Info on BU's recruits and more on idiot behavior among athletes

FWIW here's some news on a few of the recruits Bradley is following.......... Mislav Brzoja ..played with his team at the Nike Spring Showdown .................................................... > > "The NIKE Spring Showdown ... at Merrilville, Indiana Best Tournament Performers Mislav Brzoja 6’5” SG Trader’s Point 2012 had a great weekend in all phases of the game. He moves very well without the ball which leads to him getting a lot of easy baskets. He also plays the passing lanes and anticipates well on the defensive end. Brzoja is also a good outside shooter and shot it well this weekend. The weakness to his game is his lateral quickness, but he didn’t look as slow this weekend as I previously thought." > > Tymell Murphy ..this is from the Rutgers scout.com premium site..inaccessible to most... "Recruiting.. On the Hardwood JuCo swingman Tymell Murphy officially visited Rutgers last week, but did not receive a scholarship offer from coach Mike Rice." "JuCo Tymell Murphy did not earn an offer from Rutgers on his official visit. I don't expect him to receive one. -- ...in open scrimmages could not seem to score against the defense." mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=183&f=2834&t=8926559 http://rutgers.scout.com/2/1179891.html Akkem Springs - signs LOI to Northern Illinois http://www.huskiewire.com/articles/2012/04/21/43959410/index.xml This comment on twitter says Akeem Springs signed with the "Salukis" but also mentions another SIU signing "Travon Baker" - and he also signed with NIU not SIU. https://twitter.com/#!/bryangn/status/193988973436219393 http://www.niuhuskies.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/041212aaa.html Milton Doyle - still shopping around - no word yet - This new ranking has Doyle at #22 in Illinois' fairly weak Class of 2012...but then they also have Aaron Simpson at #17 http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?hl=en&tbo=1&gbv=2&tbs=qdr%3Ad&q=cache:m96oRomq4XMJ:http://ballinnetwork.com/index/index.php?option=com_php&Itemid=448&st=IL&y=2012+%22milton+doyle%22&ct=clnk omari Grier - visited BU last weekend - I think we'd have heard by now if there was any good news... ESPN is reporting that Wichita assistant Greg Heiar is in the running for the Southern Miss job vacated by Larry Eustachy. The article also mentions that Tim Jankovich was in Minneapolis this past weekend at a big AAU event that Jim Molinari was also at. No official word if or when Jank's taking the spot at SMU. Bobo Drummond getting interest from Wright State among others but apparently little interest from the big boys as had been predicted by some... Rayvonte Rice's mom has been quoted saying that his decision is between Xavier and U of I. https://twitter.com/#!/JDenhart23/status/194185570585550848 Trey Kellum from Peoria Central verbals to Florida A&M https://twitter.com/#!/KRscout/status/194427931840360451 Several Illinois Wolves and others played very well in the Merrillville AAU event http://illinois.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1358129&PT=4&PR=2 Here's a few clips from that article... "Demetri McCamey's little brother Glynn Watson hit a baseline three-pointer with 3 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Illinois Wolves 66-65 over Meanstreets at the Spring Showdown in Merrillville (Ind.) on Sunday. Watson's shot capped off the matchup between two marquee 15U clubs in one of the top games at the event. Watson, who will be a sophomore this fall at Westchester (Ill.) St. Joseph, is one of four outstanding guards on the Illinois Wolves 15U team. Wolves' director Mike Mullins feels it is among the best collection of backcourt talent that his program has had. Jordan Ash, who also plays at St. Joe's, is probably the most touted of the quartet. ...Ash .. considered top 5 talents in their class in Illinois. Jordan Ash, guard (6-foot-1), Westchester (Ill.) St. Joseph / Illinois Wolves It would be hard to find a sophomore guard who is more physically and mentally mature than Ash at his. He was consistently good the entire weekend in Merrillville. Ash is the emotionally leader of a loaded 15U Wolves squad, and he gets it done inside and out. His strength allows him to get position in the paint and finish, and he is tough on the glass for a player of his size. A left-hander, Ash can get his mid-range shot at will. Ash attacks, but doesn't force things if they aren't there - a trait of many Wolves guards over the years. His three point shot is a work in progress, but it is noticeably better than when we saw him last summer. Ash can score at three levels when the outside jumper is going down. He was also the best passer among the 2015 guards that we saw this weekend, especially in transition. Prentiss Nixon, guard (6-foot-1), Bolingbrook (Ill.) A smooth and natural scorer, Nixon went off in the game against Meanstreets, hitting threes and attacking the rim in transition. Along with 2014 wing Peyton Allen, Nixon was the best pure shooter that we saw at this event. The Wolves guards are interchangeable - Nixon can play point, but he is a more natural wing. Like Allen, Nixon is great coming off of screens. But something that separates Nixon is the ability to get his own shot. He can break down opponents off the dribble or stop and pop. Nixon also defends well on the ball - he forced a five second call on a key possession late in the Meanstreets game. More notes from the Spring Showdown * Illini head coach John Groce and assistant Jamall Walker were on hand for most of the day. * 2014 wing Peyton Allen shot the ball consistently well this weekend and looks in excellent physical condition this spring. * Darius Austin, Allen's teammate on the SW Illinois Jets 16U club, is adept at getting to the basket. The jury is still out on Austin due to an inconsistent shooting stroke, but he is very aggressive attacking the rim. * Normal (Ill.) U-High forward Keita Bates-Diop was hot and cold this weekend, but he came up with a big 24-point performance vs. Speice Indy Heat Sunday afternoon." A few more minor notes..... @prepbullseye tweets... "No IL player enhanced stock in Minneapolis this weekend more than Kendall Pollard. Is a top 2013 recruiting priority for Toledo & Bradley." Kendall Pollard also figures to receive a scholarship offer soon from Bradley. AHC Willie Scott watched him endlessly this weekend." Alec Peters from Washington got an offer from Valpo..and ... Nate Taphorn is now very likely out of reach for any mid-major... - he's now got a Northwestern offer even before his junior year is over IN THE NEWS IS MORE IDIOTIC VIOLENT BEHAVIOR BY RON ARTEST... Despite the guy calling himself "Metta World Peace" (what a mockery of anything to do with peace) - .. this guy displays the most criminally violent and thuggish personality of anyone I have ever seen play this game or really any athletic endeavor - even ice hockey! Here's Ron Artest's latest hit on a completely innocent and unsuspecting James Harden in last night's game http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkvepCon4tg I call on the NBA to give Artest a lifetime ban - this is far, far from his first or even his 10th incident - someof which are already legendary.. This crap is exactly why even kids in junior high are acting the same way because they think it's cool, tough, and gets very little penalty. I saw the ESPN talking heads hinted they thought he'd just get 1 or 2 games, maybe three...and I cringed when I heard that...... Look at Marian Hossa of the Blackhawks that we are discussing on the General Sports board - he was hit so violently that he's gonna miss not just the playoffs, but his career might just be over because of that hit... Likewise with Harden - it is convceivable that if he has a concussion he could miss a month or more... Anyone recall Cardinals' catcher Jason LaRue whose career was destroyed and ended when he was viciously kicked in the head by Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto?? In other words - LaRue gets a lifetime penalty from the injury but remember what Cueto got?? Seven games suspension - which because he's a pitcher actually means he misses JUST TWO GAMES, maybe even JUST ONE! http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100919&content_id=14843488¬ebook_id=14843490&vkey=notebook_stl&c_id=stl http://www.foxsportsmidwest.com/08/12/10/Rains-Cuetos-suspension-is-a-joke/landing.html?blockID=289060 I know the voice of just one fan is meaningless to these greedy people but I have been consistent over the course of my entire life that this type of INTENTIONAL violence - especially when completely unrelated to the game - needs to be penalized in the severest way! In the same contaxt... ... a new study shows why pro sports teams seem to NOT care about the severe character issues and arrest histories - they go right ahead and pursue or draft those guys anyway!! In other words ..character doesn't matter - the lust for talent and the hope that it'll pay off with wins and more income are all that matters. http://news.yahoo.com/column-undecided-draft-scan-rap-sheet-235703929--spt.html "But a provocative new study suggests an almost surefire way for any GM to maximize the value of his pick: Choose a player who's already had a run-in with the law. "So if you're on the fence about a player and worried about his criminal record," said Stephen Wu, an economics professor at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., "the data says take a chance." That sounds strange, but makes sense ..." This study and the response by the NFL teams is exactly why we have such character issues so prevalent in sports.. Lastly - remember when the media and ISU fans really had a field day because one BU player tweeted from class? Even though Osiris Eldridge has also tweeted some groos stuff from his classes, even a video of another female student..the ISU fans still took the opportunity no matter how minor to criticize behavior by BU players. Well, I think we can now put that debate fully to rest... As time has gone on a few ISU players' tweets, especially Osiris Eldridge's have gotten more and more hideous and gross - but his latest kinda tops them all. Here it is - but because of the possibility he may delete it I have reproduced it in a censored form below... https://twitter.com/#!/Osiris_Eldridge/status/194291628096225280 "Tell a white girl u wanna dabble in her pu**y, she gon explode from joy... u won't even be able to hit" LMAO" Keep up the classy stuff...BTW OE has reportedly been dismissed from his NBDL team - despite his talent - he's kind of nearing the "bust" stage... he was also booted from his teams in Turkey & France - with the French team kicking him out before he even played a game!

More and more corruption in District 150 - sad...

If you are not familiar with the constant infighting and corruption going on in Peoria's District 150 school system - start with this...
http://bubravesblogger.blogspot.com/2012/02/more-ridiculous-acts-and-corruption-in.html

BUT -- now it goes beyond turmoil....and I can't see how in the world anyone would want their kids in this corrupt school district...

Now Dist 150 is holding closed, secret hearings late into the night just to run many of their better, and more highly honored people out of there..
http://www.pjstar.com/news/x513711997/District-150-hearings-continue

The PJS reports on all this but completely fails to tell what's really going on as they seem to kiss ass because one of their writers is a koolaid-big-fan of Grenita Lathan - Dist. 150 superintendant.

BUT -- they should pursue a few obvious quesitons that many have...
Why are the few little minds that are destroying this once-proud school district - pursuing their own petty little personal agendas while the whole damned system is falling apart?

Simply do the tiniest research and find that the very people Lathan is obsessively trying to throw out of there are the MOST successful, widely respected and well liked principles District 150 has ever had.
AWARD winning leaders and teachers who have dedicated their lives and are well loved by everyone but the jealous Lathan who hates the accolades they get and who fears they may get attention she thinks she deserves!
The parents absolutely love these principles & teachers and want to keep them - so..
why is Lathan doing this and why won't she talk about it or allow open hearings as everyone is requesting??
What is she hiding?? Her personal agendas and vendettas to wipe all the local people out of there so she can bring in her friends and cronies from North Carolina?
Just read the many stories of how many of her buddies she keeps bringing into Peoria from North Carolina and paying them ridiculous salaries and fees when outstanding local people are far more qualified and deserving!!!

http://www.1470wmbd.com/About-a-Dozen-Speak-Out-About-Principal-Moves-Othe/12526646

http://peoriastory.typepad.com/peoriastory/2011/09/to-peoria-district-150-school-board-youre-wasting-money.html

You decide..

Here's an example of how badly people want out of this corrupt district....
These people are literally suing at their own significant expense to get the HE** out of District 150!!!!
http://www.pjstar.com/news/x668518878/Property-owners-want-to-leave-D150-for-Dunlap-school-district


One last thing -- Grenita Lathan came from the Guilford County School system (Greensboro, NC) which was NOT doing well then - and continued to deteriorate for years after Lathan left..failing minimal NATIONAL STANDARDS in all but 29 of their 117 schools!!!! -
http://schoolcenter.gcsnc.com/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=307454

...only now beginning to improve under the NEW leadership since Lathan is gone...

http://www.news-record.com/content/2011/12/25/article/guilford_county_schools_rise_in_rankings_study_finds

http://sandhills.news14.com/content/school_news/654847/district-responds-as-nearly-half-of-guilford-county-schools-designated-title-i

http://greensboro.rhinotimes.com/Articles-c-2011-04-21-208074.112113-Why-Not-Just-Close-Our-Failing-Schools.html

This includes the findings after Lathan left that the school district needed $882 million in infrastructure work that she ignored while she was taking GSA-like trips and looking for a better job..
http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/article/195305/327/American-Jobs-Act-Could-Bring-675M-To-Guilford-County-Schools

A look back 5 years - trouble at Binghamton - beware of impermissible contact with recruits

Not that I would ever expect this to happen at Bradley or want it to happen - but let's take a little look back at how one really bizarre accident can so horribly ruin a guy's life...

First - a link to the top pro league in the Czech Republic and one of their two best teams - BK Prostejov...
The best player on this team is Jamar Smith - ex-Illini - averaging 14.3 ppg and 39.7% on 3-pointers.
http://www.eurobasket.com/team.asp?Cntry=Czech%20Republic&Team=5730&Page=3

Other American players in this same league include other ex-Illini Marcus Arnold and Dominique Keller.
And maybe Jamar is very happy but I know he has a couple kids back here in the states, so I have to wonder if he'd prefer playing here...

BUT as we all recall, Jamar's life and those lives of a few others, especially Brian Carlwell were altered dramatically and permanently in an instant when a very bad choice to drive in a snowstorm while drunk led to a serious accident.

The accident took place just a little over 5 years ago in Feb. of 2007.
In time we would see that his playing career was all but over - and he was basically never heard from again.
Jamar was every bit as good of a player as Blake Ahearn (who has played for NBA teams), and as good of a shooter as many players who are currently in the NBA.
Just about any chance Jamar had of playing in the NBA evaporated that night and he's kind of played in obscurity ever since.

This isn't to pick on Jamar - I wish him well and hope some day he does make it back to "The League"...but I hope every young college athlete and even non-athlete student learns from this example - and does not make the same really bad and even illegal choices. Take life seriously - it can be ever so great and yet it can also be a nightmare at times.



In coaching news........
Wow - big shakeup at Binghamton -- head coach Mark Macon - coming off a 2-29 season (includes a 26-game losing streak) where some people had Binghamton as the worst team in D-I, he just fired two of his assistants and is looking for new ones.
Ron Brown and Julius Smith have been cut loose...

Consider this - Mark Macon took over at Binghamton after Kevin Broadus led the team to the 2009 America East Conference championship ...
he had good players but admittedly there were issues, but Macon was the assistant there at the time all the "issues" arose so he sure wasn't completely separate from those issues...

Since 2009 he has literally run that program straight into the ground - dropping instantly to well under .500,
then an 8-23 season, now just 2-29 beating only Vermont & UM-Baltimore Cty, yet at the end of last season he got
a contract extension and the school now finds themselves unable to fire him because they cannot afford it -
so like BU did to JL, and like SIU did to Lowery, and like DePaul did to Wainwright, they have cut his assistants out from under him...
BTW - in each of those three other cases, the following year - immediately after the season ended the head coach was also axed.

But - I still recall posters here who repeatedly hyped Mark Macon as someone Bradley should hire.
God knows why a coach who has never been able to win, who has had multiple of his own players caught with drugs and other issues and booted, and who can't recruit enough talent to even win more than TWO games against the kind of crappy schedule that Binghamton plays.....
JUST why in the hey would anyone who has Bradley's best interests in mind want that guy hired here at BU as an assistant or even as a waterboy?
http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?p=175737#post175737



BTW - there are still a few other D-I transfer kids that have yet to commit - Bobo Drummond, Jarrod Uthoff, and Rayvonte Rice among them - who have yet to declare or land anywhere.....

BUT -- anyone affiliated with Bradley, or who is a Bradley booster or fan, or who is or has worked for Bradley SHOULD NOT contact these guys or any recruits....NEVER -- not even via social media or posting something by twitter or Facebook to them.
This is a clear violation and risks the NCAA looking into it.
I can't believe there are fans who are such big time wannabe's that they risk their own school's future just to sniff a few jocks!
http://michiganhockey.net/2011/07/14/recruiting-contact-through-social-media-know-the-rules/#.T47zL1Lhfzw
http://leatherhelmetblog.com/2012-articles/march/uga-booster-twitter-violations.html
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-07-12/sports/os-florida-ncaa-violation-facebook-0720100712_1_facebook-recruit-ole-miss


BTW -- Bradley lists those fans who ARE their BIGGEST fans on a site they label...
"The Honor Roll of Donors". Many if not most of these people who give plenty - do so out of their hearts and do NOT ask for publicity. But the list is, to me, remarkable NOT in who is on there but who is NOT on there.
Some people have argued who are the bigger and better fans and some of those who are the loudest voices in that debate, who lay claim to being the biggest and most loyal fans for decades and decades - their names are absolutely nowhere to be found. Literally they have never given even a penny to BU.
Others give only their maintainence...the bare minimum...

With attendance AND giving down in a poor economy - Bradley needs the financial support of their fans and donors more than ever. Consider walking the walk....not just talking the talk......
and be careful if googling the names of some - especially if there are small children in the room...

La Lumiere's Matej Buovac

Here's a bit of news on one of the Croatian kids Bradley was recruiting - I find it odd that as much as BU has been involved - that the kid either doesn't mention Bradley or the writer of the national recruiting site article fails to include that in the story as I have often seen before.........

Here are clips........

"Croatian shooter takes visits
Matej Buovac

A solid class of 2012 prospect still left on the board has already made one visit and is in the process of making another.

Schools continue to look to fill out their 2012 classes, and some late visits are being made. One prospect who has been on a pair of trips is La Porte (Ind.) La Lumiere forward Matej Buovac.

At 6-foot-6 and 215 pounds with the ability to shoot the basketball, Buovac had a solid year for the La Lumiere Lakers and head coach Alan Huss. The pick and pop forward had some big games against quality competition, and now his recruitment is starting to take shape.

“He is on a visit to Tulane right now,” said Huss. “They have offered him and he is very interested in seeing the campus and what they have to offer.”

Along with the Green Wave, offers are also on the table from UAB and New Mexico State. Already Buovac has made an official visit to see New Mexico State and he came away impressed with what he said.

According to Huss however, Buovac is not going to make a rash decision after a visit.

“Matej plans on playing in the open period with the CAPS All-Stars,” said Huss. “They play in Merrillville this weekend and in Indianapolis next weekend.”

After he has a chance to play for the coaches in April and evaluates his options a decision is expected from Buovac."

www.scout.com

Popular ideas are not always wise or intelligent...

Here are a couple ironies....regarding globally impactful books that changed many lives and altered the way a HUGE majority of people think and act.......pretty much ALL for the worse...
Just maybe we ALL would have been far better off had none of these books been written....but it's a lesson for those who wish to jump on the latest bandwagon of thought and who see themselves and pioneers in thinking.


**The guy who wrote the best-seller and culture-changing book "I'm OK, You're OK", was Dr. Thomas Harris, in the liberal 1960's.
This book and Dr. Harris changed society - as the book basically convinced people and educators to proclaim that everything you do is "OK" - that even when you fail - we ought not tell you that you failed - we should still pat you on the back and say that you didn't really fail and that you are OK...
In general - education of an entire generation followed many of this book's themes.

Even behavior in kids that has always been defined as BAD was suddenly considered "OK" but an entire generation of teachers, school administrators, psychologists, and the like who bought into Dr. Harris' trendy yet stupid propositions.

Thus much of an entire generation or two were raised thinking their really bad behavior and bad choices were just fine - go ahead and keep making them...
By the time he died in 1995, Dr. Harris was able to see how horribly bad his advice was and how hurtful it was to a self-centered and self-indulgent generation of people who blindly followed or who were led to follow his teachings...

Guess what -- we now have the "Me-Generation" and Gen-X people who want everything handed to them and cannot survive even the tiniest discouragement or failure...and the entirety of society is filled with every imaginable life-destroying sin that people simply call life-style choices - despite the ruined lives, suicides, broken marriages, and especially the far, far worse problem with troubled kids.
Everyone sees the end results - a selfish society, lazy people, plenty of folks always wanting a handout or choosing to be dependent on the government - wanting everything for free - even an easy college education..etc..
So - thanks Dr. Harris - it would have been nice had you denounced the folly of your opinions before you died, instead of greedily choosing to double down on them even when you saw their failure - so your family could continue to profit from your book's sales.



Then we had the society-altering 1970's book by Jim Fixx "The Complete Book of Running" ...that changed everything and started the running craze, with the promise that within a generation or two everyone would be way, way healthier!!

Well..again, that bombed out and sadly Jim Fixx didn't even live long enough to even see the beginning of the failures he proposed.
Jim Fixx dropped dead of a heart attack just after age 50 - pretty much the garden variety of hardening of the arteries that his running recommendations were supposed to delay or prevent claimed him.
And now 40 years later, even though some people enjoy running and some benefit from it...many have gained absolutely NO BENEFIT, have wasted enormous amounts of time, and we now have an entire generation of very young people looking for joint replacements because all that running wore out their knees and hips.
Most knowledgeable experts now say that the degree of running Fixx promoted is almost always bad and harmful for any extended length of time.
Oh well - just another faulty fad that I am thankful I never bought into.



Lastly I'll mention a book I read in the 1970's when it became a phenomenon and was required reading in many schools and psychology classes.... and thankfully I immediately saw the life-destroying guidelines the guy was promoting.
The book is "Pulling Your Own Strings" by Wayne Dyer. In this book he searches out just about every single impediment he sees to living a Utopian life...
Even little things like having to take out the garbage, saying thank you, being polite and friendly, or even just clean and not what we call a slob or a bum...

Every tiny factor in life that might cause discomfort or minuscule inconvenience, every personal interaction where someone else expects something from you, and every life situation where you might find yourself feeling some obligation to help someone else or do something for someone else...was explored...then he told you the right way to deal with every one of these situations and his advice was always just to be as completely selfish as possible and just do what YOU WANTED - which was generally the laziest and most obnoxious choice.
In other words - PULL YOUR OWN STRINGS - don't let others pull your strings - don't ever let someone else determine the actions you take - just live the way YOU WANT!

Dyer proceeds to tell the reader the proper response in every life situation is to simply do what YOU want to give yourself the quickest and most selfish end result.
If you are at a wedding and are tired - then leave and go home to take a nap.
If you are invited to dinner and feel like snoozing after the meal - just depart to some hidden location and nap.
If you wish to burp, fart, or scratch somewhere - then do it and damned be anyone else who might find your actions rude or troubling...
Just always elevate yourself to the position of most important organism or thing in the universe and act accordingly.

In other words -- live your life only for yourself and for your own pleasures and satisfaction, and ignore politeness, etiquette, and decent behavior.
Any rules, religion, codes of ethics, or even any behavior deemed proper, friendly, or polite were to be ignored and just do whatever you wanted!
Wow - this guy had to be the biggest ego there ever existed! And if he followed his own plan he must have had zero friends - but his book did sell and become a fad and sadly it probably made some readers into real jerks.

I don't think a whole lot of people took Dyer's advice - but Dyer did stick around a couple decades promoting his really stupid, selfish ideas - pretty much discrediting himself in the eyes of most intelligent people as an idiot and a loony sociopath who nobody really cared to hear.
His books now sell on Amazon for as little as one cent...and in a perverted way of drifting even further towards kookie opinions, Dyer is now promoting absolutely ridiculous and schizophrenic spiritual ideas that have cost him pretty much any further chance of ever being taken seriously.
But if one thing can be learned - you can always make money if you promote even the stupidest and preposterous ideas. Buyer beware!



THEN --- Here's sort of a joke but in reality it IS the way some people think and they don't even see the absolute silliness of their thinking...

Here's how it goes...

**One message board poster says something like this...
"Being completely BLIND seems to reduce one's ability to play golf at the top level and be able to hit the ball into the hole"
...This, of course, is such an obvious TRUE statement that only some maniac would actually dare refute it, but....

**Then a 2nd message board poster who apparently stalks the boards for just about anything he can find to argue says this...
"NO - you are dead wrong because I searched like hell and found one single example a few years ago of a BLIND GOLFER who made a hole in one...
Here's the proof..."
http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500183_162-3193608.html

**Then the original poster replies --
"so what -- you can always find some scarce exception but if it is so rare for a blind guy to get a hole-in-one that you have to do a Google search and find one obscure example from years ago - while every town and every city has people getting holes-in-one every single day - who CAN SEE...then I think your response is actually powerful confirmation that my original statement is solidly CORRECT!"

**Then the arguer doubles down on his ignorant logic by saying...
"I just did a thorough mathematical trileptal tangential meta-analysis using delta-Q-wave-formulations via the Hochstetler degradation curve...
and I found that a BLIND GUY does have a 201,025 times harder chance to get a hole-in-one than a sighted guy -- but that's not outside the realm of everyday possibilities - in fact, in my opinion it is actually "quite probable", and undoubtedly happens every single day somewhere if you include the entire infinite universe!"

...OK -- I'll conclude with that - but you see the typical pattern of argument like this every day on message boards -- people claiming that a 1 in 200 probability is a reasonable chance that it's going to happen in each and every argument...but so it is....it makes discussions on message boards interesting to say the least....

Some recruiting update....and more global warming talk...

Just a little recruiting update...

Here's the names we've been seeing and discussing...
who are yet to decide and still in play, although none are known to be leaning to BU...

Derek Cooke..Cloud County ...6.1 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 55% from the field, and 42% on FT

Anthony Fields..transfer from Wake...1 ppg, 0.5 rpg, 1-11 on 3-pt - also looking at Stanford & a "variety of interest from programs in the CAA, the Valley, the Big 12, and the Pac-12"
http://www.nbebasketball.com/w3/2012-0410/transfer-update-pg-anthony-fields/

Derrick Barden..Odessa College .. 19.7 ppg, 12 rpg, 37% on 3-pt, 69% FT

Tymell Murphy.. South Plains.. 9.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 57% FG, 71% FT - Rhode Island getting involved and Tymell is visiting there & Rutgers

Matt Stainbrook .. transfer from WMU ..his coach says "Lots of programs" are calling and showing interest -
https://twitter.com/#!/CoachAnsberry/status/189866534485770240

Davon Hayes .. Arkansas State decommit -
http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=20548


Derek Cooke -
http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=20832


Mislav Brzoja .. Traders Point -
http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=20255

Matej Buovac .. La Lumiere -
http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=20236

Akeem Springs . decommit from Mississippi Valley State

http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?p=256184#post256184


Anthony Fields is visiting Friday - a guard, transferring from Wake Forest who would not be available until fall of 2013 -
check if you want the comments about him on the Wake Forest message boards - they are not very kind and many Wake fans have quite negative opinions and are happy to see him go.

Here are some stories...
http://www.bloggersodear.com/2012/3/26/2903959/amidst-transfers-jeff-bzdelik-and-wake-forest-is-struggling-to
http://www.bloggersodear.com/2012/3/23/2896978/wake-forest-basketball-anthony-fields-transfers


Here's some clips from stories out of Texas...
mentioning Tymell Murphy..they talk of the signing at Ole Miss of ex-Bradley recruit Marshall Henderson.
Henderson's signing makes THREE players from the South Plains juco team already signed, and they then say...
"Henderson is the third (South Plains) Texan to sign this year, joining Greg Gainey (UT-Arlington) and Stanton Kidd (North Carolina Central) who signed during the early signing period. The Texans are expected to announce additional signings in the coming weeks as sophomores Tymell Murphy, Deshaunt Walker, and Derrell Edwards are still in the process of making a decision."

and..
"sophomore .. forward Tymell Murphy(is) .. still considering offers."

http://klvtsports.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/texan-sharpshooter-inks-nli-with-ole-miss-rebels/
http://lubbockonline.com/sports/2012-04-12/local-sports-briefly


Here's a listing of the scholarship offers as noted by one good recruiting site - for Mislav Brzoja..
Marquette, Providence, Northwestern, Utah, Vanderbilt, Rhode Island, Ohio, and Bradley.


A few unsigned high school seniors that BU is looking at - specifically Akeem Springs - are mentioned in this article about an upcoming All Star game...
http://newssun.suntimes.com/sports/11832839-419/senior-stars-to-play-in-all-star-games-friday.html


Other recruits whose names have not been mentioned in a while, Fabyon Harris (Texas A&M), Marshall Henderson (Mississippi), Markus Crider, Nick Wiggins (Wichita State), Coty Clarke are either signing or clearly no longer involved with BU.


Ex-BU recruit Michael Ochereobia signs with Jim Molinari and WIU.
http://www.mcdonoughvoice.com/sports/x876163049/WIU-basketball-adds-JUCO-transfer-Ocherobia

Of course the PJS and the other Gatehouse papers got his name wrong again...
Poor guy -- but it's OCHEREOBIA not OCHEROBIA, and the WIU release makes that quite obvious.
http://www.goleathernecks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=49946&SPID=4947&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205411841&DB_OEM_ID=12000


Jim Les signs a couple good players at UC-Davis to go with several strong signees from last fall, and still has some spots to fill to get stronger...
Word is that Corey Hawkins who is sitting out this year is a ton and the best player in practice and is going to start right away.
He's getting it done there........
http://www.ucdavisaggies.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/041112aab.html?source=rss_teams_California_Davis_Aggies


One decent PG prospect, Mike LaTulip was going to walk on at Illinois next fall for Bruce Weber - but now he's got other thoughts -- he may be asking for a scholarship now to increase the sense of security that he would be wanted or ever have a chance of playing for the new staff.


More proof that AAU coaches get $$ from colleges to steer their best players -- and it opens up that talk of how Kentucky got Anthony Davis after the Sun Times reported there were plenty of people who knew he and his family were asking for $200K and got it from a UK booster.


Sounds now like Rick Majerus is saying "no" to SMU and staying at Saint Louis. But why would he even consider jumping from SLU to SMU -- since Saint Louis is a better team, at a non-football school, in a stronger conference, and a more storied history??
Majerus is either trying to get a raise and extension by "looking" elsewhere, or he really doesn't like something at SLU.


No word yet on what's going to happen to all the Illinois assistants who were under Bruce Weber ...Jay Price, Jerrance Howard, Gary Nottingham, Wayne McClain...
These guys have been spurned and re-spurned!!
First - when Weber was hired - the new AD elevated Jerrance Howard to the position of Interim Head Coach - jumping right over the other three guys who were far more experienced, and who had been there considerably longer!!

Then when the new head coach, John Groce, was hired - he was urged by EVERYONE to retain some of the previous staff - especially Jerrance Howard who gets all the credit as the real recruiter on the staff.
BUT - Groce sent them all packing and hired none of them!! Spurned again!
Then when Weber was hired at Kansas State, surely he'd grab all those guys he left behind at Illinois who were cut loose, right??
BUT -- as of this morning, Weber hasn't hired even one of them.
He apparently talked a little about possibly hiring Jerrance, and Price's name was also mentioned in this article - but the others are apparently still in limbo...
This will be interesting.........
http://cjonline.com/sports/2012-04-11/weber-hopes-complete-ksu-staff-week


Here's a new ranking of the high school kids, Class of 2012 in Indiana and it includes the La Lumiere kids...
Three La Lumiere kids make the Top 25 but Bobo Drummond and Matej Buovac did not and neither did Mislav Brzoja and Alex Olah (Northwestern University commit) from Traders Point HS.
So just how accurate can this list be - if the guys down around #20-25 are really obscure low-major guys (IUPUI, Detroit, Youngstown State, Ball State, etc..)?
http://blogs.courier-journal.com/jodydemling/2012/04/12/rankings-indiana-boys-class-of-2012/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+JodyDemling-RecruitingBlog+%28Jody+Demling+-+Recruiting+blog%29



It's been warmer than usual - which is all it takes for people to go wild talking about global warming, but consider just a few facts...

First - note where the info comes from - it's government data - mostly from NASA & NOAA - which are both arms of the same agency....and they have an agenda and they have been wrong plenty of times before - really, really blatantly wrong - especially when acting out their agenda.
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Multi_Agency_Satellite_Begins_Climate_and_Weather_Studies_999.html
http://poleshift.ning.com/profiles/blogs/nasa-wrong-again-space-weather-storm-fizzles?xg_source=activity

They were really way wrong when they rushed to the silly press conference claiming they had discovered a new form of life that had come from an alien source...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1335050/NASA-arsenic-Alien-biology-clue-scientists-discover-mysterious-bacteria.html

And they are have been cited to have the global-warming-agenda by several reputable experts and other sources...
http://junkscience.com/2012/04/12/nasa-rejects-claim-it-endorses-global-warming/


-Then they use known inaccurate data...which they selectively and intentionally choose to use to support their agenda...
http://www.oaoa.com/opinion/temperature-31890-stations-heat.html

http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/News/050183-2009-05-13-89-of-us-measurement-stations-report-inaccurate-temperature.htm


-Then they manipulate the data even further and fight like crazy to hide and suppress any of the truth that would debunk them...remember the leaked e mails showing how hard the pro-warming guys laughed about falsifying and hiding the data??
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cif-green/2009/nov/23/global-warming-leaked-email-climate-scientists


BUT -- if you still think it's way too hot so there must be global warming - then just listen to the warming people themselves who say this current stretch of warm cannot be blamed on global warming!!

Even in talking about the really warm March - despite some saying it IS global warming ..other experts say it is NOT....here's what they say...

"..Temperatures in the lower 48 states were .. higher than average for the first three months of the year..

Meteorologists say an unusual confluence of several weather patterns, including La Nina, was the direct cause of the warm start to 2012.
....events cannot be blamed on global warming, Crouch said
...It is important to note that this unusual winter heat is mostly a North America phenomenon.
Much of the rest of the Northern Hemisphere has been cold, said NOAA meteorologist Martin Hoerling."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gCL0PDmQyfe_QAo2qqi0nmJFmJVw?docId=88bd006640e04e8a9af0e2f2d418450c

..it doesn't take any time at all to show that much of the rest of the world is having a cooler March than usual...
http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/6714321/March-sunnier-but-cooler-than-usual

so this is just a regional trend and not proof of any worldwide trend - and even if it were - the frequency of bad reporting shines a light on how the data is manipulated to prove what people have already chosen to believe and want to prove...

...and this story from CNN with an honest admission of their deceit...
"Short-term weather patterns such as the one that affected the United States are poor indicators of global climate trends..
Parts of the world, most notably Eastern Europe, experienced below-average to extreme cold temperatures this winter.."
http://articles.cnn.com/2012-04-09/us/us_weather-record-warm-march_1_warmest-severe-weather-outbreak-severe-thunderstorms-and-tornadoes?_s=PM:US

Like it or not - here's more fallout...

Some will simply not want to hear this but -- more fallout........

Spencer Butterfield - as predicted - the best player on Yuba college's team this past season, the Player of the Year in all of California junior colleges, averaging almost 20 ppg, and 50% from 3-point range - an outstanding, big (6-4) shooting guard and scorer....just verballed to Utah State - spurning bigger offers from the Pac-12, MWC, and a late St. John's offer.

He decided to follow his long time friend he's known since high school in Sacramento area- Sean Harris who was also at Yuba last season...and who is also going to Utah State.

I know it's impossible to say what would have happened - but we desperately need a good shooting guard, the playing time is there for the asking.
And Butterfield would have loved to come here and play with his buddy Sean Harris - and instead went to Utah State to play with Sean - so it's fully reasonable to conclude we'd have had a tremendous shot at landing him here but lost that opportunity with the loss of Harris. Tough break as we sit on two open rides and are having trouble getting serious interest in them from top players.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/sports/53868776-77/butterfield-shooting-college-guard.html.csp
http://www.usustats.com/blog/2012/04/06/jc-guard-spencer-butterfield-commits-to-utah-state/
http://parsingthewac.blogspot.com/2012/04/few-words-on-spencer-butterfield.html

Tymell Murphy

Here's a few blurbs from the premium interview Bradley recruit Tymell Murphy gave to the premium recruiting site at Rutgers.........

http://rutgers.scout.com/2/1175445.html

"JuCo Hoops Swingman Sets Rutgers Visit"

"South Plains College G/F Tymell Murphy is approaching a decision for the final two years of his college availability remaining. With a Rutgers visit on tap later this month, Murphy discussed where the Scarlet Knights stand in his search for a four-year university to finish his college career."

"When Rutgers began recruiting South Plains College Tymell Murphy, it was a dream come true for the JuCo swingman. Growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y., Rutgers offers many opportunities that Murphy wants in his final two years of eligibility.
“I’m playing Junior College basketball and I’m looking to take the next step for my next two years,” Murphy said after setting up his visit. “Playing for Rutgers would be like a dream come true in a way. I watched that team growing up. I’ve watched them for so long that playing for them would be a dream come true because it’s like an attractive area.

“I think that I will be able to bring something to the table and help the team win. Playing in the Big East is like a dream come true.”

Murphy does not yet hold a scholarship offer from the Scarlet Knights, but said his college decision hinges on what happens at Rutgers on a trip late next week.

“I’m going to decide this month,” he said. “I’m going to decide pretty much right after my visits. Rutgers is my last one and I’m going to decide probably April 22nd or 23rd, I think. I’m not sure. I’m just hoping everything goes as planned and they offer me.”

Bradley is Murphy’s lone offer. He likes the school, he said, but Rutgers offers a different set of opportunities that stands out to him.

“I want to play in Madison Square Garden,” Murphy said. “They do a lot of things that I’ve wanted to do my whole entire life. I watch them on TV and watch how exciting the Big East can be. I want to be a part of that.”

Raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., a chance to play an hour away from home is another mark in Rutgers’ favor for Murphy.

“I’ve been all over the area and all over New Jersey, but I’ve never actually been inside the building,” Murphy said. “I’m looking forward to checking it out because I’ve watched them a lot on TV.”

Murphy averaged 9.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and shot 57 percent this season for the undefeated South Plains College in Texas. He stands at 6-foot-5.

“I’m a good slasher,” he said. “I get to the basket. I can rebound from my position and I can move well with the basketball. I’m really good in a fast-break setting, running up the court and keeping things moving. I like to help my team win, but more than anything, I just want a chance.”


http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/juco_hoops_swingman_sets_rutgers_visit/10507310


"The Week That Was ...."
On the Hardwood

...
South Plains College G/F Tymell Murphy will visit Rutgers
late next week, but does not yet hold an offer.
The JuCo swingman will decide soon after his visit, he said."

...He is a JUCO hoops guard who is also visiting Bradley.

(He is) NOT an outside shooter at all. He's a big bodied three (6'5" with good upper body strength) who's main strength is rebounding and slashing. He's got a quick first step. He seems pretty athletic and can really elevate when rebounding, but he's definitely not a high flyer who dunks a lot. Slasher, rebounder originally from Brooklyn.
Has interest from Bradley, Dayton, Rutgers.

(from Bio-)
Mohawk Valley: Played in 29 games for MVCC during the 2010-11 season, averaging a team high 16.5 points per game … Also led the team in field goal percentage, making 193-of-372 (.519) shots.
High School: Graduated in 2010 … Averaged 26.4 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.78 assists per game … For his efforts, Tymell was named MVP of the team … Off the court Tymell has served in internship positions at Young Minds daycare and at the Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
Intended College Major: Business Management
Hobbies: Watching movies, listening to music, playing video games, reading books, and learning about basketball history.
Personal: Born December 30, 1990 in Staten Island, N.Y., Tymell is the son of Nicole Murphy and he has one brother and two sisters … While at SPC Tymell plans to earn his college degree … Favorite athlete is Jrue Holliday of the Philadelphia 76ers.

More--
http://www.spctexans.com/roster/9/1/769.php

Other targets to fill the open (Rutgers) scholarship left by recently departed transfer Gilvydas Biruta, include Western Kentucky transfer Derrick Gordon and Mississippi State freshman transfer Rodney Hood."



One last thing - here's a few comments from Kent State fans after they heard Bradley & Geno Ford were pursuing Matt Stainbrook - a MAC player they really do not care much for...
http://csnbbs.com/showthread.php?tid=564998&pid=7769864

Happy Birthday to the ABA, weird things going on in the newspaper business, recruiting desperation, and charity fraud...

45 years ago a group of private entrepreneurs got together and decided to form a whole new basketball leaguye and compete head to head with the powerful - almost monopolistic existing league the NBA..
They formed the new ABA - and it was, in most regards, a significant success....
it sorta rocked the basketball world....
it produced MAJOR superstars like Doctor J, Moses Malone, Connie Hawkins, Rick Barry, Spencer Haywood, Artis Gilmore, and more...
..and they introduced things like the 3-point shot, dunk contests, rapid uptempo play, and guess what...

They didn't need help from the government to get it done.
They didn't need special breaks at the expense of others....they didn't need special favors done for them that the other guys didn't get.
In fact almost all the owners who tried to get breaks were snubbed and turned down but they proceeded with their venture anyway!

This is the heart of being an American - this is what success and inventiveness is all about.

This is the stuff that makes ME proud to be an American and more than happy to pay my taxes to support such a country.

BUT the overbearing, unfair, expensive, wasteful meddling that is exemplified by Title IX and many other government endeavors makes me ashamed that this nation picks and chooses who can and who cannot succeed. It makes me extremely motivated to use every TRICK in the book to keep the money I have legitimately earned and NOT pay it in taxes to a nation that's trying to rob me to use the money for unfair and unethical causes of it's own determination.
The government has created a whole culture of entitlement - of people who now don't actuaklly believe they can get what they want or succeed - but who are ever so ready to put a hand out and expect the government to do it for them or give it to them.

Once they have that mindset - they seem to always have that welfare mentality and pass it on to their next generation.......so it goes and it's now bankrupting this nation with 15 trillion dollars in debt...

So happy 45th birthday to the successful and inspiring ABA which still lives in that some NBA teams are still existing from the merger, and also happy 40th birthday to the controversial and unfair Title IX.


More on Title IX...which is 40 years old now.........
- and lots of people think it helped...
but if I spend $100 million to build a few houses, can it be justified by saying that since 5 people now have homes - that my project helped?

Let's face it - if the government spends any amount of money (our money, of course) - or if they ram legislation and new rules to create things and positions for people - of course there's always someone that it helped - but the issue is..
"at what cost"??

A $100 million program that creates just 5 houses or 2 jobs - or places just one doctor on some Indian reservation - is an abject failure because the money could have been spent way better and helped way more people almost anywhere else.

Title IX is that way...

there are two simple answers to prove it did not help -

-one is that most of what it claims to have done would have gotten done anyway - and that's a no-brainer - since just about everywhere there are more sports and participation opportunites for BOTH males and females - simply because there are more programs from biddy ball all the way up thru middle schools, high schools, and colleges - completely independent of Title IX.

-but there's also been a cost to Title IX - with many, many opportunities lost because colleges have had to scale back and eliminate programs - this is also obvious and needs no proof.
UCLA's storied swimming program that put 16 people into the Olympics - was cancelled due to huge monetary losses caused by Title IX. It hurts men & women.

Likewise - UCLA also was forced to cancel their gymnastics program that produced up to HALF of all the Olympic gymnasts in the prior decades.
http://usa-sports.org/TitleIX.pdf
http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/story?id=885358&page=1

Even many women who think they've gained from Title IX now admit it hurt them in one way or another...
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/02/how-title-ix-hurts-female-athletes/253525/

I doubt any facts will change people's minds - since most who favor Title IX see only perceived benefits like the NCAA Women's Basketball Title Game between Baylor & Notre Dame..
But does anyone really believe the silly notion that we wouldn't have had this game independent of Title IX -- come on.....Women's World cup Soccer captivated the nation without a Title IX in pro soccer - and plenty of other women's sports like tennis and golf have created superstars who gained not a single benefit from Title IX.



Recruiting desperation??
Near the end of each recruiting cycle we see evidence of recruiting desperation (sound familiar?) - and kids with scant statistics start getting bigger and better offers...
I noted that last year about this time when almost every big man remaining were getting BIG TIME offers...and time has proven the predictions accurate as big men like Robert Goff, Cheir Ajou, etc... ended up being far less talented than the desperation to sign them may have hinted.

Now -- Does this sound a bit desperate?
Michigan suddenly faces losing their good freshman point guard Trey Burke as he's somewhat unexpectedly going pro........
Now they are hosting 2012 Spike Albrecht, and the word is that John Beilein plans to offer him a scholarship.
http://www.umhoops.com/2012/04/04/2012-point-guard-spike-albrecht-to-visit-thursday/

He is at a prep school out east (Northfield Mount Hermon), but is originally from Crown Point Indiana. He is a 5'11" point guard - and obscure doesn't even begin to describe the kid.
In high school he got zero interest, and is not even in the database of Rivals or Scout for 2011. In fact, even this year after a year at Northfield Mount Hermon Prep School in Massachusetts, he is still not even in the databases of Scout of Rivals for 2012. He is so far under the radar, that if it wasn't for the publicity about him being recruited by Beilein, and visiting Michigan, there wouldn't be anything on him at all.

He just doesn't sound like a potential Big Ten point guard, but only Beilein knows, I guess..........But the loss of Trey Burke has Beilein getting desperate.



What gives with this??
A guy named John Plevka - who is the Managing Editor of the Peoria Journal Star - the very TOP job at the entire newspaper...
...he is "stepping down" to take over as "general manager of the Daily Vidette" - the student newspaper at ISU.
He has only been the Managing Editor at the PJS for a couple years... and he's only 56 years old..

Is this incredibble or what -- it's like stepping down as CEO at Cat and instead taking over as head of the high school art club. it's a HUGE step down and frankly it's hard to believe this is the whole story - nobody would make this move willingly if you know what I mean.

Could it have something to do with this??
"As the company is collapsing, Gatehouse Media Awards$1.4 Million in Bonuses"


One other site says...
"Plevka bolts while the bolting is good
Wow.
Journal Star Managing Editor John Plevka announced Wednesday he is resigning next month to accept the position of general manager of The Daily Vidette, the student newspaper at Illinois State University.

First, it’s stupid for a college newspaper to have a professional, non-student serve as managing editor. At Eastern Illinois University, we had advisers who advised, but all decisions were up to students.

Second, it’s hard to not consider this a step down for Plevka. A managing editor of a rather large daily, becoming essentially an adviser, Yeah, it’s a step down.

Look for the new managing editor to essentially manage more than one GateHouse newspaper."
Plevka also tweets and blogs and says nothing about his major and unprecedented move.....
Hmmm...kinda sounds like he's being trash-canned...

http://www.pjstar.com/free/x221035817/JS-managing-editor-stepping-down-to-accept-ISU-position
http://pundit.blogpeoria.com/2012/04/04/plevka-bolts-while-the-bolting-is-good/



Now the public service department -
I am sure you have heard the radio commercials...

1-800- Cars 4 Kids

and 1-800 - Donate Cars

etc...
They make it sound like if you donate your car to them - they will help some kid or use it for charity...and it's a good thing because you can then deduct the value of your car - which would likely be WAY more than you could sell the crappy old thing for..

Here's an overview of how they work if they are legit -
http://cardonationreview.com/car-donation-charities-and-how-they-work/

Well -- did you ever wonder if this is on the up and up??
It generally is NOT..
Here are just a few things

-first - come on - "Cars 4 Kids"??? Kids don't need cars..

-a review of several "donate cars" type of charities proved that they do what they want with the cars - either re-sell or junk them - then take the money and ONLY 16% of it ever goes to any charity - where even more then is used as overhead..
that means over 80% of the money generated by your car donation is pocketed by the greedy people who ask for your car.
http://driving.myfoxwausau.com/news_this_week/2010-05-26-4613-driving/

-One study in New York showed only 1.8% of the money in the "donate cars charities" went to the charities - so the New York Atty General shut them down and sued them.
http://www.adi-news.com/16-car-donation-charities-gets-sued/21575/

-then just to compound the issue - one Children's Charity that did get money from the "donate cars" program - turned right around and invested $5 million on bad real estate deals and lost it all, .....
In that same span they claim to have spent a total of only $6 million on all their charitable efforts...
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Kars-for-Kids-Cars-4-Kids-Real-Estate-Investments-Investigation-140955003.html

BU's recruiting summary...and some more news....

Before we start - everyone has to see this -- old codger Bobby Knight - already way past his prime and always saying ridiculous things on TV -
actually falls asleep on LIVE TV!!
He had to be nudged to wake up by Digger...
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/did-bobby-knight-fall-asleep-live-television-203435854.html

He was probably thinking of all those times when he screamed that a kid ought to miss his free throw on purpose when his team was up by 3, and he was shooting one more....
(ignoring the far better scenario that if the kid actually makes the FT - a 4-point lead cannot be beat even by a buzzer-beater!)


OK -- now to the main topic........

It doesn't take a genius to see Bradley's biggest needs to fill in regard to recruiting.
Geno Ford has now been here a year and is wrapping up the 2nd recruiting cycle - having landed five in the Class of 2011 (Stewart, Hodges, Wells, Crawford, Shayok) and two thus far in the Class of 2012 (Bell, Pickett).

And with those seven kids landed - it would seem the main gaps we need to fill are all still there...
Point guard (Ka'Darryl Bell might help but most observers say he's more of a combo guard), scorer (we're losing our top scorer Taylor Brown), outside shooter & 3-point shooter (nobody in sight), and help in the low post.

Anyone who keeps repeating the mantra that Peoria is an easy place to recruit to simply doesn't see the obvious - that it is NOT easy -- Geno's job is very hard getting kids to want to come to Peoria.
Some back up their claims that top kids want to come to Peoria by citing examples like Hersey Hawkins and even JJ Anderson - reaching back more than 3 decades to try to find some examples - yet all those examples are bizarre and actually serve to help prove the opposite point - that those were not kids who were known nationally and were actually passed-on by most top programs because of obvious factors like Anderson playing at a small school and Hersey playing center at 6-3 in high school.
So Versace saw the potential and landed them and coached them up.
That's what we need to do now...

Actually same was true with Granger...he was not a 4-Star or 5-Star talent in high school - Molinari had to do some digging to get the kid but he even had to spend TWO scholarships, as you recall, to land him to Peoria - a package deal!! - -- it wasn't easy - we had to give a scholarship to his cousin Mike Suggs as well in order to get Granger!


BUT -- The announcement of Devon Hodges leaving is now 4 weeks old - so at least one open scholarship has been there for a month and isn't filled yet...
the announcement of Donivine leaving is already two weeks old...so we've now had two available rides to fill for a couple weeks....and no takers yet despite a couple offers.

Several people including the local media folks have said they really thought both of the open scholarships would be filled quickly - as if Matej Buovac and Mislav Brzoja were just waiting in line for the open scholarships to appear.
Some statements even said they expected those spots to be filled QUICKLY! But - people need to be more patient - because recruiting is very hard -- and recruiting to Peoria is very, very hard. If it were easy we'd have those needs filled already...but we might not actually get them filled until 2013 or later - time will tell.
People just simply DO NOT want to admit that the rush to usher Jim Les outta here dropped some heavy fallout onto the program and we're not out of the woods yet.
In fact - I hear some rumors of some more big news that might be hitting in the next few months -- so hold on....


So - obviously it is not the case that filling our needs was going to be easy as many had thought - and those players we are after (Buovac, Brzoja, etc...) are obviously listening to and checking out everyone else who is interested - and will likely take the highest perceived offer - with an offer from a 2nd division mid-major in Peoria probably not carrying a lot of weight - contrary to those who think Peoria is a big draw.
One message board poster even started a thread with well wishes for "future Brave Mislav Brzoja"....

Also there's been a lot of conflicting reports with some saying Brzoja is 6-4, some saying 6-5 and some up to 6-7....and some reports saying he's a guard and some a forward...
No wonder there's confusion and fans don't know what to think.
The major prep tourney that was on ESPN last week had the La Lumiere game with Matej Buovac...and he did not play well - shot poorly.
And recall when Matej Brzoja was on campus in Peoria the local newspaper writer saw him and said he did not particularly distinguish himself, didn't shoot much, and seemed tentative and hinted he was intimidated.
So...time will tell........

One last thing - here's a recruiting expert's assessment of last Thursday's La Lumiere game in the National Prep tourney...

"#3 Montverde Academy: 62, #6 La Lumiere: 54

Thoughts: Montverde’s back court of class of 2013
point guard Kasey Hill (Florida) and
class of 2012 shooting guard Michael Frazier (Florida)
combined for 35 points and was simply too much
for La Lumiere to handle. Kevin Boyle‘s squad
did a great job of pressing which threw
La Lumiere out of sync. Even when La Lumiere did
break the press, they didn’t make Montverde pay
on the back-end and in the half court they
didn’t execute their sets at all. Montverde
did a great job of being physical and their
ability to knock down free throws proved to be
important as they shot 17-for-24.

Key Player: Hill was the standout in this game
and although he didn’t shoot well from the floor
he scored a game-high 19 points and added six assists
and three steals. He was able to consistently get
in the lane where he would either finish or
dish it off to a big man.

Key Stat: Good defense was key for Montverde
and that they forced 19 La Lumiere turnovers
and recorded seven blocks is an indication
of how much Montverde threw La Lumiere off.
Montverde was able to get multiple lay-ups
off easy steals when they pressed La Lumiere
and threw them off-balance."

...there were also other reports that La Lumiere's guards were ineffective - didn't hit a 3-pointer until the final 3 minutes when the game was out of reach, and had excessive turnovers while not getting the ball to the post.


Two more names made public recently are...

..Davon Hayes of Mont Clare Academy in Philadelphia ...
and ....small forward Tymell Murphy of South Plains junior college......
There's some info on BradleyFans about them but here's more....

There really isn't much recent info at all on either of these two guys on the web but some recruiting sites have a few tidbits.....
Both of these guys are, to say the least, way under the radar...

Davon Hayes graduated HS in Mississippi in 2010, and his only offer was Arkansas State - but he signed and changed his mind at the last minute and went prep.
Grades were also an issue as well as moving around and attending at least 5 different high schools including Mont Clare (prep).
He is getting "interest" from some Big East schools, but still has only the Arkansas State offer.
Some talk on the Georgetown board says there are a lot of red flags but at 6-6 and can get to the rim and score - there's always going to be interest.
BUT - seriously - if he's able to qualify - with at least 3 different Big East schools watching him -- it'll be tough.


Tymell "Ty" Murphy is even deeper under the radar...but again - just being 6-5 and on the National Champion juco team is getting the kid some interest.
He's a streaky scorer but not a good outside shooter. His game would be more like Jake Eastman's where he'd have to get to the bucket to score,
something that's a bit harder at D-I than HS or juco - (as DeAaron Williams found out).
One recruiting site says he has yet to actually receive any offers, but Dayton, Iona, Stephen F. Austin, and Towson are following him...but can we beat them out??


BUT -- again I say that if we are listing as our top known targets, these kids who are so obscure and so under the radar...then how in the world can that be meshed with the oft-seen philosophy people are posting that it's easy to lure the TOP recruits here to Peoria!

The mere fact we are pursuing such under-the-radar (and I mean really way under) kids says volumes that we are jettisoning kids to open scholarships for real unknowns...

So - we just have to wait -- it might be a while - it might be tomorrow that we hear something.......


It is likely that Bruce Weber will still heavily recruit the midwest and Illinois - and might make it harder for Bradley to land their targets...and no word yet if Weber is going to add Wayne McClain to his K-State staff..as some had claimed Bill Self had wanted to do back at Kansas went he left Illinois...but it appears quite doubtful.


More note...
yet another player is leaving Oregon...Jonathan Loyd is leaving...
Oregon had a lot of talent left over from the firing of Ernie Kent but a massive number of Dana's players including even many of the ones he has landed have bolted and gone elsewhere.
Here's a kid with a miniscule 4 ppg average who would rather take his chances in the NBA draft - and then almost certainly be left to go to Europe to play than to stay at Oregon.
http://www.addictedtoquack.com/2012/4/1/2915648/breaking-johnathan-loyd-to-forego-final-two-years-at-oregon-enter-nba


WIU's Ceola Clark gets great news and has been granted a 6th year of eligibility by the NCAA -- so he can return and play again next year for Coach Mo..
http://www.healthtechzone.com/news/2012/04/01/6228166.htm

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!