Back To Basketball Skills?

[AZ BU Fan]

Noticeably absent in Coach Wardle's first recruiting class:

1. Athletic players who can't play basketball...
2. Tall players who can't play MVC level basketball

And my favorite,

3. Over the top proclamations by staff of a big man being the best they've ever recruited

Looks like BU will again have 'basketball' players on the court at all times!

[Da Coach]

And media proclamations of "impact players", "difference makers", or "stellar recruiting class".

[tornado]

3. Over the top proclamations by staff of a big man being the best they've ever recruited

Looks like BU will again have 'basketball' players on the court at all times!

proclamations of many different guys being the "go-to" guy that can always get you a basket - yet they disappear the next game and go 0-11 with 7 turnovers

[Old Coach]

Noticeably absent in Coach Wardle's first recruiting class:

1. Athletic players who can't play basketball...
2. Tall players who can't play MVC level basketball

And my favorite,

3. Over the top proclamations by staff of a big man being the best they've ever recruited

Looks like BU will again have 'basketball' players on the court at all times!

In fairness, nobody knows if any of the tall freshmen are capable of playing MVC basketball. Maybe all of them will be good, but likely, a couple won't make the grade.

[Da Coach]

How did the last set of stellar, impact, difference makers do?

[Chico]

Let's be fair. When was the last time Bradley, or any team, recruited a kid who they said wasn't a good player?

[Old Coach]

How did the last set of stellar, impact, difference makers do?

They were mostly bad at basketball. I was just pointing out that you can't automatically assume that these guys will be better by leaps and bounds.

[tornado]

but the lack of over-the-top praise, indeed any praise, by the media is in stark contrast to the endless, long litany of giddy praise that accompanied every verbal for the past 4 years...
remember this one - LINK - how'd that guy turn out?

Words such as "stellar", "exciting", "high-quality", "the type of kid we’d have had a hard time securing in the fall", "tough", "good athlete", "brings the intangibles", "size", "length", "athleticism", "ability", "will battle", "above the rim", "good shooting, "filled significant holes"...all in just one piece...

man, after re-reading that column from 2013 I am completely stupefied that we didn't make the Sweet Sixteen the past two seasons!
..and I will go one step further - you won't hear any such "sales job" as we have heard the past four years - and there's reasons...

[traveler]

In fairness, nobody knows if any of the tall freshmen are capable of playing MVC basketball. Maybe all of them will be good, but likely, a couple won't make the grade.

Old Coach, the bigger question is, Are these guys coachable. I bet they are!

[Old Coach]

Old Coach, the bigger question is, Are these guys coachable. I bet they are!

I bet to differ??¦ A lot of players can be "coachable", but have no business playing in the MVC. I'll presume that they're all coachable, and withhold judgement as to whether or not they'll be capable players for a couple of years.

[Da Coach]

Those are good questions, and maybe we should ask Coach Wardle some of these when we have the Chat Session next Thursday, June 25, 11 AM to 12 Noon.

But, when I had a chance to talk with Coach Wardle a couple weeks ago, he told me that being "coachable" is one of the top couple factors that he looks for in a recruit. He believes all his recruits are coachable, but he has not actually had the chance to coach them himself, yet. Toughness is another highly valued quality he looks for. The toughness factor is the major reason for some previous rostered players leaving.
But Coach Wardle did say there is a lot more he can tell about his players after he gets the chance to have them for full practices and games next fall. He'll be able to tell a lot more about each of them. And he acknowledged that there may be one or more who ultimately do not fit in at Bradley under his leadership.
For the record, he also said he does not plan to consider redshirt options until after the 2 preseason exhibition games (Nov. 3 & 9).