Coach Wardle: A++ tonight in finale

[LittleBrave]

What a tremendous job he did to prep the guys and keep them fired and focused the full 40 minutes.

You could tell that was a very well-coached team out there 2nite.

One thing I’ve noticed about this team this year (and can’t even say about last 2 years) is that we usually start games out strong and play well for most of the first half. Rarely have we had such a major deficit at half that we didn’t feel as fans that we didn’t have a legit chance to come back and win (with exception the couple games following the suspension and the 1st Loyola game)

I felt so bad especially for Wardle after Ja’Shon went down tonight - basically losing all starters (and ALL upper class men) from beginning of the year and inevitably the 6th man of the Valley, Henry.

I am still in shock that we won tonight given the odds stacked against us (7 key guys out!)
Give props to Coach W and the rest of the coaches!

[elmerb]

It was like Wardle's first season here coaching all the under class men. That first season, I didn't care if we won, but if were improving. Last night's game was a good sign that these kids are learning and improving. Hope we can get at least one win in St. Louis. The future of Bradley Basketball looks good.
Keep Eli and the boys in your prayers.

GO BRADLEY

[Tommy]

It was like Wardle's first season here coaching all the under class men. That first season, I didn't care if we won, but if were improving. Last night's game was a good sign that these kids are learning and improving. Hope we can get at least one win in St. Louis. The future of Bradley Basketball looks good.
Keep Eli and the boys in your prayers.

GO BRADLEY

That's a good comparison, Elmer. You nailed it.

[Da Coach]

What a tremendous job he did to prep the guys and keep them fired and focused the full 40 minutes.

You could tell that was a very well-coached team out there 2nite....

I agree. But I would also like to compliment the rest of the coaching staff. Coach Adams, Coach Bargen, and Coach Foster, as well as the other staff members (DBO Coach Springer and CPD Coach Nesbitt) all combined to create an effective game plan, and work with the extremely limited lineup to pull off the win.
Consider that we started the day yesterday with a team that was already severely shorthanded with Ari Boya injured, and Childs, Kingsby, and Nolan unavailable. But then just before game time, it was determined that two additional key starters, McAdoo and Tahvanainen, would not be able to play. And then on top of all that, Bradley's best remaining player, Ja'Shon Henry went down after playing only 8 minutes.
Of the other 6 players who played, 4 were freshmen (Kent, Hannah, Linke, Mast), and two were sophomores (Thomas, East). 192 of the 200 minutes of total playing time was provided by the 4 freshmen and 2 sophomores! None were among our top 4 scorers, and combined, those 6 freshmen and sophs averaged only a little more than 20 points per game.
It was one of the most improbable wins in memory.

[dawgs123]

Thanks Coach, very well put! Amazing accomplishment! Now let's go beat SIU!!

[Bradley3342]

I agree. But I would also like to compliment the rest of the coaching staff. Coach Adams, Coach Bargen, and Coach Foster, as well as the other staff members (DBO Coach Springer and CPD Coach Nesbitt) all combined to create an effective game plan, and work with the extremely limited lineup to pull off the win.
Consider that we started the day yesterday with a team that was already severely shorthanded with Ari Boya injured, and Childs, Kingsby, and Nolan unavailable. But then just before game time, it was determined that two additional key starters, McAdoo and Tahvanainen, would not be able to play. And then on top of all that, Bradley's best remaining player, Ja'Shon Henry went down after playing only 8 minutes.
Of the other 6 players who played, 4 were freshmen (Kent, Hannah, Linke, Mast), and two were sophomores (Thomas, East). 192 of the 200 minutes of total playing time was provided by the 4 freshmen and 2 sophomores! None were among our top 4 scorers, and combined, those 6 freshmen and sophs averaged only a little more than 20 points per game.
It was one of the most improbable wins in memory.

Totally agree Coach! Probably one the most dig down deep gutsiest performances that I can ever remember by underclassmen. It was truely amazing to watch. Not getting my hopes up but it sure would be nice to carry this over in St.Louis next weekend

[LittleBrave]

Totally agree Coach! Probably one the most dig down deep gutsiest performances that I can ever remember by underclassmen. It was truely amazing to watch. Not getting my hopes up but it sure would be nice to carry this over in St.Louis next weekend

Nice points guys! Yes DC, absolutely must recognize the rest of the coaches for what they did!
Did you guys see Coach Wardle after Hannah slammed home that last bucket? He was fired up! Must be the culmination of all he's gone through this season.

BTW - is there another team in the last 12 years or so that you can think of who has had to overcome as much adversity as Bradley? (mostly injuries especially in the Les and Wardle eras)
It's like every season we have to play short-handed. Must be more common than I think - but it just seems we are hit harder!
But with that, it seems we are one of the best conditioned teams in the league every year.

[basketball nut]

I didn't get to see very much of the game but from everything I've read and the little bit I seen this team.played as a team not as individuals.
it seemed for a while this team couldn't gel together but those guys the last few games have laid it on the line and tonight it paid off.
Great job

[BUfan17]

I like Wardle but I think this game forced him to do things he doesn't really like and it showed success. He was forced to not sub since we just didn't have the bodies. I know he likes to yank guys out when they make a mistake, personally I am against that subbing pattern. It teaches players to play scared and doubt themselves in fear of getting their playing time cut. We have talented guys on this team, I think some of them just never get a chance to prove it.

[Chibearsfan10125]

I like Wardle but I think this game forced him to do things he doesn't really like and it showed success. He was forced to not sub since we just didn't have the bodies. I know he likes to yank guys out when they make a mistake, personally I am against that subbing pattern. It teaches players to play scared and doubt themselves in fear of getting their playing time cut. We have talented guys on this team, I think some of them just never get a chance to prove it.

People say this, but I haven’t noticed Wardle subbing a lot after little mistakes. Sure you make a major error and you might get pulled, but that happens with a lot of coaches. It’s not like he’s pulling guys for committing a turnover or a dumb foul.

What I have noticed is that he subs based on a rotation instead of fatigue. He subs a lot to keep people fresh. Players generally don’t play longer than 5-7 minutes at a time, even the best players, even when they don’t need the rest. Unless due to injury or suspensions, you don’t see players playing 35+ minutes a game. He likes a deeper rotation. It can be frustrating watching seemingly random substitutions and it can be tough to get in a rhythm subbing this way. This game did show that these kids can play more minutes, but I actually think his subbing pattern is one of the reasons we’ve won back-to-back tournaments. It doesn’t necessarily help in a one game sample size, but it definitely helps when playing 3 games in 3 days (or this year, hopefully 4 games in 4 days).

[LittleBrave]

People say this, but I haven’t noticed Wardle subbing a lot after little mistakes. Sure you make a major error and you might get pulled, but that happens with a lot of coaches. It’s not like he’s pulling guys for committing a turnover or a dumb foul.

What I have noticed is that he subs based on a rotation instead of fatigue. He subs a lot to keep people fresh. Players generally don’t play longer than 5-7 minutes at a time, even the best players, even when they don’t need the rest. Unless due to injury or suspensions, you don’t see players playing 35+ minutes a game. He likes a deeper rotation. It can be frustrating watching seemingly random substitutions and it can be tough to get in a rhythm subbing this way. This game did show that these kids can play more minutes, but I actually think his subbing pattern is one of the reasons we’ve won back-to-back tournaments. It doesn’t necessarily help in a one game sample size, but it definitely helps when playing 3 games in 3 days (or this year, hopefully 4 games in 4 days).

This (ChiBearsFan) is my take on Wardle's subbing too - I don't mind it...sure I'd like to see certain players together at certain moments, but he knows better than any of us.
The biggest issue I had before last game was East not getting a chance to play - assessing his talent and potential, I don't think any of us would pick Thomas or McAdoo over East. I actually think Wardle may have the biggest expectations for East over anyone else. He played a little sloppy mid-season and after that, he didn't return to starting line-up until forced to last game.

I like when JaShon and Eli were on the floor together too, but for some reason, they are not often on court together - last yr more than this one.