|
 Jim
Les is preparing for his fourth season as the head
coach of the Bradley University men’s basketball
program, but his name has been synonymous with
Braves hoops for the better part of two decades and
his connection to the program goes back even
farther.
Les first began patrolling the baselines at
Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse, Bradley’s former home
arena, as a ball boy from 1972 to 1975 when his
older brother, Tom, handled the point guard duties
for the Braves. Jim Les returned to The Hilltop
eight years later as a player and etched his place
in Bradley Basketball lore as one of the best, if
not the best, point guards in the program’s proud
history.
Following a nine-year professional playing career,
which included seven seasons in the National
Basketball Association, Les enjoyed a successful
venture into the financial world before returning to
his basketball roots. After three years of whetting
his coaching whistle as an assistant for the WNBA’s
Sacramento Monarchs, Les returned to Bradley once
more and was named the 12th men’s basketball coach
in Braves history on April 7, 2002.
Inheriting a team that produced a 9-20 record during
the 2001-02 season, Les has laid a solid foundation
for a program that is on the verge of re-emerging as
a force in the Missouri Valley Conference. Les owns
a 40-49 record in his first three seasons as
Bradley’s head man and his 2005-06 squad consists
almost entirely of players he recruited (only
fifth-year senior center Brandyn Heemskerk pre-dates
Les’ arrival).
By recording 12-18 and 15-16 records, respectively,
in his first two seasons, Les joined Bradley legend
A.J. Robertson as the only two coaches in program
history to lead the Braves to an improved record in
each of his first two seasons. Last year, a young
Braves team that featured 13 first- and second-year
players got off to a 7-1 start with impressive
non-conference wins versus DePaul and Pepperdine,
but were unable to carry the momentum into the
conference race.
Les’ impact on the program extends well beyond game
days. During his first three years, all seven
seniors that have played for Les have earned their
Bradley degrees, including Heemskerk, who earned his
degree in marketing in May and will pursue a second
major while playing out his final year of
eligibility this winter. In addition, the team’s 14
players combined for the program’s best semester
grade point average during the 2005 Spring semester
since the school began tracking team GPAs in 1984.
Les’ vision for the future has a foundation in the
memory of his playing days for the Braves from 1983
to 1986. In those three years, the former point
guard led Bradley to a 60-27 (.690) record in his 87
games, consecutive trips to the postseason and one
of the greatest seasons in the history of both
Bradley and Valley men’s basketball.
The 1985-86 squad won the Missouri Valley Conference
regular-season title with a perfect 16-0 league
record and it remains the last Valley team to post
an undefeated conference record. Although the Braves
lost the MVC Tournament championship game at Tulsa,
Bradley earned an at-large bid to the NCAA
Tournament, where the Braves lost to eventual
national champion Louisville in the second round.
Bradley’s 83-65 victory versus UTEP in the first
round of the 1986 West Regional, however, remains
the program’s only NCAA Tournament victory since
1955.
During Bradley’s memorable 1985-86 season, Les
averaged 14.2 points and led The Valley with 7.9
assists per game. In addition to being named MVC
Player of the Year in 1986, the 5-foot-11 point
guard won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Hall of Fame
Award as the nation’s best player less than 6-feet
tall.
He was inducted into the Bradley Athletics Hall of
Fame Feb. 7, 1998. Les also has been inducted into
the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of
Fame and the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame.
Most recently, Braves fans voted Les one of the 15
greatest players in program history during the
celebration of Bradley’s first 100 basketball
seasons.
Following his senior season, Les was a third- round
(70th overall) selection by the Atlanta Hawks during
the 1986 NBA Draft. He went on to play seven seasons
for Utah, the Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento and
Atlanta. He led the NBA in 3-point field goal
percentage (.461) during the 1990-91 season and he
was the runner-up to Chicago’s Craig Hodges in the
AT&T Long Distance Shootout during the 1992 NBA
All-Star Weekend.
Originally from the Chicago suburb of Niles, Ill.,
Les is married to the former Jodi Martineau. The
couple has three children: son Tyler (13) and
daughters Amber (11) and Hannah (5). |
