Thursday, October 2, 2014

Hypocrisy? Just an interesting comparison - you decide

Here are the very words of the PJ Star sports editor.  There is no opinion involved, his own words speak for himself.

- "When did I start to sour on Jim Les?

I'd say the souring was a process, but the start would have been an overall poor taste in my mouth after his second season.

.. They were seriously flawed, lacked discipline, didn't play good defense, and weren't on the same page. ........ team chemistry is bad, and stuff happens and even a great coach can't find a way to hold it all together. 
.. I think Les could have done a better job managing the personnel in the second year .....end of year 3, and ... I found it unacceptable. After those failures led to yet another opening-night exit from the play-in round of the MVC tourney, yes, I dropped a critical hammer on Les and his program."
http://www.pjstarforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=88481&p=1186602#p1186602

So, the opinion of our local media started to sour in year two and was complete by year three and he turned critical & dropped the hammer...yet the reasons sound eerily like what we see right now, so is he souring again??  Doubtful if you read what's being written.


Then later - here's what he said...

2010:
"How hot is the seat under Jim Les?

  • ..BU athletics director Michael Cross ..did explain...the process he uses to evaluate the coaches and programs in his department. There are five components to the process:
    1. The educational experience of the athletes.
    2. Living within your budget and being part of the process to enhance those resources.
    3. Team environment, which includes off-court behavior, transfers in and out. More specifically, Cross said, “Is there constant angst every other day, are you constantly dealing with crises, or is there a stable, values-based culture that everyone is comfortable with and Bradley would expect?”
    4. Compliance with NCAA, conference and university rules, and with federal, state and local laws
    5. "The extent to which you’re competing for championships,” Cross said.
    He also said this:
    “Any one of those things can save you, and any one can sink you. There’s no absolute formula, no exact answers. It’s all those things combined.
    Take Cross at his word and realize that a more important assessment is whether the Braves compete for a Valley title. Really compete."
  • http://www.pjstar.com/article/20101010/News/310109958


    Then after admitting he turned against Jim Les in YEAR TWO - before Coach Les even had the opportunity to land his own players and get players who could or WOULD play his system, he followed up with continual swipes until finally he got his way...
    And those attacks did not cease even though Coach Les brought Bradley & fans a few of the very best years we have had in half a century!

    then in 2011...

    "Out of optimism for Jim Les"
    ..a column in 2011 where he demanded Les must go, after just ONE losing season - Les' first and ONLY Thursday appearance in St. Louis since getting his own players.
    http://www.pjstar.com/article/20110303/News/303039892

    He railed at JL even tho Les had a winning record, a record of 102-41 at home (.741) better than every coach BU has ever had for more than 2 seasons!
    He railed on attendance sliding towards 7, 400 (guffaw - as it now dwindles down around 4000-5000),
    There were SCARCE, infrequent, and minor off the court issues as compared to plenty of them now,
    And the future hardly looks bright with nobody yet wanting to take any of the open scholarships we have currently for 2015 - and no sure scoring threat returning this year - most players recovering from major joint surgery, broken bones, and arrests with impending suspensions.
    This will be the fourth consecutive season (all four under current head coach Geno Ford) in which we will begin the season with at least 1 or 2 or even FOUR players on suspensions.

    And yet the hypocrisy is that when it happened to the last coach the souring began in year two - but with the current staff we're heading into year four with the PJS cheerleaders continuing their mantra that they've chanted for the past three years about how we're "light years" better, maybe one recruiting-miss away, on the verge, or just need SEVERAL more seasons of status quo ...

    Hmmm....all fans ask is be consistent - apply the same standards as before....
    The fans see the hypocrisy - readership of the PJS is plummeting - the Journal Star staff layoffs roll on - as a

    couple times each year we hear about more being let go....
    But it mirrors the attendance at BU games - it's the double whammy --- sales of tickets are WAY, WAY down - crowds in the 5000's announced !!!
    But we all know the truth is even way worse as half those seats are empty...some of last year's home games at Carver had as few as 3000, Some up on campus had as few as 1000!

    but it will get worse.....although we all know what's coming....

    -excuses about why we are still bad this year - GF's FOURTH with all his own new players - although many are just what's currently here with this game of musical roster - reloading every spring.
    we will hear alibi's about how there were just too many new guys, too many injuries -- we need to give them more time....

    - but then 2015-16 almost everyone (if they don't get booted or Creaned before then) on the roster will be a senior and we should have a good year - but if not, it'll be another truckload of excuses fabricated by the cheerleading local press.

    - the question then becomes - how bad does it have to get before the people with agendas finally admit massive and proper changes need to take place emanating from above.... and not just shuffling from below and elevating some assistant


    Lastly - let's go back to those criteria we've heard many times from Dr. Cross...
    mainly the one about competing for championships.....

    Well - I have a question .. in the five years Dr, Cross has been at the help - what program has ever competed for a championship??

    We have some good success in soccer, but that's hardly new - although if anything can be seen, that success is quickly becoming less evident...

    we also have a couple tourney wins for softball - coming from low seeds to get a bid despite a mediocre season where it can hardly be said we competed for a championship - but anyway, once in the NCAA we bowed out early and badly.
    Nope - don't see any hint of those promises we'd be competing for championships - we were far closer back in 2006, 2007 or so than we are now...but we fired all the guys who got us there then - and nobody since had had much success.
    And all the revenue successes from then are gone - now a huge debt problem and overspending problem is about to sink the ship as the very lifeblood of all of BU sports - the BASKETBALL season ticket fan base is disappearing faster than the businesses up at the Main & University intersection that all hate the traffic rebuild.

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