Josh Cunningham - PF - Morgan Park HS - Chicago, IL - BRADLEY

If we lost him  to Iona I would worry. But since it's a much better institution like Bradley, I can deal with it.

who is attacking Baldi?

MCNPA- what makes you think Cunningham, as a frosh, would be able to start at SF , over Sr. Dom Pointer?  I know Pointer isn't great, but he going to be a 4th year BE player and someone coach has loved for whatever reason.

 Anyhow, I would be shocked if we aren't 3 guard lineup with Obekpa, Jones/Thomas (hopefully)

1) because pointer can't rebound nor put the ball in the hoop.

2) i do not want to see us using a 3-guard lineup. 

If we lost him  to Iona I would worry. But since it's a much better institution like Bradley, I can deal with it.

Still talking about Iona?

You want to know how much his commitment means to Bradley.  Just start reading the twitter pages and hashtag BradleyBasketball:

https://twitter.com/hashtag/bradleybasketball

Dave Reynolds ‏@DaveReynolds2  · 1m 
Morgan Park all-stater Josh Cunningham officially announces his commitment to Bradley!

As I hinted at yesterday, not getting this kid might be a blessing in disguise (yes I realize that I am "that guy" making the "dodged a bullet" post, and that the staff clearly wanted him).  Also, his high school is heavily recruited by Bradley and he has a relative who goes to school there.

Why would not getting him be a blessing in disguise?

Good luck to him. Classy move.

 :(Good luck to him.   Lavin needs to go back to the drawing board.   We're stacked up front anyway.  Our front court is good for at least 8 points per game.

"Bradley assistant coach Ronald Coleman was a major factor in Cunningham picking Bradley. Coleman used to coach Cunningham in the Mac Irvin Fire AAU program."


http://scouthoops.scout.com/2/1398199.html

"Bradley assistant coach Ronald Coleman was a major factor in Cunningham picking Bradley. Coleman used to coach Cunningham in the Mac Irvin Fire AAU program."


http://scouthoops.scout.com/2/1398199.html

On that note:

http://www.highschoolcubenews.com/news_article/show/380818?referrer_id=596370

Last fall, Oklahoma, Creighton, Minnesota, Iowa State and Bradley were firmly entrenched in Cunningham's recruitment. The highly-athletic 6-7 forward took four official visits last year, including one to Bradley, prior to the early signing period but decided to play out his senior year.

After leading Morgan Park to a second straight state championship in March, Cunningham's recruitment continued to pick up steam. Indiana, South Carolina and St. John's all entered the picture as the season and spring wore on.

"I went back and forth on the decision, especially after taking each visit," Cunningham said. "But after each visit and being undecided, it was always Bradley that I came back to at the end."

It was Bradley, with assistant coach and Chicago native Ronald Coleman, who has strong ties to Cunningham's Mac Irvin Fire program, that remained a constant presence through it all. Coleman helped Bradley secure arguably its biggest recruit since Mitchell Anderson three decades ago as Cunningham shunned the bigger named programs in the end.

"I have a great relationship with the coaching staff and the players there," Cunningham added. "I want to play to the best of my abilities, help Bradley get to the next level and get them back to the NCAA Tournament."

Quote from: paultzman on April 29, 2014, 06:48:33 PM

"Bradley assistant coach Ronald Coleman was a major factor in Cunningham picking Bradley. Coleman used to coach Cunningham in the Mac Irvin Fire AAU program."


http://scouthoops.scout.com/2/1398199.html

On that note:

http://www.highschoolcubenews.com/news_article/show/380818?referrer_id=596370

Last fall, Oklahoma, Creighton, Minnesota, Iowa State and Bradley were firmly entrenched in Cunningham's recruitment. The highly-athletic 6-7 forward took four official visits last year, including one to Bradley, prior to the early signing period but decided to play out his senior year.

After leading Morgan Park to a second straight state championship in March, Cunningham's recruitment continued to pick up steam. Indiana, South Carolina and St. John's all entered the picture as the season and spring wore on.

"I went back and forth on the decision, especially after taking each visit," Cunningham said. "But after each visit and being undecided, it was always Bradley that I came back to at the end."

It was Bradley, with assistant coach and Chicago native Ronald Coleman, who has strong ties to Cunningham's Mac Irvin Fire program, that remained a constant presence through it all. Coleman helped Bradley secure arguably its biggest recruit since Mitchell Anderson three decades ago as Cunningham shunned the bigger named programs in the end.

"I have a great relationship with the coaching staff and the players there," Cunningham added. "I want to play to the best of my abilities, help Bradley get to the next level and get them back to the NCAA Tournament."

Wonderful for the kid, but a waste of time and dead end road for us.  This is about us, not the feel-good story of Cunningham and Bradley University.  This is about us continuously failing to recruit and land front court talent.  I'm not sure what people care about here.  Kudos to Bradley, kudos to Cunningham.  We have no real small forwards on the roster, And relying on a minimally productive Christian Jones to carry the Pf spot. 

Quote from: fordham96 on April 29, 2014, 07:38:33 PM

Quote from: paultzman on April 29, 2014, 06:48:33 PM

"Bradley assistant coach Ronald Coleman was a major factor in Cunningham picking Bradley. Coleman used to coach Cunningham in the Mac Irvin Fire AAU program."


http://scouthoops.scout.com/2/1398199.html

On that note:

http://www.highschoolcubenews.com/news_article/show/380818?referrer_id=596370

Last fall, Oklahoma, Creighton, Minnesota, Iowa State and Bradley were firmly entrenched in Cunningham's recruitment. The highly-athletic 6-7 forward took four official visits last year, including one to Bradley, prior to the early signing period but decided to play out his senior year.

After leading Morgan Park to a second straight state championship in March, Cunningham's recruitment continued to pick up steam. Indiana, South Carolina and St. John's all entered the picture as the season and spring wore on.

"I went back and forth on the decision, especially after taking each visit," Cunningham said. "But after each visit and being undecided, it was always Bradley that I came back to at the end."

It was Bradley, with assistant coach and Chicago native Ronald Coleman, who has strong ties to Cunningham's Mac Irvin Fire program, that remained a constant presence through it all. Coleman helped Bradley secure arguably its biggest recruit since Mitchell Anderson three decades ago as Cunningham shunned the bigger named programs in the end.

"I have a great relationship with the coaching staff and the players there," Cunningham added. "I want to play to the best of my abilities, help Bradley get to the next level and get them back to the NCAA Tournament."

Wonderful for the kid, but a waste of time and dead end road for us.  This is about us, not the feel-good story of Cunningham and Bradley University.  This is about us continuously failing to recruit and land front court talent.  I'm not sure what people care about here.  Kudos to Bradley, kudos to Cunningham.  We have no real small forwards on the roster, And relying on a minimally productive Christian Jones to carry the Pf spot. 

I don't understand your point.

Quote from: MCNPA on April 29, 2014, 07:48:15 PM

Quote from: fordham96 on April 29, 2014, 07:38:33 PM

Quote from: paultzman on April 29, 2014, 06:48:33 PM

"Bradley assistant coach Ronald Coleman was a major factor in Cunningham picking Bradley. Coleman used to coach Cunningham in the Mac Irvin Fire AAU program."


http://scouthoops.scout.com/2/1398199.html

On that note:

http://www.highschoolcubenews.com/news_article/show/380818?referrer_id=596370

Last fall, Oklahoma, Creighton, Minnesota, Iowa State and Bradley were firmly entrenched in Cunningham's recruitment. The highly-athletic 6-7 forward took four official visits last year, including one to Bradley, prior to the early signing period but decided to play out his senior year.

After leading Morgan Park to a second straight state championship in March, Cunningham's recruitment continued to pick up steam. Indiana, South Carolina and St. John's all entered the picture as the season and spring wore on.

"I went back and forth on the decision, especially after taking each visit," Cunningham said. "But after each visit and being undecided, it was always Bradley that I came back to at the end."

It was Bradley, with assistant coach and Chicago native Ronald Coleman, who has strong ties to Cunningham's Mac Irvin Fire program, that remained a constant presence through it all. Coleman helped Bradley secure arguably its biggest recruit since Mitchell Anderson three decades ago as Cunningham shunned the bigger named programs in the end.

"I have a great relationship with the coaching staff and the players there," Cunningham added. "I want to play to the best of my abilities, help Bradley get to the next level and get them back to the NCAA Tournament."

Wonderful for the kid, but a waste of time and dead end road for us.  This is about us, not the feel-good story of Cunningham and Bradley University.  This is about us continuously failing to recruit and land front court talent.  I'm not sure what people care about here.  Kudos to Bradley, kudos to Cunningham.  We have no real small forwards on the roster, And relying on a minimally productive Christian Jones to carry the Pf spot. 

I don't understand your point.

Basically he doesn't care about the feel good story, the world is ending. Just get his mind thinking about a recruit so he can talk about how great they are and so on.

Quote from: fordham96 on April 29, 2014, 07:59:44 PM

Quote from: MCNPA on April 29, 2014, 07:48:15 PM

Quote from: fordham96 on April 29, 2014, 07:38:33 PM

Quote from: paultzman on April 29, 2014, 06:48:33 PM

"Bradley assistant coach Ronald Coleman was a major factor in Cunningham picking Bradley. Coleman used to coach Cunningham in the Mac Irvin Fire AAU program."


http://scouthoops.scout.com/2/1398199.html

On that note:

http://www.highschoolcubenews.com/news_article/show/380818?referrer_id=596370

Last fall, Oklahoma, Creighton, Minnesota, Iowa State and Bradley were firmly entrenched in Cunningham's recruitment. The highly-athletic 6-7 forward took four official visits last year, including one to Bradley, prior to the early signing period but decided to play out his senior year.

After leading Morgan Park to a second straight state championship in March, Cunningham's recruitment continued to pick up steam. Indiana, South Carolina and St. John's all entered the picture as the season and spring wore on.

"I went back and forth on the decision, especially after taking each visit," Cunningham said. "But after each visit and being undecided, it was always Bradley that I came back to at the end."

It was Bradley, with assistant coach and Chicago native Ronald Coleman, who has strong ties to Cunningham's Mac Irvin Fire program, that remained a constant presence through it all. Coleman helped Bradley secure arguably its biggest recruit since Mitchell Anderson three decades ago as Cunningham shunned the bigger named programs in the end.

"I have a great relationship with the coaching staff and the players there," Cunningham added. "I want to play to the best of my abilities, help Bradley get to the next level and get them back to the NCAA Tournament."

Wonderful for the kid, but a waste of time and dead end road for us.  This is about us, not the feel-good story of Cunningham and Bradley University.  This is about us continuously failing to recruit and land front court talent.  I'm not sure what people care about here.  Kudos to Bradley, kudos to Cunningham.  We have no real small forwards on the roster, And relying on a minimally productive Christian Jones to carry the Pf spot. 

I don't understand your point.

Basically he doesn't care about the feel good story, the world is ending. Just get his mind thinking about a recruit so he can talk about how great they are and so on.

No, Fordham is trying to smokescreen the issue here with a feel-good story.  The world isn't ending.  For SJU basketball, it had ended a long time ago.  I'm curious to know how people think we will even be competitive with no front court next year?

 Obekpa is returning, no?   Thomas hopefully comes...  there is a center and PF.. Adonis the Giant is coming .

 Pointer is a SF who will be a senior.... Felix is a Small forward ( he's not a guard)... Christian Jones is a PF i believe..

 I just named 6 forwards... . This notion we have no front court isn't true. Is it ideal? no..

 And whether you like it or not, we will have a 3 guard  starting lineup. 

Obekpa is returning, no?   Thomas hopefully comes...  there is a center and PF.. Adonis the Giant is coming .

 Pointer is a SF who will be a senior.... Felix is a Small forward ( he's not a guard)... Christian Jones is a PF i believe..

 I just named 6 forwards... . This notion we have no front court isn't true. Is it ideal? no..

 And whether you like it or not, we will have a 3 guard  starting lineup. 

.  Our 3 guards weren't good enough last year to carry us, even with a guy like Jakarr.  Obekpa is returning but isn't an offensive threat.  Delarosa is 2 years away from contributing, felix is in NO way a small forward.  He's 6'3".  He's a SG who isn't a shooter.  That means at the 3 and 4 spots, we are relying on a last-minute signee that hasn't contributed in Jones, and a last-minute juco signee from this year in Thomas to carry our frontcourt? 

Add to that we lost our only two "shooters" in Hooper and Bourgault.  I think we are in a lot bigger trouble than people think and to this point I've been an optimistic guy.   Lavin crapped the bed putting together a front-court and replacing talent from 4 years ago.  His 5-year plan has become a 10-year plan, hinging it all on the 15' class which seemingly is what he wants.  Another 4 years to build up to one hopefully good year? 

We don't have 6 forwards,  we only have Pointer and Jones, despite the guys you named, at the 3/4 spots.

 I misspoke.. I should have said 6 front court players instead of forwards..  You said we had none.  PLus, with three guard lineup, you don;t need a proto-typical SF.   A rotation of Obekpa, Jones, DelaRosa, Keith Thomas( fingers crossed) isn't a total disaster you are making it out to be..  Thomas is an elite JC rebounder from all accounts..

 Imo, a shooting guard that can't shoot is the same as a small forward, but whatever..

Our three guards will be much better next season, clearly you know that ( I hope).

Quote from: Mike on April 29, 2014, 08:07:00 PM

Quote from: fordham96 on April 29, 2014, 07:59:44 PM

Quote from: MCNPA on April 29, 2014, 07:48:15 PM

Quote from: fordham96 on April 29, 2014, 07:38:33 PM

Quote from: paultzman on April 29, 2014, 06:48:33 PM

"Bradley assistant coach Ronald Coleman was a major factor in Cunningham picking Bradley. Coleman used to coach Cunningham in the Mac Irvin Fire AAU program."


http://scouthoops.scout.com/2/1398199.html

On that note:

http://www.highschoolcubenews.com/news_article/show/380818?referrer_id=596370

Last fall, Oklahoma, Creighton, Minnesota, Iowa State and Bradley were firmly entrenched in Cunningham's recruitment. The highly-athletic 6-7 forward took four official visits last year, including one to Bradley, prior to the early signing period but decided to play out his senior year.

After leading Morgan Park to a second straight state championship in March, Cunningham's recruitment continued to pick up steam. Indiana, South Carolina and St. John's all entered the picture as the season and spring wore on.

"I went back and forth on the decision, especially after taking each visit," Cunningham said. "But after each visit and being undecided, it was always Bradley that I came back to at the end."

It was Bradley, with assistant coach and Chicago native Ronald Coleman, who has strong ties to Cunningham's Mac Irvin Fire program, that remained a constant presence through it all. Coleman helped Bradley secure arguably its biggest recruit since Mitchell Anderson three decades ago as Cunningham shunned the bigger named programs in the end.

"I have a great relationship with the coaching staff and the players there," Cunningham added. "I want to play to the best of my abilities, help Bradley get to the next level and get them back to the NCAA Tournament."

Wonderful for the kid, but a waste of time and dead end road for us.  This is about us, not the feel-good story of Cunningham and Bradley University.  This is about us continuously failing to recruit and land front court talent.  I'm not sure what people care about here.  Kudos to Bradley, kudos to Cunningham.  We have no real small forwards on the roster, And relying on a minimally productive Christian Jones to carry the Pf spot. 

I don't understand your point.

Basically he doesn't care about the feel good story, the world is ending. Just get his mind thinking about a recruit so he can talk about how great they are and so on.

No, Fordham is trying to smokescreen the issue here with a feel-good story.  The world isn't ending.  For SJU basketball, it had ended a long time ago.  I'm curious to know how people think we will even be competitive with no front court next year?

In April 2013 would you have predicted an NCAA crown for UConn with their front court? 

You're thinking too hard about this.  Enjoy the lacrosse play-offs and the summer. 

Obekpa is returning, no?   Thomas hopefully comes...  there is a center and PF.. Adonis the Giant is coming .

 Pointer is a SF who will be a senior.... Felix is a Small forward ( he's not a guard)... Christian Jones is a PF i believe..

 I just named 6 forwards... . This notion we have no front court isn't true. Is it ideal? no..

 And whether you like it or not, we will have a 3 guard  starting lineup. 

Obekpa was the key and far more important than Sampson.  We have two 6'11 guys to back Obekpa up at the five....we're bigger than we've been in years.  I don't expect too much from Jones, but he's a sturdy body that won't get pushed around.  Dom and Felix can both play the four in a 2-3 zone or in man against smaller PFs.  It's not like PFs are 6'10 anymore.

If the bigs just get out of the way of the guards, that alone will make us better than last year.  This also leaves out Keith "I'm going to outwork you" Thomas and his 9 boards a game.

Quote from: boo3 on April 29, 2014, 08:37:04 PM

Obekpa is returning, no?   Thomas hopefully comes...  there is a center and PF.. Adonis the Giant is coming .

 Pointer is a SF who will be a senior.... Felix is a Small forward ( he's not a guard)... Christian Jones is a PF i believe..

 I just named 6 forwards... . This notion we have no front court isn't true. Is it ideal? no..

 And whether you like it or not, we will have a 3 guard  starting lineup. 

Obekpa was the key and far more important than Sampson.  We have two 6'11 guys to back Obekpa up at the five....we're bigger than we've been in years.  I don't expect too much from Jones, but he's a sturdy body that won't get pushed around.  Dom and Felix can both play the four in a 2-3 zone or in man against smaller PFs.  It's not like PFs are 6'10 anymore.

If the bigs just get out of the way of the guards, that alone will make us better than last year.  This also leaves out Keith "I'm going to outwork you" Thomas and his 9 boards a game.

Are you joking?  Obekpa more important than Sampson?  That's an absurdity.  Obekpa never came near mirroring nor even came close to being able to make up for The loss of Sampson.  Felix can play the 4?  Are you on drugs?  Mr.  " I'm going to outwork you" is still uncommitted.  If he commits, he will need 15 boards a game to outwork his opponents who are not juco players but rather Big East players like the entire Xavier team that destroyed us on the boards twice.

Fans here better hope that Thomas is far better than Jakarr and that felix at 6'3" can out producer 6'9 Sanchez and Gift because as of now, those are their replacements...  It's friggin sad...

Quote from: MCNPA on April 29, 2014, 08:14:01 PM

Quote from: Mike on April 29, 2014, 08:07:00 PM

Quote from: fordham96 on April 29, 2014, 07:59:44 PM

Quote from: MCNPA on April 29, 2014, 07:48:15 PM

Quote from: fordham96 on April 29, 2014, 07:38:33 PM

Quote from: paultzman on April 29, 2014, 06:48:33 PM

"Bradley assistant coach Ronald Coleman was a major factor in Cunningham picking Bradley. Coleman used to coach Cunningham in the Mac Irvin Fire AAU program."


http://scouthoops.scout.com/2/1398199.html

On that note:

http://www.highschoolcubenews.com/news_article/show/380818?referrer_id=596370

Last fall, Oklahoma, Creighton, Minnesota, Iowa State and Bradley were firmly entrenched in Cunningham's recruitment. The highly-athletic 6-7 forward took four official visits last year, including one to Bradley, prior to the early signing period but decided to play out his senior year.

After leading Morgan Park to a second straight state championship in March, Cunningham's recruitment continued to pick up steam. Indiana, South Carolina and St. John's all entered the picture as the season and spring wore on.

"I went back and forth on the decision, especially after taking each visit," Cunningham said. "But after each visit and being undecided, it was always Bradley that I came back to at the end."

It was Bradley, with assistant coach and Chicago native Ronald Coleman, who has strong ties to Cunningham's Mac Irvin Fire program, that remained a constant presence through it all. Coleman helped Bradley secure arguably its biggest recruit since Mitchell Anderson three decades ago as Cunningham shunned the bigger named programs in the end.

"I have a great relationship with the coaching staff and the players there," Cunningham added. "I want to play to the best of my abilities, help Bradley get to the next level and get them back to the NCAA Tournament."

Wonderful for the kid, but a waste of time and dead end road for us.  This is about us, not the feel-good story of Cunningham and Bradley University.  This is about us continuously failing to recruit and land front court talent.  I'm not sure what people care about here.  Kudos to Bradley, kudos to Cunningham.  We have no real small forwards on the roster, And relying on a minimally productive Christian Jones to carry the Pf spot. 

I don't understand your point.

Basically he doesn't care about the feel good story, the world is ending. Just get his mind thinking about a recruit so he can talk about how great they are and so on.

No, Fordham is trying to smokescreen the issue here with a feel-good story.  The world isn't ending.  For SJU basketball, it had ended a long time ago.  I'm curious to know how people think we will even be competitive with no front court next year?

In April 2013 would you have predicted an NCAA crown for UConn with their front court? 

You're thinking too hard about this.  Enjoy the lacrosse play-offs and the summer. 

Lacrosse playoffs?  SJU failed to qualify for their own Big East Tournament for two years in a row.  That's with maybe the best attack unit in the country.  SJU lacrosse isn't in much better shape than SJU basketball right now.  SJU is out of it all and because the coaching decisions have been as bad as the basketball team...