Bradley Recruiting

[Da Coach]

It is just 5 weeks until the early period (November 12-19). Will Bradley get a commitment? With only 1 senior, we have only 1 scholarship scheduled to open.
It seemed the point guard position was a top priority for Bradley's 2015 recruiting class when as many as a dozen point guards showed up on various recruiting sites who reportedly had offers from Bradley. But one by one each of those point guard that had Bradley offers have committed to other schools, and last night one more, Donnell Gresham, committed elsewhere.


Now, the only point guards left on the board appear to be Canadian, Munis Tutu who is currently at a prep school, and a couple of juco point guards. Bradley also has offers out to shooting guards, and several big men. And with 9 scholarship juniors, it would seem we need to be prepared to fill a lot of needs.

Is point guard still the top priority? What players would fans like to see commit to Bradley?

[ihatetea]

I said tutu before I'll say tutu again. Pg is still the largest need to me. We don't actually have one with d1 experience and success. Getting and developing one is paramount.

[LongTimeFan]

PG would still have the top priority. However, I would like to see a freshman big man considered if an extra ride opens in the spring. Shaw and Morgan would be seniors when the next freshman class starts.

[Biff]

I thought we had developed strong Chicago connections now. Who are the Chicago kids we are going after this year?

[tornado]

Biff - there were numerous Chicago kids who got plenty of press when they appeared at our games and scrimmages ..
we landed Thomas (actually not really Chicago and not Mac Irvin) & Cunningham but it appears we have gone dry since then and none of the 2015 or 2016 kids look to be very high on our lists...

Here are some lists

http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=21538

http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=23252

http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?p=284905#post284905

[mexicobufan]

Ka Darryl Bell
Donte Thomas
Josh Cunningham
Xzavier Taylor
Jermaine Morgan
Mike Shaw

These are the 6 kids on the team from Chicago out of 13 players. I would say the Coaches have made pretty good inroads there. Who knows what city the next recruite may come from but Chicago is an obvious focus for the Coaches.

[tornado]

that's a good start but the question was about our current recruits - this year or for next year --
If you are going to list Ka'Darryl & XT then list Walt as well, since he's the only true Chicago kid who's had much of an impact the past several seasons.
Hopefully if some of the rest of those Chicago kids can have an impact or have great careers here - it'll boost our chances of getting more top Chicago talent...

[mexicobufan]

T, my point is that 6 of the current 13 players for Bradley are from Chicago. These are the guys on the team now. My point is we seem to be recruiting Chicago well.

[Da Coach]

T, my point is that 6 of the current 13 players for Bradley are from Chicago. These are the guys on the team now. My point is we seem to be recruiting Chicago well.

Yes, I agree that is has become a more important area of recruiting focus for Bradley the last couple years.
But that's what lead to the question of why we aren't hearing of any Chicago or Mac Irvin kids on Bradley's radar for 2015.

Personally, I don't care where the recruits come from, but there were strong critics of past coaches for their recruiting choices, but those critics have been quiet lately.

[tornado]

I agree - two came directly to BU out of HS in Chicago - 2 more from surrounding suburban schools, and two more via transfer after committing elsewhere

[tornado]

one other.guy that will almost certainly be available and looking for a place to play next year
is Max Bielfeldt - as his coach at Michigan has already said he would not be offered a scholarship beyond this season
so we might consider keeping an open ride and go after him if he wants to transfer, he'd help Bradley.

[LongTimeFan]

My question is a little different but still involves recruiting. It is not meant to be one staff vs. another staff.

Is it harder for a coach entering the fourth year of a five-year contract to recruit than earlier in his tenure? Does finishing low in a conference and in conference tournaments make it harder to recruit than say a coach in their second and third year of their contract? I wonder how much these things can affect a recruits decisions?

I tried this as generic as I could.

[Da Coach]

I don't know the answers, but I have had coaches tell me sometimes it is easier to recruit a kid when the kid thinks he will get playing time right away, which may be more likely on a team that has not had recent success.

[LongTimeFan]

I was just throwing it out there wanting to see what others thought.

[tornado]

Several MVC schools are hosting 2016 recruits this weekend (a few handed out offers ** ** )- the 2015 class is starting to get down to bottom of barrel again..

Only 20 of the Top 100 and 24 of the next 100 (101-200) - and of those 20% or so of the 2015 recruits left - a lot of them sit right at the top of the rankings and are waiting for lucrative offers, and a bunch more have grades problems or other issues and may go juco...