://forum.officiating.com/basketball/248-whats-air-dribble.html


-BUT - here's a similar play...
let's say a player ends his dribble then shoots, but the shot hits NOTHING - not the rim nor backboard or any other player..
BUT the shooter runs and catches the shot as it is coming down out of the air and starts to dribble again.
Is this "travelling"?

I suspect at least 80-90% will say yes, it is traveling - but it is NOT.
As long as in the ref's judgement, it was not an intentional self-pass, and it was a legit shot, then player control ends, and when he goes and gets the ball -
even if he catches it out of the air - it is a legal situation.
Even some refs call this one wrong...
It is rule # 4.43...


-One last situation - see if anyone can get this...

IS THERE EVER A TIME in basketball where the referee, by rules, will blow his whistle and STOP PLAY after a made basket - even if there is NO FOUL, NO GOALTENDING, NO timeout, and no violation of any kind??

Answer - yes, there is...if a player scores into his own basket (scores into the wrong goal), the correct action by rules is for the referees to blow the whistle, stop play,
be sure to award 2 pts to the proper team, and then award an inbounds play to the team that just shot the ball (not the team that was awarded the 2 pts) since it counts as a basket for the other team.


As a corollary to this situation - let's say a player shoots a 25 foot shot into the wrong basket - does if result in 3-points for the other team??
NOPE -- just two -- you cannot score a 3-pointer unless it goes into your own basket!
http://forum.officiating.com/basketball/31744-3-pointer-wrong-basket.html


ODDLY - the rule is quite different in the NBA - as any intent to shoot into the wrong basket is illegal and nullified.
http://offthedribble.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/23/robinsons-wrong-basket-swish-would-not-have-counted/



If a long shot from the opposite end bounces into the hoop - it is still just a 2-pointer as the definition of a shot ends when it strikes the floor...

BTW -- here's an odd one someone PM'ed to me..

In a game between VMI and George Mason in 2009 -- a really hard and somewhat intentional collision occurred between a dribbler and a defender...
The refs called differing fouls and then huddled and finally settled on a DOUBLE FOUL...
calling BOTH a charging call on the dribbler AND and blocking call on the defender on the exact same play...
They then went to the alternating possession to determine which team got to inbounds the ball.

I guess the refs have the prerogative of making such a call - but they probably erred in not calling it one way or the other.


One other odd rule situation happened in 1982 when the LA Lakers' Norm Nixon was shooting one free throw in the final 3 seconds of a game that they were down 2....SO....he did something for which no rule was in the books...
He faked his free throw, drawing BOTH teams into the lane. Then the rule for a double lane violation was a jump ball,
but with Kareem Abdul Jabbar jumping at the FT circle right next to his own basket, the Lakers got the tip and hit the basket - ultimately winning the game in OT.
The basketball commissioner (Larry O'Brien) CHANGED the ruling later to declare the final 3 seconds had to be replayed because Nixon really cannot be allowed to benefit from such a move, plus since the FT was actually never taken, the players on the lane should be repositioned and a new rule was inserted in the books that if a player fakes a FT, it's a violation and he loses his turn at the line.
The actual outcome then went into the books as the final 3 seconds were replayed 4 months later and the Spurs winning 117-114.


Originally Dr. James Naismith had just 13 rules for this game and here they are..
http://www.usabasketball.com/rules/naismith_original_rules.html