In a sudden and shocking move seven games into this basketball season, Bradley assistant coach Steve Merfeld is leaving the program, effective immediately.
Although Bradley issued a statement Sunday night regarding Merfeld’s departure, nothing in the statement revealed why the 48-year-old coach, in his third year on Jim Les’ staff, is heading to the exits one-third of the way through the season.
From all indications, it does not appear Merfeld is dealing with a personal or family crisis that has caused him to step down. What does seem most likely is a conflict within the BU coaching staff has prompted the action.
The development comes on the eve of the Braves’ return home to Carver Arena for Monday night’s 7:05 nonconference game against a tough Western Carolina team.
Les’ comments in the statement are laudatory toward Merfeld, a former head coach at Hampton and Evansville who joined the BU staff in the summer of 2007.
“I have a lot of respect for Steve and appreciate everything he has given to our program the last two and a half years,” Les’ remarks read. “We understand his decision to step away at this time. We support that decision and wish him the best of luck as he moves forward.”
When contacted by telephone, Les would not comment further, which is revealing in itself.
“I’m not going to say anything more than what’s in the release,” he said. “That’s what we’ve decided.”
Merfeld’s quotes in the statement were similarly lacking of any kind of explanation, other than what can be interpreted by his second sentence.
“I appreciate my time at Bradley University and the opportunity given to me by Coach Les,” it read. “I respect and understand the challenges of building a championship team and Jim and I agree a change was the right thing at this time. Bradley University is a special place with terrific fans. I wish Coach Les, the staff and the young men in the program nothing but the best.”
Why would the head coach agree that an assistant coach leaving his staff in the midst of a season was “the right thing at this time” unless there was a rift that was detrimental toward “building a championship team”?
It was clear from the time Merfeld came to town after 10 years as a head coach (the last five at Missouri Valley Conference rival Evansville) that this would probably just be a short-term gig until he found another head-coaching job.
In the meantime, Bradley thought itself fortunate to have a man of great experience, particularly in developing big men, to replace the retiring Chuck Buescher, who had been so instrumental in the program’s resurgence to an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance.
But Merfeld, perhaps because of his perceived short-term position, didn’t seem to be a major contributor, at least during the in-game staff discussions on the bench.
Merfeld was charged with seemingly menial tasks, such as monitoring the opposing team’s lineup on the court or checking with the scorer’s table or officials on a game situation.
He either was on the periphery of the timeout huddles or not involved at all in what was being relayed from the coaches to the team. Many times he was observed chatting with or complaining to officials during breaks on the court.
Another factor might have been the ugly departure last spring of athletics director Ken Kavanagh, a good friend of Merfeld’s from their days together as assistants at Bowling Green in the 1990s (Kavanagh in the athletic department and Merfeld on the basketball team). Kavanagh strongly recommended Merfeld to Les when the vacancy occurred.
Not that any of those circumstances should provoke such a rash decision as this. Wouldn’t it be better for all concerned for Merfeld to wait and leave after the season, particularly one as promising as this one is shaping up to be?
Better for the image of the program, better for the players not to lose one of their teaching voices, better for Merfeld’s future in coaching. How will he explain this to a potential employer?
The main question for BU now is how the staff will be configured for the rest of this season. Les said it will be discussed during the eight-day break after Monday’s game.
The most likely and least disruptive scenario would be to move up Kyle Vogt, the current director of basketball operations, to Merfeld’s spot and replace Vogt with Jeremy Crouch, the former Brave who has been helping out in practice.
We might never know the details of Merfeld’s exit from BU. But if it creates a less stressful environment for the Braves, then the program should benefit.
Western Carolina: The Catamounts are off to a 6-1 start and coming off a 64-57 victory Saturday over Southern Conference rival Furman.
“They have a little of everything,” Les said. “Athleticism, size and shooters. I told our team (Western Carolina) doesn’t have the name recognition of Illinois. But we’ll have to play every bit as good as we played against Illinois. We’ve got to continue to execute and when they do that, I like how our team responds.”
Dave Reynolds is a Journal Star sports reporter. He can be reached at dreynolds@pjstar.com or 686-3210.
