Bradley Braves – Taking the Next Step

(St. Louis, MO) – This is the season Brian Wardle has been pointing to for five years. When he took the Bradley reins he patiently went about building a roster and a culture. Now the Braves appear ready to take the next step.

Wardle resisted the quick fix route in building his first season roster. The former Marquette Golden Eagle signed TEN freshmen that first season and the Baby Braves took their lumps. Wardle was unfazed by a 27-loss first season.

Bradley observers could see a new attitude and a deeper sense of grit.

Season two was better.

After fielding the youngest team in Division 1 basketball, the Braves returned with the second youngest team in 2016-17. They improved from five wins to 13. Added to that first group of freshmen was point guard Darrell Brown. The Memphis native was a huge signing.

Wardle’s building formula came from a children’s story.

“We didn’t want to build with sticks,” Wardle said. “It’s slower, but we wanted to build with bricks so that when we got there, we could stay. It’s not as flashy, but our administration believed in what we were doing.”

“When you rush and take a lot of transfers and older guys to win right away, you’re building a house with sticks and those sticks are eventually going to fall down,” he said. “We wanted to build our house with bricks. That is  with young, high-character guys that we think we can develop and build around. We can increase our talent every year. We want a house that is brick-built and won’t be blown over. It takes time to do it that way, but then you can sustain. We built it to last. Our academics are through the roof and our players are active in the community.”

The Breakthrough Season

After winning 20 games in 2017-18, Wardle and the Braves broke a 31-year Missouri Valley Conference title drought last spring. During an up and down season (they finished 9-9 in conference play) Bradley swept through Arch Madness and into the NCAA Tournament.

Bradley fans had high hopes heading into last season, but after a strong start, the Braves hit some rough patches. They dropped their first five conference games, but then won nine of their final 13 league games and three straight at the conference tournament.

After a gritty NCAA Tournament loss to eventual Final Four participatnt, Michigan State, Wardle’s team graduated some long term staples.

Gone are Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye, Luuk van Bree and Luqman Lundy. Bradley’s remaining core is solid. Brown returns for his senior season after being named to the Valley’s second-team all conference squad. Elijah Childs was on the third-team list. Senior Nate Kennell was the league’s co-Sixth Man of the Year.

The 5’10 Brown averaged 14.8 points and 3.2 assists while converting 44% of his three-point attempts. Childs was the conference tournament’s ‘Most Outstanding Player’ and averaged 12.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

Is the Core Ready for the Next Step?

Wardle says the basketball part will take care of itself. His interest is in how his veteran core handles the off-the-court, life-development part of their careers.

 

 

Childs may be the most important player in this year’s Valley season (see “Four Returners Will Shape the Valley Season“). Wardle says 6’7 lefty has been working to expand his game.

“He’s a great post scorer and demands a double-team,” says Wardle. “He can present you with a lot of problems. If he gets better in certain areas we targeted in this offseason, he could have a really nice junior year.”

Childs is poised to take the next step to Missouri Valley Conference stardom.

The Newcomer & Veteran Mainstay

Bradley added the rare transfer in Danya Kingsby (Southern Idaho) to the mix. The 6’1 junior was at LSU, but never played for the Tigers and is immediately eligible. At Southern Idaho he helped his team to the NJCAA title game. Jucorecruiting.com called ‘Ya’ the 2018’s 26^th best junior college player.

Kennell returns for his senior season. The 6’6 wing averaged 9.3 points and made 40% of his shots from long distance. In addition to his sixth man award, Kennell was a member of the all-tournament team at Arch Madness.

Wardle says those two will play a key role on this year’s team.

 

 

Vital Components

Senior Koch Bar is a 6’11 shot blocker who started 18 games last season. The South Sudanese native averaged 5.7 points and 4.3 rebounds and was solid from the charity stripe (74%).

Ja’ Shon Henry is an explosive athlete. While playing just 12 minutes per game, Henry (6’6 225) averaged 4.2 points per game. Henry is so athletic that Wardle jokes that he wants to get Henry an NFL try-out.

Another Wave of Freshmen

Wardle has gone international in his recruiting again. Finland’s Ville Tahvanainen was the leading scorer of the 2018 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. Netherlands native Rienk Mast served as his team’s captain at the 2018 European Under-18 Championship, helping Holland to the Division B title.

Other rookies include Antonio Thomas, Sean Houpt, Setphan Gabriel and Riley Burger. Only Houpt would be considered a regional recruit (Danville, IL). Thomas went to four straight Tennessee State title games. Gabriel is a 6’7 wing who averaged 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the State of New Jersey.

Wardle speaks glowingly of the character of his players and how they grow and improve in Peoria, Illinois. They learn ‘the Bradley Way to Work’. This program is potentially poised to take off and take that proverbial ‘next step’.

In Wardle’s four seasons on the Hilltop, Bradley has won 5, 13, 20 and 20 games. Last year’s tournament title might have come one season earlier than expected but Wardle’s team has tasted success.

With Brown and Childs leading the way, this team could be ready to take the next step.

Do Good