Final score: Loyola 66 Bradley 50

[Tommy]

Beyond the mystic substitution process I again offer my thought as expressed earlier in the year, that is ball movement, or lack of! We are constantly having players standing in the corners watching while the others are in motion. Movement without the ball is lacking and has been all year. This system of offensive doesn’t bode well for us.

The Braves were predicted by most to finish at or near the bottom of the Valley, so I think they far exceeded expectations this year.

Yes, ball movement was terrible yesterday, but so was just about every aspect of our game. This was not the case all year long as we had games where we looked like world beaters.

As for the substitutions, everyone has their own idea about how they’d do them. I’d be lying if I said some of the substitutions didn’t baffle me, but I’m happy to give BW the benefit of the doubt. He’s won back to back tourneys for us and had to rebuild half the roster this year, and I’d say he did a great job.

Nobody is happy with the way things ended, but this team is THE youngest in the Valley. They will get better.

[braves16]

What were the crowds like yesterday and do they still block off the upper deck?

[Da Coach]

What were the crowds like yesterday and do they still block off the upper deck?

For all sessions, the upper bowl was completely closed off.
Thursday night's attendance for Session 1 was 2,904

For Friday's games:
The lower bowl was fairly full in the side court sections, but not half full on the corner and end sections.
The attendance for the afternoon session Friday (Session 2) was 5,394
The attendance for the night session Friday (Session 3) was 5,503

[basketball nut]

A very disappointing game to end the season. Loyola was allowed to be overly physical and we couldn’t have any sustained offense as we allowed them to dictate to us. That’s where there experience of playing in the NCAA tournament really helps them. Hopefully we take the lessons that we received from them and apply it next season.

Agree big jimmy. Yesterday was very physical and they let them play. They are calling it the same way today. Green is getting hammered on almost every shot.

[bigjimmy]

I would say so far today that both UNI and Loyola’s crowds are bigger. And again hardly anyone is wearing a mask other than when they come in the building

[braves16]

The upper bowl was completely closed off. The lower bowl was fairly full in the side court sections, but not half full on the corner and end sections.
The attendance listed for the afternoon session yesterday (Session 2) was 5,394
The attendance for the night session yesterday (Session 3) was 5,503

The night session must have got that big SIU push.

[BUfan14]

Nobody is happy with the way things ended, but this team is THE youngest in the Valley. They will get better.

I do think that while this is technically true, we are not as young as people make it out to be. The Valley just had super experienced teams this year. Mast, Leons, Roberts, Ville were all in their third year of college ball with Mast redshirting one year. Ari and Jashon four, Mikey five. Hickman was the one young guy that truly impressed this year, with flashes from Zek and Kent.

The excuse I buy more is team chemistry for so many new guys. But I don’t buy that we were too young thing. We could realistically lose all of Mast, Leons, Roberts after next year and what would we have left?

I’m optimistic for next year if recruiting to get the right pieces (shooter, PG, big man) goes well, but next year is HUGE if this program is going to be anything more than middle of the pack 10 years in.

The conference tournaments were huge, but I think we all want a regular season contender on a consistent basis, hopefully next year is it. Like I said this recruiting cycle and next season are the most important Bradley has had in a while. I’m optimistic, but as they say, we’ll see.

[Da Coach]

....We could realistically lose all of Mast, Leons, Roberts after next year and what would we have left?
... this recruiting cycle and next season are the most important Bradley has had in a while.

I can see where you're coming from, but see it a little differently. I would be happy if both of our seniors return for another year, and then land a small recruiting class of 2 guys, another big man and another wing for depth.
If you look the teams ahead of Bradley, which all lose some pretty key players, I believe BU is in position to contend next year.

[BUfan14]

I can see where you're coming from, but see it a little differently. I would be happy if both of our seniors return for another year, and then land a small recruiting class of 2 guys, another big man and another wing for depth.
If you look the teams ahead of Bradley, which all lose some pretty key players, I believe BU is in position to contend next year.

I definitely believe we should contend next year too. If we play our non-con cards right we have some in conference opportunities to score big wins next year with new teams as well. At large could potentially be realistic.

I certainly agree those are two big needs, with that wing hopefully a shooter that can at least contribute.

Do you think Max is ready to be a big time contributor at PG? I’d say with our turnover problems, point guard is a need too, which I’ve posted a lot about. But I don’t know his level of readiness. In limited minutes he certainly seems hesitant to shoot from deep at all.

I’d be awfully nervous if Roberts and Ekono were our only PGs next year. Imagine if Roberts got hurt? Plus I really think we need someone who can handle the ball for a while when we need to settle down and Roberts gets going too fast with turnovers. I think Mikey kind of had that role this year, but he turned the ball over just as much at times. So what’s your thoughts on the PG situation?

My other thought is this - if we have a small recruiting class this year and next year we lose a bunch of guys, that is going to put a lot of pressure on next years recruiting. I think teams contend as mid majors consistently when the next class of stars is developing as the current one is playing. I don’t know that I see big stars developing behind our current leaders right now, maybe Zek and Hickman if they take big steps? It’s so different now with recruiting too, maybe looking more than a year ahead is too difficult anyway.

[ihatetea]

I definitely believe we should contend next year too. If we play our non-con cards right we have some in conference opportunities to score big wins next year with new teams as well. At large could potentially be realistic.

I certainly agree those are two big needs, with that wing hopefully a shooter that can at least contribute.

Do you think Max is ready to be a big time contributor at PG? I’d say with our turnover problems, point guard is a need too, which I’ve posted a lot about. But I don’t know his level of readiness. In limited minutes he certainly seems hesitant to shoot from deep at all.

I’d be awfully nervous if Roberts and Ekono were our only PGs next year. Imagine if Roberts got hurt? Plus I really think we need someone who can handle the ball for a while when we need to settle down and Roberts gets going too fast with turnovers. I think Mikey kind of had that role this year, but he turned the ball over just as much at times. So what’s your thoughts on the PG situation?

My other thought is this - if we have a small recruiting class this year and next year we lose a bunch of guys, that is going to put a lot of pressure on next years recruiting. I think teams contend as mid majors consistently when the next class of stars is developing as the current one is playing. I don’t know that I see big stars developing behind our current leaders right now, maybe Zek and Hickman if they take big steps? It’s so different now with recruiting too, maybe looking more than a year ahead is too difficult anyway.

I would agree we need more guards. Roberts looked off the last couple weeks. Idk if his ankle bothered him or he was worn down from his workload, but either way we didn’t have anyone to really take the load off. Mast, Leons, and Hickman are all good offensive players as secondary options. None were consistently shot creators for themselves. Mast post ups requiring an entry pass and Hickman rarely running pick and roll being the main extra offensive looks.

I’m optimistic on Kent, Ekono, Montgomery, and Hickman. I think we have the best strength and conditioning staff in the league; everyone makes giant improvements year over year. An extra step of quickness, the extra 10lbs of muscle could be massive, for Ekono and Montgomery in particular.

I still think we need to target 2 guards. If Howell is the only guy who departs the team obviously we’d only have one spot to get a pg. If Boya lets his eligibility expire we would need a rim protector to keep the identity Wardle has established. It might be worth it to get a two way big instead though. If Henry lets his eligibility expire I think we would do better getting another guard like Hickman who can handle and shoot. Even if Ekono is a pg, he’s 6’6” joining Montgomery 6’6” Kent 6’7” and Ville ~6’4” as bigger perimeter players. We won’t be hurting for wing/forward size. It all is fluid considering the seemingly inevitable underclassmen transfers but I’d be prioritizing guards who can score/shoot.

[Da Coach]

I definitely believe we should contend next year too. If we play our non-con cards right we have some in conference opportunities to score big wins next year with new teams as well. At large could potentially be realistic.

I certainly agree those are two big needs, with that wing hopefully a shooter that can at least contribute.

Do you think Max is ready to be a big time contributor at PG? I’d say with our turnover problems, point guard is a need too, which I’ve posted a lot about. But I don’t know his level of readiness. In limited minutes he certainly seems hesitant to shoot from deep at all.

I’d be awfully nervous if Roberts and Ekono were our only PGs next year. Imagine if Roberts got hurt? Plus I really think we need someone who can handle the ball for a while when we need to settle down and Roberts gets going too fast with turnovers. I think Mikey kind of had that role this year, but he turned the ball over just as much at times. So what’s your thoughts on the PG situation?

My other thought is this - if we have a small recruiting class this year and next year we lose a bunch of guys, that is going to put a lot of pressure on next years recruiting. I think teams contend as mid majors consistently when the next class of stars is developing as the current one is playing. I don’t know that I see big stars developing behind our current leaders right now, maybe Zek and Hickman if they take big steps? It’s so different now with recruiting too, maybe looking more than a year ahead is too difficult anyway.

I haven't seen enough of Max to have an opinion, though the coaches certainly have seen him play a lot, and Coach Wardle is high on him.
We will not go into next year with only Terry and Max as point guards. Even if we did, Connor Hickman can play the point, and has done so effectively in limited spurts this season. But I am 100% confident that the 2022 recruiting class will include a very good point guard.
.
As far as going into next year to recruit and replace the departing players, that wouldn't bother me. Some times that is an advantage to have a full year to recruit and land the best players to fill our needs. Either way, I believe our coaches will find players who will compliment the current guys.
There is usually a dwindling pool of available recruits this late in the recruiting cycle, but things have changed with the new NCAA rules, and our coaches are expecting there to be a large pool of transfers available who will be eligible immediately.

And as far as not seeing "big stars developing behind our current leaders", give it some time. You could say the same thing about every team in the MVC. Which teams have budding stars sitting on their bench right now?

And there were some who said the same thing last year at this time, but then recall what happened in April & May of 2021.
Our coaches brought in possibly their best recruiting class in April and May of 2021. The coaches added Mikey Howell on April 14, 2021, Terry Roberts on April 23, 2021, Max Ekono on April 26, 2021, Malevy Leons on May 4, 2021, and Zek Montgomery on June 12, 2021.

Of course, this year's class may not be quite as large, but I'm expecting some quality additions.

[Chibearsfan10125]

After seeing Loyola do the same thing to UNI they did to us, I see yesterdays loss in a slightly different light. It’s still disappointing we didn’t play better, but Loyola is playing out their mind not defense right now. Obviously, not the way you want to end a season, but no one would say UNI lacks the talent to compete for the league since they just won it. Loyola played virtually the same game against them they did against us.

A core of Roberts, Mast, and Leons is as good a trio as anyone has coming back. I expect Connor and Zek to make a leap to going into year two. I’m not assuming any of the seniors are back, but bring in an athletic wing, a quality pg, and a solid big man/rim protector and I like our chances next year to compete for the top of the league.

[Tommy]

I was at the elevator when the team was getting off for breakfast and Boya is the nicest guy and let us get a pic with our kids, who love him! I told him I hope he comes back next year and he gave me what I think was a dubious look and said ‘we’ll see’. Didn’t seem like he was coming back to me, but then I’m wrong a lot, so hopefully wrong on this one.

[lb071964]

He’s not.

[Da Coach]

He’s not.

I know you have some "inside info" lb071964, and that I have heard that, too..... but,
For what it's worth, my wife and I were eating at a restaurant a couple hours after the game with other couples, and Ari Boya and Maxime Ekono came in as we were leaving. They were very gracious to allow some of our party to take pictures with them. I let Ari know that the majority of fans seem to want him to return next year, and he told me he had not made up his mind and is still considering it.