MVCfans.com

Bradley is also playing a guarantee game at Memphis this year.

http://www.kansas.com/2014/06/28/3531259/wsu-notes-recruits-play-generates.html

The article is mostly about WSU (and is essentially off season filler), but here's the part about Bradley.

MVC coaches are forced to use other ways to strengthen their schedule. All MVC teams are strongly encouraged to participate in a tournament, a good way to face good competition on a neutral court. Bradley will play at Kansas State and at Memphis (with no return) this season. Missouri State played at Louisville last season and travels to Texas Tech this season

rlh04d wrote:I am under that assumption, and I don't think a roster overhaul tends to work well. Didn't Illinois State just have a roster overhaul with the best class (on paper) in the conference?

I'm not impressed with Geno and don't see any reason to think things are going to change. I don't think Ford has much of a resume behind him, and after three years he still had the same record as Jim Les did when he was fired (against a significantly worse SOS).

I'm hopeful he'll change things, because Bradley should be #2 in the Valley. I absolutely am not concerned with Bradley turning things around this season, though.

I think ISUR's class was only considered the best last year if you included McIntosh and Hawkins, who both had BCS offers but sat out last year as being academically ineligible. Other than them, their guys were lightly recruited, mostly JUCOs with a very surprising frosh in Lynch. Certainly none of them were top 100 recruits or had multiple BCS offers. I don't think any were JUCO AAs either but I could be wrong. Of course on the other hand with the league being down last year it was a lot easier to finish 5th. But regardless of conference finish if this is close to a top 100 RPI team it should be able go into Manhattan or Memphis and give them a game.

Of course this could all fall apart like the highly touted 2008 SIU class. Last year is a pretty good reason not to believe in Geno. But he did well in the MAC, including winning the league with a revamped roster. You could make a case either way, but given how loaded the lineup looks in 2016 I can't see him going anywhere, for good or bad.

Regardless of how BU performs this year, this is the best possible thing that Geno could have done since April, and it keeps things interesting. The class is good for BU and good for the Valley, but it's all for not if it doesn't show in the record books.

Mikovio wrote:I think ISUR's class was only considered the best last year if you included McIntosh and Hawkins, who both had BCS offers but sat out last year as being academically ineligible. Other than them, their guys were lightly recruited, mostly JUCOs with a very surprising frosh in Lynch. Certainly none of them were top 100 recruits or had multiple BCS offers. I don't think any were JUCO AAs either but I could be wrong. Of course on the other hand with the league being down last year it was a lot easier to finish 5th. But regardless of conference finish if this is close to a top 100 RPI team it should be able go into Manhattan or Memphis and give them a game.

Of course this could all fall apart like the highly touted 2008 SIU class. Last year is a pretty good reason not to believe in Geno. But he did well in the MAC, including winning the league with a revamped roster. You could make a case either way, but given how loaded the lineup looks in 2016 I can't see him going anywhere, for good or bad.

Fair points regarding McIntosh and Hawkins.

I guess we'll see this year. Without a significant turnaround from Geno, though (17+ wins?), he SHOULD be gone. I don't think he will be, but he should be.