Bradley 2022-23 Injuries -Zek Montgomery & Connor Hickman injured

[️ Fanatic]

https://twitter.com/BradleyUMBB/stat...aZb-MeVx47VpSA

Bummer for Zek - 3-4 weeks probably aligns with Reink's return... All teams suffer injuries during the season, hopefully we can recover & not have any serious injuries

[Nashville Cat]

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Bummer for Zek - 3-4 weeks probably aligns with Reink's return... All teams suffer injuries during the season, hopefully we can recover & not have any serious injuries

Thankfully we have Ville in the depth chart. We may also see more Christian Davis.

[houstonbrave]

Ouch-that does hurt. Auburn was always going to be a tough one for us to stay close that just got really ugly without Reink and Zek.

[Big Mike]

Can Bradley ever catch a break? Not the news we need at the start of a predicted prosperous season....

[bradleyfan124]

Can Bradley ever catch a break? Not the news we need at the start of a predicted prosperous season....

I agree! This always seems to happen at Bradley

[Nashville Cat]

https://twitter.com/BradleyUMBB/stat...aZb-MeVx47VpSA

Bummer for Zek - 3-4 weeks probably aligns with Reink's return... All teams suffer injuries during the season, hopefully we can recover & not have any serious injuries

The arrow is pointing up for Zek. He may be the only player on the roster who can shoot the 3 and finish at the rim.

[Bradley3342]

Not the news we needed to hear. Definitely a bummer.

[Nashville Cat]

The arrow is pointing up for Zek. He may be the only player on the roster who can shoot the 3 and finish at the rim.

Quoting my previous post - Malevy and Jashon can both shoot from the perimeter and dunk...but Zek has more upside imo.

[Tommy]

Next man up! Maybe we find a diamond in the rough with the freed up playing time available!

[BUfan14]

Next man up! Maybe we find a diamond in the rough with the freed up playing time available!

I hope so, but I’m not even sure where the potential for a diamond in the rough is. This one may hurt as much as Mast due to our lack of wing depth. I’ve been saying we need to add more wing shooters for years, and we never seem to add those guys like Utah State had that can just flat out shoot it and go off in a game even off the bench.

The roster as currently constructed has two shorter point guards (they can’t fill in on the wing much), one redshirt guard (who hasn’t shown much shooting ability yet), one post who hasn’t provided much yet in three years. Then five other post players (Henry plays much better at the four, and is not a wing). I trust Leons more as a wing than I do Henry.

So with six posts, one redshirt, and two short points, that leaves four players. Two are the starters and one is a senior, unlikely to grow much beyond what he has been. Ville has been great in the role he has played so far as a bench shooter with improved, albeit slow, defensive footwork. He’s a senior, so I can’t expect huge surprises there. I worry about expanded minutes for him limiting his effectiveness.

So the only player that even has the potential to be a surprise diamond in the rough is Christian Davis. No one knows what he is yet, but he’s looked fairly raw in limited garbage time minutes. I must admit I’m a little nervous about our guard depth. We are now either going to have to play really short, play a post on the wing, or hope Davis really surprises. Defense on the wing also worries me now.

I don’t love it, but at least the injuries so far should be cleared up by the bulk of the conference season. I’m really questioning the logic of having essentially only four scholarship spots for wing players this year, one being an unknown in terms of contributing this year. Hickman and Deen need to really step up now for a few weeks.

[Da Coach]

Step away from the ledge BUfan14! Just kidding...
I agree things look a bit bleak with the injury to Zek, but look at it from a different angle- we are fortunate these injuries have happened early, and not in the conference season, and that both Rienk & Zek should return 100%. It could be worse. Ja'Shon Henry's concusions last year torpedoed the whole season. Roman Penn's injury a couple seasons ago right before the MVC Tournament probably cost Drake the 2021 championship. And injuries to A.J. Green and Austin Phyfe hurt UNI the last 2 seasons.
When you are as passionate a fan as BUfan14 and I am, these setbacks hurt. But Bradley does have better depth than they have had in many years,
So move Ja'Shon back into the starting lineup, and get more time for Ville and maybe Christian Davis
Good article from Dave Eminian- https://www.pjstar.com/story/sports/...t/69659152007/

[Da Coach]

Connor Hickman now injured- game-time decision-

https://twitter.com/icetimecleve/status/1594038438898155521

[Da Coach]

Connor Hickman now injured- game-time decision-
https://twitter.com/icetimecleve/sta...38438898155521

I just talked to someone knowledgeable about Connor's situation. He has been dealing with a bruised heel since the EMU game, but then he rolled the ankle and got a mild sprain in practice on Thursday. He sat out the rest of the practice, and only did light workouts yesterday, hoping it would recover well enough to play today. But this morning, it was still not too good. He's still having trouble running and pushing off it. They will wait until just before game-time for the final decision, but the coaches might prefer to be cautious to make sure he is OK for the Auburn game next Tuesday. My source says it is "50-50" for today.

[houstonbrave]

He is in a boot-so not going

[BUfan14]

Haha DC, I don’t mean to sound on the ledge, and yes the conference part will be most important. Still, for any at large shot, it would have been nice to be at full strength for a few big non con games

Hickman further stresses my point on the roster’s construction. Ville and Davis are our only two remaining true wings because of two injuries. I think we can survive, hopefully, but that’s still not the best roster construction in my opinion. Because Leons and Henry are versatile defenders, it may hurt more on offense than defense.

Get the starters all back and this team still has great overall talent though.