Can Bradley Do More With Les?

The song was born on a cold night in downtown Peoria. The Bradley Braves were fighting an uphill battle against Southern Illinois for the chance at their first conference victory. Early in the game, their star shooting guard connected on a wing three, evening the score.

Suddenly, a burst of song came from the back row of the Bradley basketball band. Specifically, the tuba section.

"There's only onnnneeee Andrew Warren...only onnnneeee Andrew Warren...we're singin' our song, dancin' along, walkin' in an Andrew Warren-land."

Yes, Andrew Warren has been lighting up the Missouri Valley Conference this season. Save for a down performance that night against SIU, the young man from central Indiana is shooting as well his hometown Pacers used to. But as the song says, there's only one of him, and he can't get Bradley wins by himself. With two preseason All-MVC conference picks out for the season, the Braves are up against it, and the frustration is beginning to set in.

Boiling point

This past Friday night, I braved the blowing snow and headed to a local spot to watch the Bulls game with my boy Craw. As it happened, Bradley was on the road against Drake (AKA Drizzy, as Zach Berg would say) and the game was on local TV. After the Bulls slothed their way to a loss against Philly and I put away a half-pound of beef with fries, we switched our attention to the Bradley game. A few BU fans were in the bar, including some friends of ours, and we traded laughs about Anthony Thompson's effort and Jake Eastman's billed height (I forget that he's 6-4 sometimes). Craw had to get back to his house and help his sister out, so we left the bar and ran through the wintry weather to his car.

At this point, Bradley had just gone up by two with about 3:30 to go after Dyricus Simms-Edwards converted a fastbreak layup. The time it took to run from the bar to his car, pull out of the parking lot and pick up the game on local radio was about a minute. In that minute, Bradley went from being up two points to losing by five.

You know when you stub your toe and there's a nanosecond of nothing where you suck in your breath and get ready for the pain to hit you in the stomach? That's what happened when I turned on the radio and realized Bradley was down by two possessions.

As Dave Snell reiterated for those of us who'd had our coverage self-interrupted, Jim Les drew a technical foul after Will Egolf didn't draw a foul on a drive to the hoop. Drake sank the two foul shots, then picked up a three-point play after a Thompson foul. As expected, the seven-point swing effectively swung the momentum to Drizzy (try saying it, it's fun) and they iced the game at the free-throw stripe.

Les' untimely T might have broken Bradley's back, but can you blame him? With the way the season's going, it's hard not to be upset. Bradley's scoring options are limited, and the starting point guard is sitting on the bench with a clipboard. So is there any way to stop the downward spiral?

It's easy to be a great coach from the comfort of your computer chair

The answer to the above question: not really. Bradley was already deficient in some areas (consistent low-post offense, consistent low-post defense, too much coaching staff hair gel) and the injuries to Taylor Brown and Sam Maniscalco exposed those flaws even more. However, there's a couple of ways for Bradley to right the ship.

1. Move Dyricus to starting PG

Having Dodie run the point lessens his scoring and makes it easier for teams to focus on Drew. If Dodie drops off into a spot in the corner of the floor, there's nowhere for him to go if he tries to drive the lane. DSE's learning curve is quicker than most, and last year, he made a name for himself as a player not afraid to take a big shot in clutch situations; his game-tying trey with less than 10 seconds to go at Indiana State was no fluke.

Dyricus has two more years at the college level, and this would be as good a time as any for him to get experience as the floor general. That would give Bradley a starting lineup of DSE, Warren and Dodie at the guard spots, with young Walt and Jake coming off the bench and Dodie running the point for the second unit.

2. Act like Jordan is...well, Jordan

Of course Jordan Prosser's not MJ. He's white, for goodness sakes.

Now disregard that awkward silence in your ears and listen: Jordan's a great low-post talent. He's a got a soft touch around the basket, great footwork and his jump hook has the Walrus Guy in Section 9 dreaming about the mid-'70s. He's easily a guaranteed 9-5 every night and I wouldn't be surprised if he averages double digit scoring by the end of the season. So do like Andrew Bynum and give him the *#&%(% ball.

3. Throw Sticks in the fire

The unintentional pun aside, Anthony Thompson is the tallest guy on the team and that counts for something. Like most of his games this season, he combined shining moments on defense with missed bunnies and dropped passes on offense, but the kid is trying. What gets lost in all the ESPN coverage, millions of dollars handed out under the table and up-to-the-minute updates on Coach K is that these are still 20-year-olds still learning the finer points of basketball.

With that, Sticks has many areas he can improve upon, and the best way to get better in college basketball is on the floor. A semester at Hard Knocks University should give him better footwork around the basket and more strength going up for boards and layups.

A little off the top, perhaps

It's easy to write this season off as lost and look ahead to next year, barring a miracle run in the conference tournament and another dot-com startup convening another random postseason tourney. However, it's no secret that water cooler talk has centered around coach Les' job security for some time now. And those whispers are not undeserved.

I'm probably the only person in basketball band with firsthand memories of the NIT run in 2007. Unfortunately, Jim felt he could work the same offensive magic with slower guards and less-skilled forwards, so we were subjected to the three-man weave for about two years. It was the most excruciating thing on earth to watch the ball get handed off at the top of the key while the opposing defense basically stood still.

Added to the success of Illinois State in the annual rivalry games and the absolute disgust I felt watching the college basketball world pick Northern Iowa as the chic mid-major team of last season's March Madness, and I finally couldn't offer full support to Hersey's best friend anymore. Maybe the time had come for new direction.

To be fair, you can't lay the current problems on Jim Les. Taylor's injury was Murphy's Law working at it's finest. (I mean, a baseball player unexpectedly dies, leading to mandatory testing of all athletes, which leads to the finding of a heart defect in the second-leading scorer on the basketball team, possibly saving his life but ending his season prematurely? M. Night Shyamalan (consecutive post references!) couldn't write that twist.) And Sam's ankles will probably always be a bother for him. But Jim Les let Patrick O'Bryant go forth into basketball oblivion and has yet to replace him with a solid big man that can defend the Eglseders and Lawson Juniors of the MVC.

Maybe Bradley can still succeed with the current staff. Or maybe, just maybe, it's time for a change.

JS