Bradley Scholarship Grid

[Da Coach]

Updated Bradley Braves Scholarship Grid as of February, 22 2025

* indicates possible optional additional year of eligibility for Deen

[LittleBrave]

Scholarship grid updated to show the impending commitments of Zek Montgomery and Connor Dillon 4-4-24

Thanks DC! We have a lot of talent - need to find combos that gel together, but there is a LOT of time for that!

I would like to see Linke back as he showed some flashes last year of production, and a guy with his experience in Wardle's system with size in the post is invaluable. He has been comitted to the Braves from the start and I love that about him.
Always need a big man that gives ya 8-12 min. to give the starters a little rest, and he did that in the last 6-7 games of the season.

[Da Coach]

Thanks DC! We have a lot of talent - need to find combos that gel together, but there is a LOT of time for that!

I would like to see Linke back as he showed some flashes last year of production, and a guy with his experience in Wardle's system with size in the post is invaluable. He has been comitted to the Braves from the start and I love that about him.
Always need a big man that gives ya 8-12 min. to give the starters a little rest, and he did that in the last 6-7 games of the season.

That is the rumor as of now. That is not confirmed, but if he wants to return to Bradley as a grad student, there will be an opening for him on the team.

[LongTimeFan]

DC, as a walk-on?

Currently Bradley only carries 5 over into the 25-26 season. Maybe some of the last three will fit into that category.

[Da Coach]

DC, as a walk-on?

That's a possibility. It's between Wardle and Linke and will depend on scholarship availability.

[tomahawk chop]

If we can get a good backup center I would not be holding a scholarship for someone that gives us little offensive production.That would make no sense to me when there are so many better options as far as transfers.

[Tommy]

I’d like to see Linke get a scholarship if he sticks around. He played some good ball at the end of the year and by all accounts is a stellar kid. Seems like a hard worker with a good attitude and that rubs off on others. Consider me a fan.

[tomahawk chop]

I’d like to see Linke get a scholarship if he sticks around. He played some good ball at the end of the year and by all accounts is a stellar kid. Seems like a hard worker with a good attitude and that rubs off on others. Consider me a fan.

There are a ton of guys that match that profile, I want players that are able to do more on the court because it is more important to win games. Linke no doubt is a great person but I do not believe in giving basketball scholarships for that reason. Fact is he hardly played in the 4 seasons he was here and I would prefer to get a better player.

[Tommy]

There are a ton of guys that match that profile, I want players that are able to do more on the court because it is more important to win games. Linke no doubt is a great person but I do not believe in giving basketball scholarships for that reason. Fact is he hardly played in the 4 seasons he was here and I would prefer to get a better player.

I wouldn’t give him a scholarship for being a great person, I’d give it to him for being a hard worker and good teammate for the last 4 years.

[LongTimeFan]

Hopefully Bradley can find three more recruits that can offer more production in the games. I know we can"t play 13 players a game.

I would prefer Hannah's backup offer more production. Who is going to give Hannah rest for 10 to 15 minutes a game or in the case of injury? Based on this year's production I don't believe we have that player. Atlason is more of a 3/4. Meta needs to take big steps next year.

I'm not arguing with anyone ... just offering an opinion. As we know Wardle is not going to pay attention to our opinions.

[tomahawk chop]

I wouldn’t give him a scholarship for being a great person, I’d give it to him for being a hard worker and good teammate for the last 4 years.

I have no doubt he fits all 3 descriptions, that is no reason to give basketball scholarships. He could do the walk on route because we are in need of better players. Who we bring in this off season could make a huge difference in winning championships and going to the big tour.

[Tommy]

I have no doubt he fits all 3 descriptions, that is no reason to give basketball scholarships.

That’s where we disagree.

[tomahawk chop]

That’s where we disagree.

Again your guy hardly played for 3.5 seasons and all of a sudden he deserves a scholarship for a 5th year. How many points has he scored at Bradley in 4 years. I like him as a person yet that is no good reason to ty up a ride when we can do better.

[Tommy]

Again your guy hardly played for 3.5 seasons and all of a sudden he deserves a scholarship for a 5th year. How many points has he scored at Bradley in 4 years. I like him as a person yet that is no good reason to ty up a ride when we can do better.

Better like we did with Pettigrew, Ellis, and Thomas? Linke played more and outperformed anything those 3 did for BU, and sometimes I think it’s ok to do something just because it’s the right thing to do.

Building a program, especially in the current environment means building trust and showing that team is family. When BW gave Peter Hanley a scholarship in his last year, the players and fans loved him for it and it spoke volumes to what matters most and we were able to put together one of the best teams we’ve had. Nothing stopping that from happening again.

[BUfan14]

I'll take a little bit of a nuanced approach to my opinion here:

I do not like coaches pulling scholarships for kids for just basketball reasons. If they mess up off the court, in the classroom, or are bad teammates then fine. Wardle doesn't seem to do that from the outside. He seems to give kids an honest assessment of where they are going in to next year and let them make their call. Most will leave if they don't have a guaranteed role, but guys like Linke and Biliew seemed to value their degrees and just the general experience of Bradley basketball. You made a commitment, so did they, and both sides honored it. Sometimes it can cost you depth and proper roster construction, as it did last year, but if a coach expects kids to follow through he must too.

However, that four year commitment has come to an end in this case. If he wants to come back as a walk-on then great, happy to have him. But when we could still use another point (or at least a combo guy) with some height, an athletic big, and a stronger center type big with our last three rides, I don't think it is a good idea to hand out wasted scholarships just for hard work. If we use those last three as stated, then we would have 7 guards (if you count Davis) and 6 posts (I'm putting Atlason and van der Knaap as stretch fours) with 3 point guards, which to me is ideal balance and roster construction, something we haven't had the last couple of years to our detriment at times. We were lucky injuries didn't take a huge toll. Imagine with Jim Les's injury luck where we would have been last year?

Now, will all 13 play? No. Will all 13 work out? No. Some won't work out and others make take a few years to (see Darius Hannah), but it'd be nice to have a roster of guys we at least see potential in working out on the court as well as off. I certainly don't want those guys at the end of the bench being bad teammates, and Linke certainly isn't that. In case of injury or other guys not working out, I just don't want to waste a scholarship knowing the on the court contribution will be extremely limited at best. We did end up needing to play him this year, and next year may be the most important year in this program's history with the way the college game is today. You have to take every chance to be relevant and good that you can.

So if absolutely nothing works out for a 13th scholarship in recruiting, then fine give it to him as we did the walk-ons this year. But there really is no excuse for that to be the case with the number of players out there right now. Thank you Connor Linke for being a great representative of Bradley, you're welcome to come back as a walk-on, but our four year scholarship commitment is done and you received your degree would be what I think of the situation. Being as though this situation seems to be in a holding pattern, that seems to be the approach Brian is taking anyway. I'm not going to through a fit if he's back as a scholarship guy, but that's not the direction I would take certainly at this point.