Grade Bradley's recruiting Class

[tornado]

Given that Brian Wardle has had only about a month to get this accomplished, he has landed an incredible recruiting class.

Four guards: Ronnie Suggs, Joel Okafor, Antoine Pittman, Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye

Four big men: Alex Foster, Davante Cooper, Luuk van Bree, Scottie James

I grade this Class as "A" on an A-to-F scale...

[Vent]

It is difficult to give a grade until school starts. As for myself, any grade I would give now would be based on emotions or stats a player may have accumulated at a lower level of basketball.

There is no question the coach has worked hard to fill scholarships for next year and I am confident he has recruited high character kids. I hope every player recruited turns out to be a fine player for Bradley. I will wait to grade this recruiting class until I have seen them play in several games. For me to do so otherwise, in my opinion, would be premature.

[Big Mike]

Now....do you hold on to the last ride or use it on someone special?

Grading on emotion from hearing have the team was leaving to bringing in some talent with potential ........A+ from me........would have to wait on seeing the players for real to really grade!

[AZ BU Fan]

I think this group of players will do much better than previous BU teams based on who else they were recruited by and video/comments in the media.

If they do indeed play better than last couple of teams, put me down for an"A"!

What really is hopeful is what kind of kids Wardle and staff can bring in the next two classes (2016 & 2017) given more time to identify prospects and build relationships before they have been recruited by others.

[wily coyote]

Given that Brian Wardle has had only about a month to get this accomplished, he has landed an incredible recruiting class.

Four guards: Ronnie Suggs, Joel Okafor, Antoine Pittman, Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye

Four big men: Alex Foster, Davante Cooper, Luuk van Bree, Scottie James

I grade this Class as "A" on an A-to-F scale...

I am with you on this one but I hope we don't get to over excited and they don't turn out like we hope. If that happens we may see DR and KW on here railing you for calling them "an incredible recruiting class." I do think BW has potentially done an outstanding job. I am so glad the kids that took a hike did it. Now lets get a JC PG for several reasons.

[basketball nut]

It is difficult to give a grade until school starts. As for myself, any grade I would give now would be based on emotions or stats a player may have accumulated at a lower level of basketball.

There is no question the coach has worked hard to fill scholarships for next year and I am confident he has recruited high character kids. I hope every player recruited turns out to be a fine player for Bradley. I will wait to grade this recruiting class until I have seen them play in several games. For me to do so otherwise, in my opinion, would be premature.

Have to agree completely as to the waiting. It would be impossible for me to give a grade until seeing them play. I have heard how great so & so was going to be and then seen them do absolutely nothing.
I do believe Coach will make these guys work hard and put a very good team on the floor next year but, for me, I am not getting to excited at this point but ask me next January 1st and could probably give a much better answer.

[tornado]

I am with you on this one but I hope we don't get to over excited and they don't turn out like we hope. If that happens we may see DR and KW on here railing you for calling them "an incredible recruiting class." I do think BW has potentially done an outstanding job. I am so glad the kids that took a hike did it. Now lets get a JC PG for several reasons.

wily - this whole thread is kind of a parody on their over-the-top lauding of the past couple recruiting classes by Geno which of course flopped royally....

but the other half of the intent is to praise Coach Wardle for getting so much done in short time and all these kids look to have some potential - unlike the batch of single-digit scoring juco kids and booted transfers from elsewhere that Geno landed to the praises of Kirk & Dave

[wily coyote]

wily - this whole thread is kind of a parody on their over-the-top lauding of the past couple recruiting classes by Geno which of course flopped royally....

but the other half of the intent is to praise Coach Wardle for getting so much done in short time and all these kids look to have some potential - unlike the batch of single-digit scoring juco kids and booted transfers from elsewhere that Geno landed to the praises of Kirk & Dave

I don't think you'll find anyone on here who doesn't agree that pretty much all of Geno's recruiting classes failed miserably but IMO KW and DR praised Geno's recruits because that's probably what they were told by the staff. Last time I checked they were writers not evaluators. JMO though.

[PistolP]

wily - this whole thread is kind of a parody on their over-the-top lauding of the past couple recruiting classes by Geno which of course flopped royally....

but the other half of the intent is to praise Coach Wardle for getting so much done in short time and all these kids look to have some potential - unlike the batch of single-digit scoring juco kids and booted transfers from elsewhere that Geno landed to the praises of Kirk & Dave

Obviously, it is impossible to truly give a grade to any recruiting class or draft class until the potential talent can be directly observed for a period of time. However, why not share an opinion and throw a grade out there, make predictions, and have some fun with it. Looking at the big picture, how can you not give this class an "A" at this point. The coaching staff has definitely been doing work. Just a short time ago, it looked like we were going to have a roster half filled with walk-ons. Now, we actually have something to look forward to with a nice variety of individuals. Let's hope this staff can coach some of this potential and make them look like a team. I am going on record here to say that it cannot be possible for the offense this year to look as bad as last year's squad. I will also say that our record will be better. Maybe not yet light years better, but still improved.

[wily coyote]

Can't grade these guys until we see them but I've always said , "the only way you can get better is to replace the people leaving with better people." Well I think we've done it thanks to the 6 or 7 who took a hike, you've made us much better down the short road.

[Chibearsfan10125]

When Brian Wardle first got hired, I thought maybe one or two players might transfer out, but I figured most guys would be back. In fact, I wanted most of them back, not because they were good, but because I wanted Coach Wardle to have a ton of scholarships next year to bring in a team of freshman, that could grow together and become a team. I figured we'd have 4, maybe 5 scholarships to work with this year. I had no idea that we'd have 9 scholarships to work with. Coach Wardle did what I was hoping he would, just one year sooner. I am beyond thrilled with what Coach Wardle and his staff have done with this class. I love that we have brought in so many young talented players.

That being said, we're going to have 7 freshman and 1 sophomore which means we will be a very young team. Also, it's not like the seniors we're bringing back have a track record for being the best decision makers. I think that we'll see some poor decisions on the court in year 1 of the Wardle era, but I think that the talent level is much higher than where I thought we'd be when I heard how many players were leaving.

Overall, though, as of right now, I have to give Coach Wardle and his staff an A for this class. They've done a great job assembling a team, and if all 7 kids stick around 4 years (or even if only 5 or 6 do), we could be in for some fun seasons ahead. We may actually see some team basketball again. Wouldn't that be different?

[tornado]

with the one scholarship left I would like to see one more deadeye 3-pt shooter...

I know Nate Kennell is a 2016 recruit but there's a bunch of good shooters still out there - including dozens still available from junior college that shoot over 45%

[Da Coach]

A-

[tornado]

Verbalcommits.com now have the Bradley 2015 recruiting class graded as 2nd best in MVC behind Wichita - based on average "Star" ratings..
...but might turn out even better over time...

http://verbalcommits.com/conferences/missouri-valley

[Old Coach]

Obviously, we won't truly know for a couple of years, but I'll give him an A for effort and hustle.