Coach Wardle

[Tommy]

I’d love to know how we ended up deciding on Wardle as our HC. Was he our first choice? What made CR decide to hire him? Any inside info on what went down back then?

I sure am am glad he’s our HC, and hope we do everything we can to keep him around as long as possible.

[Tommy]

Just to add on to the class of Wardle. Dub and I attended the spaghetti dinner at the beginning of the year. We approached coach afterward and he spoke with us for at least 15 minutes and never acted like we were bothering him or that he wanted to get away. I’m sure the conversation would have lasted much longer, but we felt bad that we were taking up so much of his time. During that conversation, we asked him how he recruited internationally so well, and instead of taking the credit due to him, he humbly stated that by getting a couple international players, they just recruit themselves. Just a class act.
My profile pic was taken at that spaghetti dinner. I’m the short one.

[tornado]

The hiring process was kept pretty quiet but I am unaware of anyone else that was even interviewed - so I think BW might have been the primary choice.
(unlike the last time in 2011 when about a dozen people were brought in or interviewed then bailed as soon as they heard the terms of who they were working for.

[Tommy]

Thanks Tornado! I really do appreciate the insight and details we get from you and coach on this forum. It’s crazy how well informed on BU basketball I seem to be because of the info you guys give us! And I do appreciate the time and effort that you two put into staying informed and keeping this forum going.

[tornado]

Well thank you - now let's start working towards next year's championship

[Tommy]

Well thank you - now let's start working towards next year's championship

Amen to that!

[brocks]

At the time of the hire, Bradley's interim president said he called AD Reynolds during the search process and asked who among the interviewees was Reynolds' top choice for the job. Reynolds told the interim prez that his top 3 were "Brian Wardle, Brian Wardle, and Brian Wardle." So yes, BU got its first choice. Then-South Dakota State Coach Scott Nagy also interviewed for the job (he's now at Wright State), and I was pretty high on him at the time. He's done a bang-up job at Wright State, but indeed it seems BW was the right fit for Bradley.

[Tommy]

Reynolds told the interim prez that his top 3 were "Brian Wardle, Brian Wardle, and Brian Wardle."

That’s awesome. Thanks for sharing, Brock.

[algotrader]

I'm just glad things are going in the right direction and will be happy so long as they go in the right direction. I do worry about next year. Losing Ogunleye kind of hurts.

[Tommy]

Losing Ogunleye kind of hurts.

I agree. Dub mentioned in another thread about replacing the leadership we got from DLO and Lundy being the most important thing for next year, and I couldn’t agree more.
As far as output, I think losing Donte last year was a bigger hit than what we’re going to lose this year, but that remains to be seen. I am anxious to see who takes up the leadership mantle, but have so much more confidence that Wardle will make whatever adjustments are necessary to ensure success after seeing how he handled this year. Very impressive stuff.

I don’t know much about the incoming recruits, but I do see Armond, Jashon, and Ari all playing important roles next year. They all seem to be ridiculously athletic, but do seem to need to work on their offensive games (disclaimer: Jashon improved from the beginning of this year to the end immensely).

[brocks]

Don't sleep on Jayden Hodgson. That's the kind of kid who can have a special senior year after a lackluster junior performance. I'm not predicting he'll suddenly be an all-MVC player, but he's a tough kid who can have a productive summer and come back as a team leader and a productive role player.

[Tommy]

Don't sleep on Jayden Hodgson.

I agree Brock. He was a starter last year, and I thought he played really well. A bounce back senior year is definitely a possibility, and he seems like a high character kid that will put in the time and effort to do that.

[algotrader]

I agree. Dub mentioned in another thread about replacing the leadership we got from DLO and Lundy being the most important thing for next year, and I couldn’t agree more.
As far as output, I think losing Donte last year was a bigger hit than what we’re going to lose this year, but that remains to be seen......

On the bright side. We have an incredible amount of talent that are still juniors. Some of the defensive moves I saw out of our team in the game against MSU.....I am VERY happy to see they are returning next year.

We're in a critical time right now. Can we capitalize on our success and drive recruitment to the next level? One thing Bradley failed to do after our 2006 run is capitalize on the successful Sweet 16 run. Although....kind of hard to do when Kirk Wessler is helping cheer on the demise of the Les era and replacing it with Glasser.

[tornado]

One thing Bradley failed to do after our 2006 run is capitalize on the successful Sweet 16 run. ....

Of course we all wish we'd have done better - but the quality of our recruits certain did NOT drop off until after 2011...(the GF era)
...In the next 4 -5 years after that Sweet 16 run, Bradley landed at least nine guys who were either 1000-point scorers or double digit scorers
(Warren, Maniscalco, Ruffin, DSE, Lemon, Wilson, Dunson, Egolf, Brown)

but remember one thing, that Jim Les was likely the only DI head coach in the nation who had a President above him scrutinizing
every recruit and vetoing numerous kids who would have helped us. Do you not remember that she also fired his assistants and
brought in her own - one of whom she requested bring his own recruit that Jim Les did NOT even want (LINK)
In addition - one of our top in-state recruiters, Chuck Buescher, was kinda forced out as well. The truth was NEVER reported - but JL was
forced to recruit & coach under circumstances that hindered him and almost assured failure so she could have cause to fire him.
She also enlisted the full help of you know who at the PJStar to play up every single negative. Every tiny infraction became a major headline story & distraction, and Kirk called Bradley a renegade program (then swallowed his tongue when Geno's player's had light years more arrests, dismissals and suspensions.)

[Tommy]

What's the story with that Andrew Davis character? Were his parents big time boosters or something? I don't even remember him.

We all know Glasser was WAY too involved in the basketball program, and by all accounts, she sounds like someone that most of us would never want to work for. Isn't it nice having a President who doesn't have to be the center of attention all the time now?

I really hope we welcome Les back to campus at some point. Would be great to play UC Davis at Carver.