believe what you want but the first couple years Les was at Bradley - he had a near-total rebuild,
and all the former players left. Plus he was not allowed to choose his own staff - admin chose one assistant for him. But he was still only a couple games under .500.
Then starting in his 4th season he had a run of four straight years with 21 or 22 wins each year.

..then starting in 2008, the hostile University President fired the highly successful AD (Ken Kavanagh, who then went to FGCU and won the National AD of the Year TWICE!)
..then she went after Les' staff and began firing his assistants one by one. It was a nightmare situation. Then she ran off a couple of his best recruits including Tyler Les who came to UC-Davis (remember, Tyler came to UC-Davis and played one year for Stewart even before Jim was here- then led the nation in 3-pt shooting) - so the last couple years at BU, Jim's poor record was kind of a result of upper level meddling - caused intentionally by the ogre in order to force Jim out and gain enough leverage to convince the Board to fire him, making it impossible for Les to win.
Jim' overall record at Bradley in seasons where he was able to choose his own staff was 86-56 and 40-32 in conference, with a Sweet Sixteen run, four years of post-season tournament bids and three of his players played in the NBA.

and you know how hard it is to recruit good players at UC-Davis - Jim does as well as anyone can. He had Kihei Clark signed but then Clark blew up the summer after he signed and went to Virginia instead-
All Clark's done since is win a National Championship at UVa and is right now playing vs. Duke in the ACC Championship game.

btw- our current coach tried recruiting Elijah Pepper - he knew the kid's talent, but Pepper wasn't that interested in coming to the midwest.
https://www.bradleyfans.com/forum/sports-forums/basketball-fan-talk/28005-2019-beyond-recruiting-targets?p=465003#post465003

https://www.bradleyfans.com/forum/sports-forums/basketball-fan-talk/28005-2019-beyond-recruiting-targets?p=464525#post464525

https://www.bradleyfans.com/forum/sports-forums/basketball-fan-talk/28005-2019-beyond-recruiting-targets?p=465215#post465215

95% of Bradley fans would love that, but it prob won't happen. The admin that fired Les in 2011
was so hostile (and simultaneously so stupid and negligent) that they may well have burned any bridges for any future games. The only reason he came back for the ceremony this past November was because the players (his players from 2006) deserved it.
BTW- all the hires that the BU admin back then made after Les' (and other Athl. Dept) firings were so miserably horrible that they sunk Bradley almost back to the DIII level, 2/3 of the fanbase disappeared, more than 1/2 the season ticket base left- and we sukked at every sport -- until the angry fans finally pulled their donations and woke up a few Board members - and got the University President, the AD and the entire basketball coaching staff all FIRED simultaneously - something truly unprecedented in all of collegiate sports. It took several years to rebuild but Bradley's back - won the Tourney & the auto bid 2 of the last 4 years & won the league title this year.
But the events surrounding his firing caused a near-decade of futility for the sports fans.

Hi- don't post here often, but I am a long, long time fan of Jim Les & now UC-Davis.
Have had season tix for Bradley games since the 70's & help run the fan board for Bradley basketball for 20 yrs.
I watch as many Aggie games as I can and just wanted to say to your fan base, that your team
is one of the most enjoyable and entertaining teams to watch. I share in your disappointment this season - so many close losses (7 by 5 pts or less, 6 by just one single possession).

Coach Les has a knack for recruiting kids that play like he did - talented over-achievers who shoot well and compete hard - guys like Corey Hawkins, Tyler Les, Bronton Lemar, Siler Schneider, Chima, Manjon, TJ Shorts, Joe Mooney, TY Johnson, Eli Pepper.. etc. They are fun to watch. I know how hard it is for midmajors to land quality big men, yet still your guys hold their own. Good luck to the Aggies in the future, I will continue to follow. And if Coach Les or Kyle Vogt ever read your board - Doc says Hi...it was great to see you and have you back at Bradley for the Hall of Fame ceremony back in November.
https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2022/11/20/NJOS/c2bc7972-6baf-42a8-9243-7d9391a79a34-thumbnail_IMG_5672.jpg?width=660&height=495&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp

In the consolation bracket- Caleb Fuller's Great Britain team won - beating Greece 77-64.
Caleb Fuller had 8 pts, 6 rebs, 2 assists, 1 steal

...not bad, considering there are players in U20 that are 2 years older...and who have had multiple years of playing on professional & club teams in Europe.

Next game is vs. Ukraine on Saturday - still playing for spots 9-12 in the final finishing order

Caleb Fuller scored a team high 11 pts, 3 rebs, 2 steals but Britain lost to Croatia in the Round of 16 at U20 Fiba Euro Championships

http://www.fiba.basketball/europe/u20/2018/game/1807/Croatia-Great-Britain#tab=boxscore

Congrats to Coach Jim Les and the Aggies!
Now go make another run to the Sweet Sixteen!

Did you notice the big 7-2 Anteater center was held to just ONE REBOUND!

Congrats to the Aggies from a fan out in the midwest...
keep winning..

One other request - I am still looking to buy one of the UC-Davis camo hats that were given away last season as a promotion - anyone have one to sell?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CbYxm7zUEAAQk-Z.jpg:small