One of the best aspects of college athletics is that when an
athletic program is successful, it brings students, faculty, alums, and a
community together in a way that almost no other cause can. This is perhaps no
more evident than in Wichita, Kan., where their beloved Wichita State Shockers
have brought great pride to a blue-collar town who turns every home-game into a
passion-laden frenzy. The reason for such enthusiasm is their team’s
disciplined game, which has catapulted the basketball program—and the school—into
the living rooms of so many people around the country.
Meanwhile, in Peoria, the local team continues to snatch
defeat from the jaws of victory, losing winnable games and playing an embarrassing
and undisciplined style of basketball. In turn, Bradley is lucky to fill half
of a once-raucous, sold out Carver Arena.
Bradley basketball was once Wichita State. In the 50s and
60s, Bradley was a national basketball power, winning championships on a
regular basis. Bradley games were the must-see event in town.
It is time for Bradley basketball to restore its winning
tradition and the pride that so many once had for the basketball program, and
the university as a whole. For those who
have had the misfortune of watching Bradley basketball over the past few years –argueably
the worst in program history—two things are abundantly clear: Geno Ford is not
the man for the job, and the team’s undisciplined approach is holding the
program back.
Perhaps no one embodies discipline in college basketball
quite like Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, the winningist college basketball coach in
Division I history. While many
established head coaches and rising assistant coaches would never consider the
BU gig, I believe it would be the perfect fit for “Coach K’s” promising
assistant coach Jon Scheyer, a winner at every level of basketball that he has
been a part of.
As an Illinois high school basketball legend and Duke
All-American, Scheyer would bring instant credibility that few could match. Undoubtedly, Scheyer would raise the regional
and national recognition of the university and its basketball program. While some
may believe Scheyer, 27, would be way too young and inexperienced for a
Division I head coaching position, there are plenty of examples of young head
coaches succeeding in college basketball. Consider that Bob Knight began his
first coaching job at Army at the ripe old age of 24 (and took over Indiana at
age 30). Krzyzewski himself became a head coach at 28 and took the Duke job at
33. Jeff Capel, another Duke assistant coach to Krzyzewski, became VCU’s head
coach at 27. A year later, VCU earned a berth in its first NCAA tournament in
eight years. Wouldn’t it be nice if Bradley could match that feat, much less,
field a competitive team in that amount of time?
The youthful Scheyer
likely would be relate to his players and recruits more than an experienced
coach, given that he was in their shoes not too long ago. What Scheyer lacks in coaching experience can
be found by veteran assistants who are willing to mentor a rising star and help
lead a program back to its glory days. It is clear that Geno Ford is not going
to lead Bradley to championships. It is time for some new—and young—blood on
the Hilltop.
