Final score- Exhibition game- Bradley 79 Illinois Wesleyan 64

[Da Coach]

Bruce Zhang looks a legit 7 feet, but I'm doubting 255 lbs
Maybe 225--230

[Da Coach]

Bradley stats-
Leons 18
Henry 7
Hickman 9
Deen 7
Weathers 8
Hannah 9
Montgomery 10
Ville 8
Biliew 1
Linke 2
Davis 0
Ekono 0
Hardtke 0
Hennessy 0

[Big Mike]

Bruce Zhang looks a legit 7 feet, but I'm doubting 255 lbs
Maybe 225--230

Ok..just wondering....looked pretty good on Twitter....
See where St Louis offered him also..
Lock him down, like the size and moves well.

[Da Coach]

Here is a photo of him with his 2023 Skill Factory team. The other tallest kids are 6'7" and 6'8", so he appears to be a legitimate 7'-
https://twitter.com/__CoachRob/statu...74653546115072



And a couple brief videos-
https://twitter.com/__CoachRob/statu...75579593244673

https://twitter.com/__CoachRob/status/1575240368542871553

[Da Coach]

Box score and stats-
https://bradleybraves.com/sports/men...boxscore/21479

Attendance posted as 3,528 - must have included season ticket sales as the actual attendance appeared to be less than half that number.

Illinois Wesleyan shot better than I expected, especially in the 2nd half when they shot 13 for 24 (54.2%) to keep the game from being a blowout. Bradley shot pretty well overall (32-66, 48.5%), and from three (10-24, 41.7%), but the free throw shooting was not good (5-13, 38.5%). Bradley forced 20 turnovers by IWU, and they had 14 turnovers, many seemed to be due to playing at a faster tempo than in past seasons, and the frequent personnel changes.
Malevy Leons was the Player of the Game with 18 points, 4-5 from three, 4 rebounds, and only 1 turnover in 26 minutes.
Connor Hickman had 9 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists in only 24 minutes. He was terrific and IMO needs to play 30-35 minutes.
Zek Montgomery had 10 points, 6 rebounds, and no turnovers in only 19 minutes.
Darius Hannah had 9 points, 4-5 from the field, and no turnovers in 21 minutes.
Duke Deen had 7 points, 2 rebounds, and 4 assists in 22 minutes. He was only 1-6 from three, but that will improve.
Solid contributions off the bench for Ja'Shon Henry. Ville Tahvanainen, and Pop Weathers.
The other reserves played limited minutes.

Overall a good start to the season.

[bradleyfan124]

Box score and stats-
https://bradleybraves.com/sports/men...boxscore/21479

Attendance posted as 3,528 - must have included season ticket sales as the actual attendance appeared to be less than half that number.

Illinois Wesleyan shot better than I expected, especially in the 2nd half when they shot 13 for 24 (54.2%) to keep the game from being a blowout. Bradley shot pretty well overall (32-66, 48.5%), and from three (10-24, 41.7%), but the free throw shooting was not good (5-13, 38.5%). Bradley forced 20 turnovers by IWU, and they had 14 turnovers, many seemed to be due to playing at a faster tempo than in past seasons, and the frequent personnel changes.
Malevy Leons was the Player of the Game with 18 points, 4-5 from three, 4 rebounds, and only 1 turnover in 26 minutes.
Connor Hickman had 9 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists in only 24 minutes. He was terrific and IMO needs to play 30-35 minutes.
Zek Montgomery had 10 points, 6 rebounds, and no turnovers in only 19 minutes.
Darius Hannah had 9 points, 4-5 from the field, and no turnovers in 21 minutes.
Duke Deen had 7 points, 2 rebounds, and 4 assists in 22 minutes. He was only 1-6 from three, but that will improve.
Solid contributions off the bench for Ja'Shon Henry. Ville Tahvanainen, and Pop Weathers.
The other reserves played limited minutes.

Overall a good start to the season.

I thought Connor Linke played pretty decently. About 4 rebounds, a basket and a steal. Didnt hurt them while he was in there

[bradleyfan124]

Here is a photo of him with his 2023 Skill Factory team. The other tallest kids are 6'7" and 6'8", so he appears to be a legitimate 7'-
https://twitter.com/__CoachRob/statu...74653546115072



And a couple brief videos-
https://twitter.com/__CoachRob/statu...75579593244673
https://twitter.com/__CoachRob/statu...40368542871553

Who was number 25 in the video? He played pretty well

[braves16]

https://pantagraph.com/sports/college/illinois-wesleyan/illinois-wesleyan-pleased-with-effort-in-exhibition-loss-to-bradley/article_0e2fc748-5af0-11ed-a099-1b52b12d77e9.html

[LittleBrave]

IWU broadcast (audio) link:

https://www.iwusports.com/watch/?Live=455&type=Live

Eric Stock & Joel Swanson will be on the call - they are really good.

I am old friends with Joel! We talked some hoops back in the day (college) and went on a trip to NYC with a group.
He is a Redbird alum, but still - one of friendliest guys I know!

[Da Coach]

Who was number 25 in the video? He played pretty well

I think it was this kid- Rihard Vavers, a 6'7" shooting guard from Latvia. He just committed to Quinnipiac-

https://twitter.com/vavvers/status/1587587610733600769

https://verbalcommits.com/players/rihards-vavers

[Da Coach]

Fans are asking...
Why was there no Live Stats for last night's game?

Why is there no summary, nor even a mention of the game or results on the Bradley men's basketball website?

https://bradleybraves.com/sports/mens-basketball

The most recent article on the website is from 2 days ago (Nov. 1), a very short pregame summary that contained minimal info about the game and no links-
https://bradleybraves.com/news/2022/...BB_vs_IWU.aspx

Why no game story in the PJ Star as of this morning?... only a link to photos from the game-
https://www.pjstar.com/picture-galle...na/8255016001/

[Da Coach]

Fans are asking...

Why no game story in the PJ Star as of this morning?... only a link to photos from the game-
https://www.pjstar.com/picture-galle...na/8255016001/

Dave Eminian just posted an article this morning-
https://www.pjstar.com/story/sports/...n/69613556007/

[Tommy]

I thought Connor Linke played pretty decently. About 4 rebounds, a basket and a steal. Didnt hurt them while he was in there

Agreed 124! Linke gives pretty good effort and he can definitely rebound. Thought Hannah played well, as well, and I did like what I saw from Pop and Duke - very quick and good passing. Overall, the team didn't look great, but it's only exhibition and Wesleyan is one of the better D3 schools out there.

You could really see how valuable Rienk is to our team without him in there.

[Nashville Cat]

I thought Connor Linke played pretty decently. About 4 rebounds, a basket and a steal. Didnt hurt them while he was in there

I agree. When Linke was recruited he was touted as an intuitive defender who could rebound at legit 6'9 size. Now he plays walk-on minutes.

[Tommy]

Did everyone see the windmill dunk from Hannah? I almost missed it, but thankfully Dub gave me the heads up on the breakaway! I don't remember ever seeing a windmill dunk at a BU game before!