i thought the same, yoda! 60%/40% if anything.
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Exhibition Game- Bradley at Green Bay
- Thread starter Da Coach
- Start date
In today's "Morning in the Valley" by Jeff Bidwell, he recaps the Bradley exhibition game at Green Bay from about the 1:30 mark to about 8:30.
He also has a great interview with Dave Snell worth listening to, starting at the 34:00 mark (Dave's segment is about 16 minutes long).-
He also has a great interview with Dave Snell worth listening to, starting at the 34:00 mark (Dave's segment is about 16 minutes long).-
What was the reaction from the Green Bay crowd when BW, former GB coach, was announced as the BU coach?
sam hannam
Member
The few hundred Green Bay fans who were there cheered and applauded generously. They recall Coach Wardle's years there as some of the most successful seasons in their history. The main focus was on Keifer Sykes, who was honored before the game with the unveiling of his jersey number in the rafters of the arena, and given a job on the team's staff as General Manager. Sykes played for Coach Wardle from 2011-2015, and just finished a 10-year pro career overseas.
I had the chance to talk for a while to Coach Jimmie Foster, who was also there at the game. He is now an assistant coach at Colorado State under new head coach Ali Farokhmanesh. He was sad to leave Peoria, but he loves it in Fort Collins, CO. I asked if he could help get a game between Colorado State and Bradley, and he basically told me that is never going to happen. Schools like Colorado State know they need to avoid scheduling other mid-major non-conference teams that they might get beat by. Losing to a non-Quad 1 opponent can keep a mid-major from getting an at-large bid, so they will avoid any that are not easy wins.
There were a lot of fans at the game supporting Bradley. Those who watched the ESPN+ video stream could see the sections behind the Bradley bench were pretty full. A big portion of those fans were friends and families of the Wisconsin players on the Bradley roster. I had the opportunity to meet and talk with a lot of family members of Jaquan Johnson (from Milwaukee) and Alex Huibregtse (from Grafton, WI). The other Milwaukee native, Demarion Burch's family was also well represented. And there were quite a few Bradley fans there from Central Illinois and other places.
Dubl R 1
Well-known member
We played them in St Thomas a couple years ago, of course it was part of a tournament.
LittleBrave
Well-known member
I'm curious to know who is picked ahead of BU (at #4) in the Valley.
I thought we'd be 2nd and not far behind ISU-red, who honestly is a weak #1 relative to past Valley faves.
We are going to be deep this season, especially if we get our freshmen into games. I have no doubt that Montana is going to make an impact, and much like his sidekick Bully, plays solid defense and finds his way to the rim often.
I am not sold on AJ Smith yet, but he seems to rebound well, which we very much need.
I like Timo's game - he wasn't stellar, but he has a high B-ball IQ and good size. CT looks more aggressive in the post, which we're gonna need.
Very pleased to see how well we played in the 1st half on both ends, and if that is any indication of what team we have, we should make a run at the Valley title again. Rebounding and on-ball defense on the perimeter were areas of weakness for BU last season, and we looked very good in the 1st half with both.
Can't be too harsh about an exhibition game in early Oct. but it's great to see the new Braves this early!
I thought we'd be 2nd and not far behind ISU-red, who honestly is a weak #1 relative to past Valley faves.
We are going to be deep this season, especially if we get our freshmen into games. I have no doubt that Montana is going to make an impact, and much like his sidekick Bully, plays solid defense and finds his way to the rim often.
I am not sold on AJ Smith yet, but he seems to rebound well, which we very much need.
I like Timo's game - he wasn't stellar, but he has a high B-ball IQ and good size. CT looks more aggressive in the post, which we're gonna need.
Very pleased to see how well we played in the 1st half on both ends, and if that is any indication of what team we have, we should make a run at the Valley title again. Rebounding and on-ball defense on the perimeter were areas of weakness for BU last season, and we looked very good in the 1st half with both.
Can't be too harsh about an exhibition game in early Oct. but it's great to see the new Braves this early!
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Which ranking are you referring to?
Here are the ones I have seen... (click on each line to see the source)
The Kenpom ranking has Bradley #1 in the MVC
Haslametrics has Bradley #1.
Mid-Major Madness has Bradley #2, behind #1 ISU.
The Field of 68 ranks Bradley #2 among MVC teams behind #1 ISU.
Rocco Miller has BU at #2 behind #1 UNI.
BartTorvik.com has Bradley #3 behind #1 ISU and #2 UNI.
And the MVC Preseason Poll ranked Bradley #4, behind #1 ISU, #2 UNI, and #3 Murray State.
The Blue Ribbon Yearbook ranked Bradley at #5, behind #1 ISU, #2 UNI, #3 Belmont, and #4 Murray State.
He says he is NOT finished....
Keifer Sykes says he still plans to play professionally in Poland.
"..
he is the team’s general manager and still plays professionally for Legia Warsaw in Poland.
...I feel like with me still playing and me having a successful career, I could just give a lot of intelligence to them and help.” - LINK
Interesting... he did not mention that in the speech he gave in the pregame ceremony in Green Bay. And I just checked the Polish OBL league, and the Legia team of Warsaw, which Sykes helped lead to the league championship last season. They have already played their first 2 games of this current season, and Sykes is not listed on their 2025-26 roster, nor has he appeared in either of their two games this season.
I'd be interested to hear how he can work for the Green Bay team, and continue playing in Poland.
bradleyfan124
Well-known member
This needs to be corrected. There has to be a better way of rating teams
The Mountain West Conference had a terrific year in 2024-25. They got 4 teams in the NCAA Tournament, including Colorado State, who won the MWC Tournament. Meanwhile, the MVC got only one, and has been a 1-bid league in 7 of the last 9 years, and 12 of the last 18.
So I think that the Mountain West and their schools now consider themselves far above the "lowly" MVC. The MVC needs to look at how the MWC did it last year, just as the rest of the conferences studied how the MVC was able to get 4 teams into the tournament in 2006 (and it should have been 5). I suspect a big factor is that the MWC schools are all big football schools, and that enables them to raise more NIL money to get better players.
So I think that the Mountain West and their schools now consider themselves far above the "lowly" MVC. The MVC needs to look at how the MWC did it last year, just as the rest of the conferences studied how the MVC was able to get 4 teams into the tournament in 2006 (and it should have been 5). I suspect a big factor is that the MWC schools are all big football schools, and that enables them to raise more NIL money to get better players.
LittleBrave
Well-known member
DC - they mentioned it 2 or 3 times during the ESPN broadcast (in the 2nd half) that BU was picked 4th, so not sure what poll they were using...probably the MVC preseason poll.
No way should UNI or Murray St be picked ahead of us, knowing Bradley's recent success in the league and the newcomers we have, along with some key returners, but I'm guessing both teams have some stud newcomers coming in. They basically said ISU-red will be loaded this year. Sorry but I don't see the roster on ISU being the same caliber as some of the teams they've had with Osiris from 2007-2009.
Oh well - guess we will carry on that motto "Prove 'em" again this season!
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Yes, since I was at the game, I didn't hear that. I agree that they were probably referring to the MVC poll. But now everyone accepts that preseason polls mean even less than they used to, especially at the mid-major level. So many players left via the portal, and were replaced by other portal transfers. I was looking over the rosters of the other teams, and it's incredible how many lower division players were added to the MVC. There are a bunch of Division II transfers, and even Division III and NAIA transfers who are being counted on to contribute to teams. Add to that the increasing number of foreign players coming in every year, and it's a guessing game to predict how teams will do.
Bradley8792
Active member
Wasn’t last years Drake team a bunch of Div II transfers?
yeah - they were good players, but perhaps more importantly as to why they had such a great season -
not a single one of their players got injured, and all their key players played massive minutes in every game.
If we could have a season like that, it would be awesome.
Had Stirtz gotten injured or missed games, we wouldn't be talking at all about Drake, McCollum going to Iowa, or how
they're gonna be bottom dwellers over there in the Big Ten.
They were D2 players from a championship team/program that won a lot of games already and played together that transferred up. Take that core and sprinkle in some D1 players plus no injuries and success was found.
basketball nut
Well-known member
DC, my thoughts exactly. It is now a guessing game as to who is going to do great or terrible. An injury here or there to a key player and you have problems. Other then insured, which should be favored, everyone else is a ? Mark including our Braves. I did like the way we looked against Green Bay and how good the young players were doing already. It should be a fun and interesting season
Much of the final 15 minutes, Bradley went with at least 2 and often 3 freshman with van der Knaap and/or Yu on the floor with them
That combination of players had a combined 137 minutes of college playing time.
Meanwhile they had multiple guys opposing them with 1,700 to 2,200 career minutes.
That combination of players had a combined 137 minutes of college playing time.
Meanwhile they had multiple guys opposing them with 1,700 to 2,200 career minutes.