First Bradley practice

[Da Coach]

...Coach Wardle announced that Bradley's team practices will begin next week...

As I reported a week ago, the Bradley men's team had their first practice yesterday (Monday, 10/4).
Journal Star writer Dave Eminian posted this report-

https://www.pjstar.com/story/sports/college/basketball/bradley-hoops/2021/10/05/ncaa-basketball-what-we-learned-bradleys-first-practice/5999232001/

The 2021-22 season begins 5 weeks from today with the first game on November 9. The Red-White scrimmage is a week from tomorrow (Weed. 10/13), and the only scheduled public exhibition game is a little over 4 weeks away (Thurs. 11/4). There will also be a closed scrimmage played against an "unnamed opponent", probably at the end of this month.

A few notable things from the article :
Ja'Shon Henry is improved and will be playing the perimeter more this season, and he is becoming the team leader
"Malevy Leons is a really skilled forward", according to Ja'Shon
The three scholarship freshmen (Ekono, Montgomery, Hickman) are "talented but have a long way to go"
The transfers (Roberts, Leons, Howell) are all "very competitive"
Ari Boya is healthy, but will see his minutes and workload managed carefully
...the most pleasant surprise among the returning players? "Jayson Kent got better," Wardle said. "More comfortable, more confident, got stronger.
On Connor Hickman: "He's a mature young man, really good basketball IQ," Wardle said. "Strong, can shoot the three effortlessly and really score.

[Adam Duvall]

Bradley will play Iowa in a 'secret scrimmage' over the next few weeks, per Dave Eminian from Oct. 1.

https://www.pjstar.com/story/sports/college/basketball/bradley-hoops/2021/10/01/ncaa-basketball-bradley-men-women-set-doubleheader-scrimmage-date/5953288001/

[Da Coach]

Bradley will play Iowa in a 'secret scrimmage' over the next few weeks, per Dave Eminian from Oct. 1.

https://www.pjstar.com/story/sports/...te/5953288001/

Thanks for posting this publicly. This has been set for a couple weeks, and a few members here who have communicated with me have known this, but for some reason the Bradley people wanted to keep this secret, so we did not post it. Now that the secret is out, we can discuss it.

Just returned from the Itoo Hall event...
And here is some breaking news-
Bradley will also play a closed scrimmage against a Power 5 D1 team.
That will be great experience for the team.

Update on exhibition schedule-....
Date TBA-
The men's scrimmage will be against a team that finished high in the NET rankings last season.

Iowa finished 3rd in the Big Ten last season with a 14-6 record, and 22-9 overall. They finished the season ranked #6 in NET ranking.

https://www.warrennolan.com/basketball/2021/net

Their top player, Luka Garza, a 2-time Sporting News National Player of the Year, is now a member of the Detroit Pistons. But they have a decent amount of talent returning, though they won't likely be picked among the top teams in the Big Ten this season. Nonetheless, this should be a great test for the Braves.

[Da Coach]

Another video from the first practice yesterday-

https://twitter.com/bradleyumbb/status/1445203334797873153

[LittleBrave]

Connor looks like he can drain the 3 consistently - that would be a much-needed boost for him to get a couple per game.
Henry has not been a good perimeter shooter in the past, but has a good stroke. If he could boost that to above 30%, would be nice too. He has a great work ethic so I expect a big senior season in every aspect of his game.

In the Valley, you really need a strong perimeter game. 3-point shooting has been a huge part of successful Valley teams in recent years, as we saw in St. Louis when we won b2b.

I think Malevy, Ville, and Reink (and maybe Kent) will be our top 3-point bombers. They have the potential to all be around 40% for the season.
Our ball movement was off last year in the Valley. That will be a big key to making strides from last year.

Go BRAVES!!!

[LittleBrave]

I really think that Hannah will show much improvement. Kid has a good head on his shoulders and has potential on both ends.
Maybe a guy who can fill Eli's shoes to some degree.

The depth on this team is nice...of course we thought that last season at the start.
This is a different year and I like that JaShon (one of my favorite Braves ever) as a leader is a great thing!

[Tommy]

Good thoughts, guys.

I think this year will be quite different with practices and scheduling back to normal. Wardle is either the best or at least one of the best coaches in the Valley and not being able to practice normally last year really hurt this team. The more Wardle can work with the kids, the better year we'll have. Let's hope we don't have another shutdown this winter! amiright!

[Da Coach]

Today was a Bradley practice and media day at the Renaissance Coliseum.
Beat writer Dave Eminian tweeted several photos and comments-

https://twitter.com/icetimecleve