Bradley gives Les the boot

[chitown fanatic]

Birdman, I agree with you on many of those points, particularly the CU part. They are still the school that I feel the rest of us should try and model our current programs after. Even in down seasons, you never see them play-in and in most cases are around 20 wins year after year. And yes, 3-4 strong teams annually is definitely the goal, but how sad is it when we have a clear conf champ with 15 conf wins, and 25 wins overall(albeit no top 50 wins) and we're talking NIT for them. That's awful and scary to think about what future conf champs from the MVC will have to do just to get in. I'm sorry, you're the champ from the 12th of 32 div 1 conferences...you should be in

[BirdmanBB]

I definitely think that both MSU and WSU are good enough to be tournament teams (at least according to my eye-test), but they didn't prove themselves to be tournament teams over other schools. I don't think it's a matter of the valley not getting the talent anymore, it's just a matter of smart scheduling. This is something that usually teams like CU and BU don't shy away from. We are in a period where valley teams are getting selfish and everyone is "for themselves," rather than the good of the conference. Good teams now think they can have an ok schedule, run through the conference and then get a good bracketbuster game.

[Drakey]

The Valley is better off as a whole if Bradley, Creighton and Wichita State are the best teams in the conference. If those three teams could get consistently good for an extended period of time, it would do wonders for the Valley. At one time I would have put Drake in that category, but with 20 years of mostly losing seasons, it would take a long time to build up a fan base here close to what we had in the early 80's. Bradley, Creighton and WSU, in my mind, are the most marketable teams in the Valley at this time.

[Ace Dad]

The Valley is better off as a whole if Bradley, Creighton and Wichita State are the best teams in the conference. If those three teams could get consistently good for an extended period of time, it would do wonders for the Valley. At one time I would have put Drake in that category, but with 20 years of mostly losing seasons, it would take a long time to build up a fan base here close to what we had in the early 80's. Bradley, Creighton and WSU, in my mind, are the most marketable teams in the Valley at this time.

I guess Northern Iowa beating Kansas on national television did absolutely nothing to improve the Valley's profile. We need for the Braves, Jays, or Shockers to beat the big boys?

[CaseyGarrisonforPrez]

The Valley is better off as a whole if Bradley, Creighton and Wichita State are the best teams in the conference. If those three teams could get consistently good for an extended period of time, it would do wonders for the Valley. At one time I would have put Drake in that category, but with 20 years of mostly losing seasons, it would take a long time to build up a fan base here close to what we had in the early 80's. Bradley, Creighton and WSU, in my mind, are the most marketable teams in the Valley at this time.

Any list of the most marketable teams in the Valley that doesn't include MO State is a joke. I get CU and Wichita, but Bradley? Seriously? Even if this is just men's basketball we are talking about it is still hard to wrap my mind around. If we are talking all sports, then it is absolute silliness.

Bradley needs to be looking at the MIAA for a new coach, there are a couple: Jeff Guiot and Kim Anderson that would be successful there.

[dgreenwell3]

I grow weary of all this, "It's good for the valley" talk...it's good for the valley to have more than one team in the tournament not particular teams lol

[tribecalledquest]

I grow weary of all this, "It's good for the valley" talk...it's good for the valley to have more than one team in the tournament not particular teams lol

This is true

[tribecalledquest]

The Valley is better off as a whole if Bradley, Creighton and Wichita State are the best teams in the conference. If those three teams could get consistently good for an extended period of time, it would do wonders for the Valley. At one time I would have put Drake in that category, but with 20 years of mostly losing seasons, it would take a long time to build up a fan base here close to what we had in the early 80's. Bradley, Creighton and WSU, in my mind, are the most marketable teams in the Valley at this time.

Any list of the most marketable teams in the Valley that doesn't include MO State is a joke. I get CU and Wichita, but Bradley? Seriously? Even if this is just men's basketball we are talking about it is still hard to wrap my mind around. If we are talking all sports, then it is absolute silliness.

Bradley needs to be looking at the MIAA for a new coach, there are a couple: Jeff Guiot and Kim Anderson that would be successful there.

Look at the attendance numbers over the years...look at NBA players over the years...look at location in the state...look at the fact that the Illinois High School state tournament is played at Carver Arena...You can drive 3 hours from Peoria and you are in both Chicago and St. Louis. Drive 3 hours from Springfield and you are where exactly?

[DUBulldog]

The Valley is better off as a whole if Bradley, Creighton and Wichita State are the best teams in the conference. If those three teams could get consistently good for an extended period of time, it would do wonders for the Valley. At one time I would have put Drake in that category, but with 20 years of mostly losing seasons, it would take a long time to build up a fan base here close to what we had in the early 80's. Bradley, Creighton and WSU, in my mind, are the most marketable teams in the Valley at this time.

Any list of the most marketable teams in the Valley that doesn't include MO State is a joke. I get CU and Wichita, but Bradley? Seriously? Even if this is just men's basketball we are talking about it is still hard to wrap my mind around. If we are talking all sports, then it is absolute silliness.

Bradley needs to be looking at the MIAA for a new coach, there are a couple: Jeff Guiot and Kim Anderson that would be successful there.

Look at the attendance numbers over the years...look at NBA players over the years...look at location in the state...look at the fact that the Illinois High School state tournament is played at Carver Arena...You can drive 3 hours from Peoria and you are in both Chicago and St. Louis. Drive 3 hours from Springfield and you are where exactly?

Kansas City and St Louis?

[BirdmanBB]

The Valley is better off as a whole if Bradley, Creighton and Wichita State are the best teams in the conference. If those three teams could get consistently good for an extended period of time, it would do wonders for the Valley. At one time I would have put Drake in that category, but with 20 years of mostly losing seasons, it would take a long time to build up a fan base here close to what we had in the early 80's. Bradley, Creighton and WSU, in my mind, are the most marketable teams in the Valley at this time.

Any list of the most marketable teams in the Valley that doesn't include MO State is a joke. I get CU and Wichita, but Bradley? Seriously? Even if this is just men's basketball we are talking about it is still hard to wrap my mind around. If we are talking all sports, then it is absolute silliness.

Bradley needs to be looking at the MIAA for a new coach, there are a couple: Jeff Guiot and Kim Anderson that would be successful there.

Look at the attendance numbers over the years...look at NBA players over the years...look at location in the state...look at the fact that the Illinois High School state tournament is played at Carver Arena...You can drive 3 hours from Peoria and you are in both Chicago and St. Louis. Drive 3 hours from Springfield and you are where exactly?

I guess the valley needs illinois St. to be at the top to be successful then too. The only thing is I wish we had an "offsite" arena where we could sell beer to patrons as well.