Bradley - 02/08/2023 - 7:00 PM - ESPN+
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Bird Friend
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Show some respect! BU's scout team would be much closer.
WoodlandWarrior
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Any blowout loss is bad, but a thousand times worse if to Bradley.
Sladerunningbear
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Overheard in the ISU halftime layup warmups, “I’m not all-conference, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.”
SlackBooDom
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For all those who were saying Pedon’s system was working and we could go on a run, when is there legitimate concern we’ve improved very little, if at all, the entire season? We just lost at home by 18 in a game we led for 0 seconds. What can you point to that’s working? How many times can we hear that our competitive spirit wasn’t there or we didn’t play the right way on our journey before that isn’t acceptable? There’s no issue with putting out multiple social media videos about one win against SIU like we won the league, but then we turn around and do this? What’s the proper way to measure success here?
I think they have improved from the beginning of the year. They had had some nice games. But they are limited in talent, a below average team, so they are gonna have games like this. A system can only do so much, anyone thinking they were going on a run were kidding themselves. Next year will tell a lot, I’m not one of those that feels you have to wait until 2030 before you can make a judgement on Pedon
Manchester Matt
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Maybe, just maybe, Bradley is the most talented team in the league and simply better than ISU in every way.
Look at Wardle’s first year record at BU and let me know what you see. I’ll save you the time. He went 5-27 and then 13-20. Then look at Porter’s tenure at Loyola. When did he start winning? He went 32-61 in his first three seasons before he got over the hump.
Be pissed with the loss. But some of this shit is just pure silliness. Those who think this was going to happen overnight are clueless. If ISU isn’t improving next year or the year after then be mad.
And at home
CaliRdBrd
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Honestly, for me it was mostly hope and wishful thinking.
P
Popsto4
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That’s a good and fair question. Of course I’m bias to Mal only. I can actually see progress in him running point. No he’s not the quickest, high flyer or biggest out there. I tell you this though his mindset is great going forward being there.. Ask yourself how would you feel playing off ball your whole life be now being called upon to run point on this level? Believe it or not I still say the lack of a true big/body down low is what’s missing from this bunch. I’m not talking a 20/10 big just a 12/8 is very serviceable. How often do we get a big in foul trouble? How often do we stop them from scoring in the paint? That happens rarely. Yes Pedon is doing a good job with what he have. We as fans want improvement over night regardless of the roster and that’s the biggest problem. Call me old school if you want but I believe your best low post offensive player and your best shooter should be taking majority of shots. Let’s be realistic for a minute. The Birds don’t have enough toughness down low to matter this year, nor do we have a true pg. With that being said I believe a jump will occur next year through the portal. Like I said I’m biased. Get Mal off the ball next year about 50% of the time have him moving pair that with another shooter and true tested post player and it will be totally different
SlackBooDom
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Thanks for saving me the time. Bradley went 5-27 with the 129th ranked defense in the country and has built on that. What are we building on? What success are we having on the floor? Happening overnight isn't the same thing as having something to build on. What is our calling card? What will this look like when, if, it is going well?
P
Popsto4
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First off, any and every losing season have the most to build on or off. This is a big team but just don’t play like it. Pedon know exactly what he have now and what he wants going forward. I won’t speak for him but I will say from distance Mal is one of the top shooters in this league. Pedon know defensively he needs tougher kids. He also have stated time and time again he would like to play inside out. You can’t have the want to play one way and not go after the kids that will allow you to coach that way. I believe he will get it done. I just don’t know if many kids who have rarely played the pg spot could do it with the chin up. That come from buying into the Head Coach/Coaching Staff. Work on bench depth is key also for moving forward with this program. All n All I’m im ok exactly where they’re at in YEAR 1. Even if I wasn’t it wouldn’t matter.
Ok, you can all blame me. Since two seasons before COVID I had not attended a home game. This was the second one this season, the other was Valpo. Yes we used to have both men’s BB and football season tics, but after P Fanye left so did we. Future did not look bright. I had hopes for Pedon but not this year.
This is in no way a knock on the current roster but as my Dad would sometimes say, “ no matter how much you like that tractor, she just doesn’t have enough ponies to get the job done.” I believe they hustle, they compete to the best of their abilities but it just is not there. I also think many of these players could play important roles on many winning teams, they just either cannot carry the load by themselves or are out of position.
Yes, ISU needs a good refrigerator, no doubt. But after watching two games in person and the rest on a 74 inch TV ISU really needs a 6’2” to 6’6” point guard. Not a shooting guard, not a point forward, not a stretch wing, but a true point guard. Someone who was a point guard on the 5th grade team. I could go with a 6 foot point guard if he has a 6-5 shooter that is a lock down defender alongside. I understand I am asking for a lot but look in the past at our really great teams and they all had an outstanding floor general.
My greatest fear is nobody will want to come to a bottom third of a conference of a mid major team that meets the criteria. Looks to be a big hill to climb.
This is in no way a knock on the current roster but as my Dad would sometimes say, “ no matter how much you like that tractor, she just doesn’t have enough ponies to get the job done.” I believe they hustle, they compete to the best of their abilities but it just is not there. I also think many of these players could play important roles on many winning teams, they just either cannot carry the load by themselves or are out of position.
Yes, ISU needs a good refrigerator, no doubt. But after watching two games in person and the rest on a 74 inch TV ISU really needs a 6’2” to 6’6” point guard. Not a shooting guard, not a point forward, not a stretch wing, but a true point guard. Someone who was a point guard on the 5th grade team. I could go with a 6 foot point guard if he has a 6-5 shooter that is a lock down defender alongside. I understand I am asking for a lot but look in the past at our really great teams and they all had an outstanding floor general.
My greatest fear is nobody will want to come to a bottom third of a conference of a mid major team that meets the criteria. Looks to be a big hill to climb.
Redbirdfan06
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Where are you trying to go with this? I don’t think you knew what the heck Wardle was trying to build after a 5 win first season at Bradley. They had the worst offense in college basketball to go along with the 129th ranked defense that year.
SlackBooDom
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I didn't? Wardle got hired at Bradley because he was a defensive coach. He left a top-25 defense at UWGB. That was what he was building there. He brought that to Bradley. He put it in year one. They've been that way every year he has been there. The offense comes and goes. The defense has remained the same. What are we building that you think you could point to in year three, five, seven and say - I saw that coming from this year.
Redbird222
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This team doesn't have the physicality to compete against teams like Bradley unless the game is called extremely tight.
Bradley's players look like they lived in the weight room the past 3 years and our players look like they passed it on the way to practice their FTs
I said it before and i will say it again
1. We don't have the horses and depth to compete on a consistent basis
2. We need a PG and help in the front court
3. With Sandage injured, it appears Pedon has confidence in 6 players. 5 will be back and one will be out of eligibility. Thats the core and we need to bring in pieces to compliment and strenghthen those players. We need 2 to 4 players in addition to the 3 freshman recruits.
4. Pedon and staff need to become better game coaches. We have talked about the use of timeouts and play out of timeouts as examples.
I think the player rotations are very questionable at times. I know some of this is brought on by limited contributions by the 5 remaining scholarship players and 3 walk-ons. However, it still feels like every game we run a slew of players out for minimal minutes with a hope and prayer we can find the one than can help in that game. I am not a fan of throwing the Jack's up in the air and see what happens. Play the 2 or 3 that you feel will be the best LONG TERM contributors in defined roles.
I think long term Pedon's ability to recruit better talent, make decisive decisions with that talent, and retain the proper players will determine how successful he will be at ISU.
Bradley's players look like they lived in the weight room the past 3 years and our players look like they passed it on the way to practice their FTs
I said it before and i will say it again
1. We don't have the horses and depth to compete on a consistent basis
2. We need a PG and help in the front court
3. With Sandage injured, it appears Pedon has confidence in 6 players. 5 will be back and one will be out of eligibility. Thats the core and we need to bring in pieces to compliment and strenghthen those players. We need 2 to 4 players in addition to the 3 freshman recruits.
4. Pedon and staff need to become better game coaches. We have talked about the use of timeouts and play out of timeouts as examples.
I think the player rotations are very questionable at times. I know some of this is brought on by limited contributions by the 5 remaining scholarship players and 3 walk-ons. However, it still feels like every game we run a slew of players out for minimal minutes with a hope and prayer we can find the one than can help in that game. I am not a fan of throwing the Jack's up in the air and see what happens. Play the 2 or 3 that you feel will be the best LONG TERM contributors in defined roles.
I think long term Pedon's ability to recruit better talent, make decisive decisions with that talent, and retain the proper players will determine how successful he will be at ISU.