HOME FINALE - Forget about the What If's

[Go_Braves]

I sure hope that the Bradley Fans and Students show up in droves for this final Bradley home game this season at Carver Arena. I can only assume that they will. Darrell Brown, Nate Kennell, and Koch Barr truly deserve a Huge Thank You and Send Off at their final home game.

We are truly past the "what ifs" - there is nothing further that we as fans can do. Each player knows the mistakes that they have made in the past and I realize each is trying as hard as they can. They more than us want to win at all costs and leave nothing on the floor. The coaches and Wardle can only continue to pump them up when they are out there sucking air and virtually depleted.

Being in Colorado I listened to my first Dan and Greg show this Thursday morning and got a kick out of "I assume it was Dan" - stating "Bradley you're giving me a ulcer". LOL

Well if the last game of the 2019 season and last years 2019 MVC Tournament is any indication of what to expect in these next 10 days - well Dan I recommend some Rolaids and for everyone to buckle up because it's likely going to be a wild ride. Bradley like last year - no one is going to give it to you - you have to "Take It"... which is exactly what you did during each of last years 3 2019 MVC Tournament games and you were also doing against Michigan State.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEMXqY4rBxk

GO BRAVES !!!

[egib52]

I would love to see Bradley fans pack Carver on Saturday. It's a Red Out, and would be great to send the seniors out in style. It's too bad there hasn't been more promotion for the game. There should be a Tshirt giveaway, a good halftime act, and if I were Bradley I would reach out to every sponsor to see this game out. Not only is it important in the standings and seeding, but it would be great to show our appreciation for DB, Nate, and Koch.

I will be there.

[Da Coach]

Speaking of "What Ifs".... I don't usually play the What If game, but this year there are a couple obvious What Ifs that it's hard to ignore.

What if Elijah Childs didn't have that awkward fall against Georgia Southern on Dec. 15, and break his hand? He ended up missing 12 of the next 13 games, including 10 MVC games. Plus, the one he did play in against UNI on January 4th (when he returned the first time and re-broke the bone) he wasn't at 100%. I believe Bradley likely would have won at least 2 and maybe 3 of those MVC games that they lost-
>>the loss to UNI on Jan. 4 in which Eli re-broke the hand was a 69-65 home loss to UNI
>>the loss at Indiana State on January 25 was a 61-53 loss; the 53 points was almost 20 points below the season scoring average. Bradley played without Eli, without Darrell Brown, and without Ville Tahvanainen, who was sick that game. With only 6 scholarship players, Bradley stayed close, was tied until the final 3 minutes, but then fatigue and foul trouble allowed Indiana State to pull ahead and win. IMO, with either Darrel Brown or Eli Childs, we would have won that game,
>> The game at Loyola on Feb. 1 was a 62-51 loss. This one is questionable, and maybe even with a full squad, they wouldn't have won. But Bradley stayed close in this game, too, until the later part of the 2nd half when fatigue and serious foul trouble contributed to Loyola winning. So I would have liked to see what would have happened with a healthy Elijah Childs.

If Bradley only won 2 of those games (i.e. UNI & Indiana State), they would be 13-4 and would be all alone in 1st place.

The other "What If" I wonder about is: What if Rienk Mast had not torn his ACL last spring, and been unable to play this season. I think he would have been a major contributor as a freshman, and maybe could have made a difference of a couple games, too. Recall that he played in the highest Dutch pro league last year, was the best player on his team and one of the best players in the league. He carried his team into the league playoff finals, and held his own against teams that had multiple pro players in their 20's and 30's. Bradley has not gotten much offense out of their big men this year, with the exception of Childs, and with Rienk, maybe that would have been different. And likely, we wouldn't have been hurt so much by Eli's 12 game absence. Plus, a scoring presence inside would have possibly made our guards even more effective.

Anyone else have any "What Ifs"? .

[Jim]

I had high hopes Stephan Gabriel would have become an impact player for Bradley. Bottom line, even with Elijah Childs back we still have 4 scholarship players and 1 walk-on that can not play in games. All things considered this team has had an outstanding season!

[Tommy]

This has been one of the worst officiated seasons we've had in a while with far too many games having 30+ fouls (oh, and far too inconsistent). BU is a team that gets better with rhythm and running the court, so anything that slows that down tends to hurt us. If come tournament time, they let these kids play (like last year), I think we're in for a pretty successful post-season.

[wily coyote]

I had high hopes Stephan Gabriel would have become an impact player for Bradley. Bottom line, even with Elijah Childs back we still have 4 scholarship players and 1 walk-on that can not play in games. All things considered this team has had an outstanding season!

Jim, I to had high hopes for Gabriel and just think of the experience he would have gained had he followed the rules. He was extremely talented and could very well have helped us when injuries took it's toll. I can't think of any player in the past who had as much untapped talent as Gabriel. Oh well we'll never know what could have been but i think our record would have been better if he had made better decisions.

[basketball nut]

Speaking of "What Ifs".... I don't usually play the What If game, but this year there are a couple obvious What Ifs that it's hard to ignore.

What if Elijah Childs didn't have that awkward fall against Georgia Southern on Dec. 15, and break his hand? He ended up missing 12 of the next 13 games, including 10 MVC games. Plus, the one he did play in against UNI on January 4th (when he returned the first time and re-broke the bone) he wasn't at 100%. I believe Bradley likely would have won at least 2 and maybe 3 of those MVC games that they lost-
>>the loss to UNI on Jan. 4 in which Eli re-broke the hand was a 69-65 home loss to UNI
>>the loss at Indiana State on January 25 was a 61-53 loss; the 53 points was almost 20 points below the season scoring average. Bradley played without Eli, without Darrell Brown, and without Ville Tahvanainen, who was sick that game. With only 6 scholarship players, Bradley stayed close, was tied until the final 3 minutes, but then fatigue and foul trouble allowed Indiana State to pull ahead and win. IMO, with either Darrel Brown or Eli Childs, we would have won that game,
>> The game at Loyola on Feb. 1 was a 62-51 loss. This one is questionable, and maybe even with a full squad, they wouldn't have won. But Bradley stayed close in this game, too, until the later part of the 2nd half when fatigue and serious foul trouble contributed to Loyola winning. So I would have liked to see what would have happened with a healthy Elijah Childs.

If Bradley only won 2 of those games (i.e. UNI & Indiana State), they would be 13-4 and would be all alone in 1st place.

The other "What If" I wonder about is: What if Rienk Mast had not torn his ACL last spring, and been unable to play this season. I think he would have been a major contributor as a freshman, and maybe could have made a difference of a couple games, too. Recall that he played in the highest Dutch pro league last year, was the best player on his team and one of the best players in the league. He carried his team into the league playoff finals, and held his own against teams that had multiple pro players in their 20's and 30's. Bradley has not gotten much offense out of their big men this year, with the exception of Childs, and with Rienk, maybe that would have been different. And likely, we wouldn't have been hurt so much by Eli's 12 game absence. Plus, a scoring presence inside would have possibly made our guards even more effective.

Anyone else have any "What Ifs"? .

My "what ifs" are the same as yours plus Stephan Gabriel. If we would have had Childs, Mast, and Gabriel all year we might have ran away with the conference. We lose a lot of our scoring but w/ Mast and the freshmen we have coming we should be OK next year.

[elmerb]

I think we had 5 losses this year where we had a half that we shot less than 30 percent. What if we shot 35 percent those halves, we would have won 3 or 4 more games. I don't think this team ever "peaked" this season. What if we begin our peak today with a win, and carry it over thru Arch Madness. The future really looks bright with our returning players and incoming freshmen and transfers. We have one hell of a coach who 5 years ago took over a train wreck and the last 3 years have given us 20 win seasons. What I'm most proud of is Wardle brings in young men with very high character. who plays hard, and who truly are Honor Roll "student athletes".

[elmerb]

I forgot...……......…......…......GO BRADLEY

[elmerb]

I think we had 5 losses this year where we had a half that we shot less than 30 percent. What if we shot 35 percent those halves, we would have won 3 or 4 more games. I don't think this team ever "peaked" this season. What if we begin our peak today with a win, and carry it over thru Arch Madness. The future really looks bright with our returning players and incoming freshmen and transfers. We have one hell of a coach who 5 years ago took over a train wreck and the last 3 years have given us 20 win seasons. What I'm most proud of is Wardle brings in young men with very high character. who plays hard, and who truly are Honor Roll "student athletes".

PEAKING!!!


GO BRADLEY