Bradley to pass on postseason

[shoxlax]

http://centralillinoisproud.com/content/fulltext/?cid=102352

Can you read between the lines here?

It says "I want to go out recruiting so I can run some of this dead weight off"

Otherwise, why not play to get you ready for next year?

[shock4life]

wow.... we were thrilled win the cbi came calling us.

[ShockerFever]

Does Bradley think they're North Carolina or something?


While I absolutely HATE the puddy CBI/CIT tourneys and wish they'd delete from existence, I think this is pretty stupid and a bit overly arrogant.

[electricmayhem]

Does Bradley think they're North Carolina or something?


While I absolutely HATE the puddy CBI/CIT tourneys and wish they'd delete from existence, I think this is pretty stupid and a bit overly arrogant.

I couldn't agree more.

I don't know the details, but many in the BU community have said that the school didn't make any money on the CBI/CIT home games, which I find hard to believe.

Still... play the games. Leave the outgoing seniors out, and gain a few more games of experience for the underclassmen.

[Kung Wu]

Does Bradley think they're North Carolina or something?


While I absolutely HATE the puddy CBI/CIT tourneys and wish they'd delete from existence, I think this is pretty stupid and a bit overly arrogant.

Why do you hate them?

[SB Shock]

“While we have had good experiences in the CBI and CIT the last two years, our focus right now needs to be on preparing the team for next season,” said Les. “I like the nucleus of experienced players that will return and I think we will be best served by putting our efforts into preparing for next year.”

Ummm....by being in the post season you get more team practices as long as you stay in... bye, bye Les. Your on your way out.

[Ashockalypse]

I hate em too. What are you if you win? Champion of the next 100?

[GoShockers89]

“While we have had good experiences in the CBI and CIT the last two years, our focus right now needs to be on preparing the team for next season,” said Les. “I like the nucleus of experienced players that will return and I think we will be best served by putting our efforts into preparing for next year.”

Ummm....by being in the post season you get more team practices as long as you stay in... bye, bye Les. Your on your way out.

Agreed. There seem to be a lot of MVC coaches on the hot seat next year...Lowery, Les, Altman (hot seat is an exaggeration for him...more like slightly above room temperature) and possibly Phelps. With the Shocks, Missouri State and UNI at the top next year, I see little room for any of the at-risk coaches to have the breakout season they need.

[WuDrWu]

I don't understand the dislike for these tournaments.


Unless I am mistaken, teams that are done can no longer practice as a team, relegated to only individual workouts. As long as the NCAA has a stupid rule like this, you have to take advantage of it.

And who doesn't want to watch our team play? Isn't that why you are a fan in the first place? Heck, I'd like to watch the guys play 365.

[Aargh]

I don't have a reliable number, but it's probably 6K tickets you have to be able to sell to break even on the "starts with a C" tournaments.

That's a financial risk for athletic departments with shaky budgets.

What better way is there to prepare for next year then to get a couple of extra weeks of practice this year and giving a team the experience of "keep playing until you lose". Even if the competition isn't that great and there's not much prestige, playing until you get beat is a pretty good training tool.

[ShockerFever]

Does Bradley think they're North Carolina or something?


While I absolutely HATE the puddy CBI/CIT tourneys and wish they'd delete from existence, I think this is pretty stupid and a bit overly arrogant.

Why do you hate them?

I just absolutely hate the idea of having nearly half of the Division I field qualifying for "postseason". Before you know it, the word "postseason" will become obsolete and everyone will be playing it and there won't be anything differentiating it from the regular season.

The "C" tournaments are watered down pretty good. They were simply created by groups such as the Gazelle group to make money. That's it. Nothing else. I mean when pairings and sites are chosen simply based on attendance numbers, I think it loses all credibility.

I am just of the personal belief that it's NCAA or bust. Yes, the NIT is ok, and is certainly a step above the "C" tourneys, but even with it, it's lackluster.

Now since these tourneys still do exist, I do believe they're valuable to teams for extra playing/practice time and probably should be taken advantaged of. Any non-elite program should never turn it down. I can understand a team like UNC turning it down, not a team like Bradley though.

All good things have to come to an end however. If you're not one of the elite 65 (or 97) teams that don't make either of the "N" tourneys, I feel it's time to move on.

[AZ Shocker]

Love it! Good move Coach Les!

[Ixiah]

What is up with these articles? They are getting pretty elementary facts wrong.

The Braves finished in fifth place in the Missouri Valley this season and were eliminated in the conference tournament semifinals by Wichita State on Saturday.

Northern Iowa eliminated Bradley - not WSU.

[SpanglerFan316]

“While we have had good experiences in the CBI and CIT the last two years, our focus right now needs to be on preparing the team for next season,” said Les. “I like the nucleus of experienced players that will return and I think we will be best served by putting our efforts into preparing for next year.”

Ummm....by being in the post season you get more team practices as long as you stay in... bye, bye Les. Your on your way out.

Agreed. There seem to be a lot of MVC coaches on the hot seat next year...Lowery, Les, Altman (hot seat is an exaggeration for him...more like slightly above room temperature) and possibly Phelps. With the Shocks, Missouri State and UNI at the top next year, I see little room for any of the at-risk coaches to have the breakout season they need.

What about Jacobson? Will he return to UNI next year? I'm impressed by his team's success in 2009 & 2010 and he seems like a sound coach who teaches the fundamentals well. I could see him in the Big 10 or Big East where hard-nosed play is appreciated.

I'm not sure you can write off Illinois State in 2011. I'll bet some people would trade 6'9", 216 lb. Aaron Ellis for 6'9", 240 lb. Jackie Carmichael at the drop of a hat; Carmichael will be good next year. Plus ISU-red always has good guards (e.g. Austin Hill.) Kellen Thornton looks pretty good too. I think Durley, Stutz, EO (?), Blair, Ellis, etc. wear down the Redbirds; our guards are taller and better (?) than the ISU guards and we should sweep them. However I don't know if MSU will beat them; Carmichael should score at will against Creekmore, Patterson or Rhine.

UNI will still be deep but I think Stutz can score over O'Rear or baby Koch and E.O. might make it harder for the Panther frontcourt to score. Jacobson seems like a good coach (that we dislike) and his teams seem to play hard for him. If he is back next year, UNI will compete for the Valley title (but fall short IMHO.)

What about Dana leaving Creighton? I don't actually see it happening but he remains a good coach and a number of BCS team would do better with him than with their current coach IMHO.

[RoyalShock]

Bradley fans seem to agree with the decision.

I don't now about the CIT but the cost to host a CBI game seemed pretty steep at $60k and even with our 8k-ish attendance for each game last year I'm not sure WSU made much.