Why Bradley Is Here to Stay

Several Teams Fighting for the Top Spot

(St. Louis, MO) – Bradley is here to stay. Thursday’s elimination from the NCAA Tournament only proved Brian Wardle is building a program that will threaten for multiple Missouri Valley Conference championships.

The Braves entered their tournament game as 18.5-point underdog and lost by a deceiving 11-point margin. Only a late 7-0 run by Michigan State turned a very tight game into a seemingly easy Spartan win. It wasn’t just the point spread that impressed, but it was Bradley’s team toughness.

Media day quotes about how well they matched up with Michigan State sounded preposterous and like the little boy calling out is older brother. But Bradley’s toughness and tenacity were on display for the 40-minute war in Des Moines.

Relentless Effort

Wardle’s team doesn’t quit. After losing their first five Missouri Valley games, they rebounded to win nine of their final 13 conference games and then swept Arch Madness. Their narrow loss to Michigan State was similar. The relentless Braves wouldn’t allow the hard-nosed Spartans to dominate like the experts predicted.

Wardle says not many teams could have beaten his squad that day.

“It’s a tough loss for us. But I told the team, very proud of them,” said Wardle. “They’re toughness, their competitiveness in this game, I don’t think there are many teams that could have beat us today. I thought we might have ran into one that could. They did everything we asked game plan-wise. We were aggressive. They (Michigan State) closed the game out and made some big plays and big shots and we just didn’t. We’ve been doing it all year. Making those big shots and big plays, especially the last couple of months. It just didn’t fall our way today.”

Junior guard Darrell Brown says that playing in the Valley prepared them well for their tournament game and that ‘toughness’ is the Bradley identity.

“That’s our identity,” said Brown. “We pride ourselves on being tough and playing defense and we play in one of the toughest conferences in the country, so we have been prepared for this moment all year. Wish we could have got some shots to fall down the stretch so we could have pulled the win out.”

Strong Foundations

Wardle took over four years ago and there were no ‘quick fixes’ for the former Marquette Golden Eagle (I still call them Warriors). He built slowly and built with freshmen and added one class and one player at a time. A five-win first season did not deter him. He wanted a strong foundation rather than a ‘flash in the pan’.

Before Bradley, Wardle developed a Green Bay squad that increased its win total for four straight years. He’s been on the similar trajectory in Peoria. Five wins gave way to 13 and then 20 the last two seasons. That first recruiting class is special to the coach.

“But the leadership, the aggressiveness, the toughness, it was on display,” added Wardle. “I told these seniors who I’m so proud of, where we’ve come with this program and these seniors. I told them they’ve left this program in a much, much better place and our goal is to continue to improve and hopefully get back on this scene again and get this opportunity again because I think these guys deserve it.”

Senior Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye believes Bradley is here to stay and echoed his coach’s sentiments.

“No shortcuts,” shared D-LO. “Nothing that we did was simple, years of hard work, years of believing, years of trusting and just staying together. We couldn’t have done this without everyone being together and helping each other out. Seeing where DB (Darrell Brown) has grown, Eli (Elijah Childs) has grown and the rest of my teammates, it’s lovely to see because the position the program was in was very low when I arrived and now as a senior leaving and the position it is now is just a dream come true.”

What’s Next?

Bradley loses key pieces in Lautier-Ogunleye, forward Luuk van Bree, and guard Luqman Lundy. However, the returning nucleus is impressive.

Brown a second team all-Valley guard, led the team in scoring, assists and three-pointers. Childs, a third-team selection was the sqaud’s leading rebounder and averaged double figures in scoring. He is an emerging star. After just two seasons Childs is already fifth in BU history with 96 career blocks.

The Valley’s ‘Co-Sixth Man of the Year’ Nate Kennell returns for his senior season and sophomore-to-be Ja’Shon Henry looks ready to contribute. Wardle and others expect great things from Armon Brummett. The cupboard is far from bear.

Wardle has a five-man recruiting class including another foreign-born player in Ville Tahvanainen (Finland). The 6’4 guard was the second leading scorer in last summer’s FIBA Europe Under-18 Championships. Wardle calls him a ‘tremendous and aggressive scorer.’

This recruiting class represents the wide scope of Wardle’s recruiting map. Stephan Gabriel is from New Jersey, JaMir Price is from nearby Rock Island, Illinois and Antonio Thomas is from the basketball hotbed of Memphis Tennessee.

Salty Leader

Wardle is not as ‘warm and inviting’ as many of the Valley coaches. His straight-forward, all-business approach reminds some Valley watchers of Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall. His head-on responses to marginally intelligent questions are often uneasy and uncomfortable for media rooms.

I find no fault with him on this front. The recent flare-up between Bradley and legendary reporter Dave Reynolds only points out that Wardle is tenacious and highly protective of his team. Ultimately the coach and the University did the right things to repair the damage they created. They made a mistake and rapidly made the necessary changes.

I only make these points to say, that sometimes a coach’s ‘salty’ personality helps a team prevail during difficult times and in hostile basketball environments. Perhaps Wardle’s ‘matter-of-fact’ approach gives his team an edge that some coaches don’t provide.

His recent interview with me couldn’t have been more cordial. (‘Welcome Back Bradley‘)

Talent, toughness, solid foundations and a salty demeanor all point to reasons why Bradley is here to stay.

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