4 Bradley players given their release- now including Ronnie Suggs

[Da Coach]

Alex Foster, Jerome Merritt, and Lou Griffith have been released at their request.

[Da Coach]

Alex Foster is not a surprise. I have heard he is on course to graduate in May, and he will either look to transfer as a 5th year grad-transfer, or try to play pro somewhere to begin earning money. This seemed to be confirmed by Bradley honoring him on senior night on Feb 22.

I also heard that Lou Griffith has enjoyed his year at Bradley, but as happens with a lot of walkons, he wanted to find a school where he can get to play regularly. So his leaving is not really a surprise, either.

Jerome Merritt is perhaps the one surprise here. I had heard early in the season that we had one player from out of state who was not real happy here and had told the coaches he intended to leave after this season. Thus, between Merritt and Foster, the coaches felt justified extending 2 early scholarships to the 2 known commits (Stipanovich & Childs).

Good luck to Jerome, Lou, and Alex! Once a Brave, always a Brave!

It is also possible we could hear that another player will be leaving.

[Vent]

Alex Foster, Jerome Merritt, and Lou Griffith have been released from their scholarships at their request.

I thought Griffith was a walk-on.

[Vent]

I heard Merritt had a lot of catching up to do, since he started playing later in his career. I think we may have two more leave.

[Da Coach]

Griffith is a walk-on. He was not on athletic scholarship. However, he still requires an official NCAA release from his school in order to transfer and be eligible to play at another school.

[Da Coach]

The coaches met with only some of the players today for their post-season review. There will be more player meetings tomorrow, so expect more news to come.

[pfcmsh]

All The Best

All the best to Alex Foster, Jerome Merritt and Lou Griffith. They put a lot of time in with the team and they deserve some thanks for that, especially Lou Griffith who did not enjoy a scholarship.

I liked Alex Foster on the court this year.

I wish them all the very best.

[Da Coach]

Bradley Assistant Director of Athletic Communications Jason Veniskey told the PJ Star that Foster may pursue a low Division I or Division II school, that Merritt wanted to transfer to a school closer to his home in Hudson, Florida, and that Griffith wants to try to land a scholarship to a Division II school.

[LongTimeFan]

I heard Merritt had a lot of catching up to do, since he started playing later in his career. I think we may have two more leave.

From the playing time I would think at least two more leaving is highly likely.

[LongTimeFan]

Have we had a Florida recruit in recent memory that has managed to stay for four years?

[Da Coach]

Have we had a Florida recruit in recent memory that has managed to stay for four years?

There haven't been too many Floridians at Bradley in recent memory. The most recent prior to Merritt was Scottie James (now at Liberty).
Prior to that it was Andre Corbitt from Tampa, FL way back in 1999. Corbitt stayed 2 seasons (1999-2001) then transferred.
Prior to that it was Freddie Atkins from Cape Coral, FL in 1997. He also stayed 2 seasons and transferred.
Prior to that, it was juco transfer from Brevard CC, Roosevelt Davison who was originally from Ocala, FL. He was a Dick Versace recruit who came in 1982 and stayed 2 seasons and graduated in 1984.

[molar50]

Was Jerome Merritt a red shirt? I do not remember him playing any games.

[Da Coach]

Was Jerome Merritt a red shirt? I do not remember him playing any games.

Yes, he redshirted this past season and did not play in any game. He has 4 years of eligibility left. However, if he transfers to another D1 school, he will have to sit out a year, and will thus lose one of those seasons of eligibility. If he transfers to a lower division school (D2, D3, or non-NCAA, or a junior college) he would be eligible immediately and still have a total of 4 years of eligibility left.

[Vent]

I can't think of any. Most have been JUCO players. Lavern Tart and Joe Strawder from the 63-64 team were the last I remember that came to BU as freshmen and played seniors. Both of those players had to sit out a year during their careers and only played together during their senior season. Freshmen were not eligible to play on the varsity at this time. They won the NIT that season. Tart was MVP of the tournament. Both went on to play in the NBA and ABA.

[tornado]

Merritt could go juco and after one year he'd likely have his Associates Degree and be able to go DI for his final 3 years. Same with Griffith, altho he'd also be eligible right away at DII

Foster has his degree so he can go either DI or DII and play right away


Tweet from Lou Griffith

https://twitter.com/Whitest_Mamba/status/838929365803098112