55 thoughts on “Will this be the last year for Les?”

  1. Come on… Bradley is not a Big East school with hundreds of stars trying to get on the team. A few key injuries and this mall college is toast. That can’t be blamed on the coach.
    Besides, I betcha dollars to donuts, these kids are learning a lot more about life, professional sports and the world through this season than any team of winners every did.

    That is the point, of the program, isn’t it? Isn’t that the coaches REAL function?

  2. It depend on what you want out of a basketball program. If the money starts to disappear from boosters and ticket sales then sorry this is a business. I thought this was a good hire, but honestly it never really panned out. The Sweet 16 year if many of you remember didn’t start out so great. Then Patrick Obryant came off of IR, and they made a run. Is this a coach’s doing or just a case of any coach could have done that?

  3. Agreed–I wonder how Wayne McClain would have done with this opportunity–but then I am biased in Wayne’s favor.

  4. That is the point, of the program, isn’t it? Isn’t that the coaches REAL function?

    Ummm, no. If that was their function you could hire a team therapist for a lot less money.

  5. At over 400 grand a year, this guy is being paid to win. Period. The problem is, with Class I college basketball, it’s the minor league of the NBA, where the only goal is to win, but the players don’t get paid. For those who use that old line about the them getting a scholarship. Baloney. They aren’t students. Basketball is a full time job most of the school year. what time is left they might attend a few classes. Face it, that’s reality.

  6. This is a guy whose pay rate at BU is second only to the president. People wonder what is wrong with the education system in the U.S. today…?

    This is Bull Sh_t and everyone knows it. College and University sports has gotten out of hand. BU is no exception.

  7. Everytime I see Les, I can’t help but notice how well rested and healthy he looks. I always find myself thinking he looks like he just spent time at the spa.

  8. I don’t think Wayne is a head coach anywhere, but I think I just heard that he was promoted to a higher position at U of I.

  9. Les was brought in to fund raise. Look at the new practice facility. He did his job on that end…..had that one miraculous sweet 16 run and that will probably be it.

    I talked to a friend of mine who works at Bradley and he said that Jim won’t be around too much longer.

  10. Charlie: You know what makes me sad? YOU DO! MAYBE WE SHOULD JUST CHUG ON OVER TO MAMBY-PAMBY LAND WHERE MAYBE WE COULD FIND YOU SOME SELF-CONFIDENCE…YA JACK WAGON!!

    Tissue? [cry baby]

    /had to do it

  11. at the end of the day who really gives a flying sh_t about BU basketball? Its like caring about the WNBA…

  12. Would someone comment on what other programs in the Valley are doing as compared to Bradley?

    Also, how much effect does being in Illinois and/or Peoria have on recruitment?

    When I was at Bradley, the university AND Peoria was a draw for parents out of Chicago and St Louis suburbs. Peoria was viewed as a safe place to send their kids.
    This was before crack hit the neighborhoods surrounding Bradley.

  13. i would like to know if 400K the going rate for this kind of coach? 400K seems very high.

  14. McClain is the Associate Head Coach at Illinois. That means he is an assistant coach with a fancy title. Jerrance Howard is the highest paid asst. coach at UI at over $200k a year. McClain is in the $150,000 range. He will not be a candidate at Bradley–that ship has sailed.

    Jerrance will be a candidate–though I don’t think he will get the BU job.

  15. Charles please. Stop your babbling. You obviously know nothing about sports.

    We find a football coach willing to make $300,000 + a year. Give him, say…5 years to recruit, ‘build’ a program, win at lest two games a season…

    Then we fire him, up the pay scale to $400,000 + a year, hire another coach and start over……….

    All this after BU has convinced Peoria City/County to build a new – tax payer funded – stadium!

  16. Wasn’t Thad Motta in the mix for the job at BU when Les got the job? If he was, BU officials can say “OOPs” He is head caoch at OSU now and has done a fairly decent job at Butler then OSU. It’s been awhile ago so I could be wrong.

  17. New Voice.. Oh Yeah??? I’ve seen you play sports. You are so predictable going to the right all the time. Oh wait… that’s politics.
    In sports, you’re expertise is getting crowned Homecoming Queen.

  18. Yesterday I heard him on the radio stumping as a spokesperson for Avanti’s. I think I also saw him in a banking commercial. Does he get an advertising fee for these engagements? If so, I think the money should go to Bradley – given that his notoriety is due to his employment with Bradley University. Although should he even be doing these commercials at all? Obviously Avanti’s and The Better Banks have competitors. It would be in Bradley’s best interests to be in harmony with the entire business community and not just those businesses that Les wants to promote. It should be looked at if it hasn’t already, imho.

  19. Question, I believe these businesses are sponsors, and probably have deals with the University. Les probably gets a cut. If you listen to Cubs baseball, the Manager does ads for the sponsors too. Again, my guess is the fees are split. Probably spelled out in their contracts.

  20. Who are we going to get that is better than Jim Les? Can you say… “no one”?

    The team lost its two top scorers and best players for the season, so it’s going to be one of those years. Get over it. They’ve won six games, and so what if they’re not in the conference.

    No one better than Jim Les is going to come to Bradley for any length of time… unless he is not of sound mind. Les is loyal to Bradley, he’s pro-Peoria, and he lost his two best players.

    Get some experience for these kids and it will pay big dividends next year.

  21. Les has been here 9 years and has never finished higher than 4th in the Valley. The program has become a joke.

    He will be gone after this year and he has nobody to blame but himself.

  22. Ahhh for the good old days of Joe Stowell as coach…

    During his thirteen seasons as Bradley’s head coach he won 197 games. That’s 15.15 wins a season.

    How’s Les done? In his first 8 seasons he has won 142 games… AVERAGE? 17.75

    Versace in his 8 years at Bradley won 156 games. AVERAGE 19.5

    Just some facts for fans…

  23. Charlie, your “facts” are misleading at best. If you’re going to compare wins you have to compare how many games were played. In Stowell’s 13 years the team averaged 26.46 games per season with a winning percentage of 57.27%. In Les’ full 8 seasons the team has played an average of 32.75 games per season with a winning percentage (including this year) of just 52.86% and going in the wrong direction.

  24. so 5% makes all the difference? 1 out of 20 games makes all the difference?

    Wow… get the rope, tar and feathers… and ride him out on rail too.

  25. Charlie, my comment only illustrated how misleading your reply was comparing Les’ wins with Stowell’s wins. Coach Stowell had a better winning record than Coach Les and you tried to make it appear just the opposite. 57.27% IS BETTER THAN 52.86%.

  26. 57 is better than 52… unless you are talking about golf. I do understand that.
    So Stowell’s teams won approximately 1 1/5 MORE games per season…

    Should we talk about the number of All Americans on the different coach’s teams or the quality of the competition in the Valley or which extra conference teams each coach played against… or should we just talk about wins and losses?

    Is that what sports is all about? Wins and Losses?

  27. I don’t want to go off topic too much, because I’ve almost given up on the Bradley Braves. ISU is not doing well either, but they have a young team, and are rebuilding.

    So, how about that Bears/Packers game coming up, lol?

  28. There are several small schools that have become nationally recognized that were not so much 30- 40 years ago….. Duke, Butler, Gonzaga… anybody ever hear of them? With the facilities Bradley Basketball now has there is no excuse for them to not do better and be at the top of the conference year in and year out. Here is the dilema. His contract is up. Do you go in a new direction now, or you are going ot have to give him atleats a 3 yr extension. Anything LES would send a message to recruits that their coach may not be around when they graduate so they will choose somewhere else where you have a more stable coaching situation. Tough call for Pres Glasser.

  29. Wayne makes over $400,00 a year at Illinois. Jerance makes $200,000. They gave way the position of Assistant Coach under Webber. He is doing well and loves Illinois. In fact they are doing what ever is necessary to keep him there.

  30. Wayne does not make $400,00. He is paid less than Jerrance, in the $140,000 range. Jerrance is in the $200,000 range. The fact that Jerrance is the highest paid asst coach has not played well with the rest of the staff.

  31. From this summer in the Champaign News Gazette:

    CHAMPAIGN – When you’re hot, you’re hot.

    That’s Jerrance Howard, whose hand-slapping nature gives “popularity” a different meaning. All the way back to Peoria High, he was junior class president and the Homecoming King as a senior.

    More recently, he was deemed so valuable as an Illini basketball recruiter that his salary has been jumped twice in these dire economic times. While others in the department were accepting reductions, Howard’s salary climbed from $120,000 to $180,000 as Kentucky made overtures, and early this month he received a $50,000 signing bonus and a $100,000 completion bonus if he stays through 2014, by which time his base would reach $210,000.

    That’s how important it is for the Illini to keep the high school talent coming.

  32. Assistant Coach Jay Price made $127,000 this academic year.

    Associate Head Coach Wayne McClain made $141,000 this academic year.

    http://data.illinimedia.com/salaries/index

    Search under “Intercollegiate Athletics” for the department name and you can see what all the base UI Dept of Intercollegiate Assn salaries.

  33. What makes me so sad is the high caliber players the JL recruits. Just look at Dunson, Lemon, Jr., Warren, Simms-Edwards, not to mention the great stars of the past 8 years. Les clearly knows how to spot and recruit talent. He seems to fail however at creating a positive team environment. I’m sure he has a bright future in the Big 10 as a recruiter. BU, however, needs someone who can create a viable close-knit team.

  34. Jim Les has been outrecruited as well as outcoached at Bradley. He is history, IMO

  35. The Bradley Basketball is the lowest it has ever been in my lifetime, and I am in my mid 40’s. Very sad. Jim Les has got to go. Jerrance Howard would bring in awesome talent. And his coaching skills have been groomed by Bruce Weber. Look at the talent that Jerrance has recruited at Illinois.

  36. Just think how much worse Bradley basketball would be without the shiny new arena/training facility and the parking garage. All those fine homes sacrificed to the altar of NCAA professional athletics. Surely they will need to sacrifice more.

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