Leons says he'll be back next year!

[LittleBrave]

Absolutely on the character part. One of things I have always liked about Wardle is that we have guys I can root for. I have a hard time rooting for low character guys. Also, our players seem to mostly care about academics, which is another reason you might stay at a school. Having the right academic programs and getting a good education seems to matter to many of our basketball players.

GREAT points BUfan! Very high quality guys from what I can see (and read about) - even Elijah did some great things and represented BU well before that 1 incident.

We don't typically have guys that will flaunt themselves after a big play - it's about team 1st.
With all the highlight dunks that Hannah has had at BU, he doesn't taunt the opposition and doesn't go bonkers afterward, as most kids with his dunking ability would do.

[LittleBrave]

What great news though!

If you look at Malevy's numbers this year, is there another Valley player who can match up?
I think he's a shoe-in for 2nd team all conf., Defensive POY, and absolutely is in the Top 5 in regards to Most Improved.

I love his hustle and attitude on the court - probably more than any other Brave, which says a lot with Ville, Mast, and Ja'Shon doing the same for years!

[Go_Braves]

As everyone is sharing " GREAT NEWS ".....

Anyone hearing if any of the Power 5 conference schools show any interest with Leons? - I truly hope not.

I wonder if Terry Roberts would rather play for 1st place Bradley verses his current team 10th place Georgia? Sorry Terry - best of luck.
If any Bradley player is considering the Transfer Portal - just look at the situation Terry is in. He leads many categories - points, assists, steals, but I truly doubt the team is going anywhere this post season.

[Da Coach]

Terrific news! Now let's hope all the other key guys stay at Bradley.
And, I want a pair of Mala-Fly shoes!

[bigjimmy]

Loved seeing this! He’s starting to be more aggressive on the offensive end and it makes us a better team when he is.

[bradleyfan124]

This is one of the dynamics to recruiting now with the pay for play and the ridiculous open portal and teams will need to learn to adjust their recruiting to take that into consideration. I think BW and his squad are exactly the right type of recruiters to navigate this new way of doing things. Character has always been a priority and those type of kids are much more likely to consider a place home once they've chosen a team.

You are exactly right.

[️ Fanatic]

I think Mast comes back. To me the overseas kids seem to be a different breed (in a better way!). Mast just seems like a smart quality guy where loyalty would matter to him. Of course just my opinion/sense but it would surprise me if Mast bailed on us. And never know the dynamic between coach and player and other factors.. anyway I say we continue to get into the overseas pipeline.

I agree & believe Mast will return... the X-Factor is $$$ (NIL): I think Mast may run into some "options that are presented to him from bigger schools". Let's hope his loyalty, growth & opportunities he has been provided allow Reink to remain a Brave his entire college time. Go Braves!

[Classof77]

I was really tickled to read that article this morning. What a terrific young man. Glad he's coming back. I hope he continues to get more aggresive on offense. I think he's our best player. ( Although Henry is still my favorite because of how tough he is.)

[Bradley3342]

What a great article by Dave! Welcome back and let’s hope Rienk will stay too. This happens and next year could be extra special!

[Da Coach]

With Malevy Leons saying he will return to Bradley for a 5th season of eligibility, will that have an effect on Bradley's other senior, Ville Tahvanainen?
I know fans have had disagreements, but I think we all want to see Bradley continue to keep getting better. I would hope Ville does return.
Anyone else agree? Either way, Bradley would be the team to beat next season. But considering what all those 5th year guys have done for Drake, IMO Ville could only make Bradley better.


Btw, Ville was Bradley's nominee for MVC Player of the Week-
https://mvc-sports.com/news/2023/2/1...notes-f13.aspx

Unfortunately, he did not get selected. But then Bradley, despite being in 1st place, tied for the best record in the MVC, has not had a single Player of the Week all season. And there has been only one Bradley player selected this season as Newcomer of the Week. That was Duke Deen in the week ending Dec. 27, following wins over Stonehill and Akron.
https://www.bradleyfans.com/forum/sp...e-deen-bradley

[Wilbery]

I would personally like it if Ville stayed and got an MBA or some grad degree. Ville seems to me at least be an unselfish player that knows their role in the team which I think is huge in a game where minutes are worth their weight in gold and can cause dissension within a team.

Also some recency bias is coming into play here but if he keeps up his improved shooting into Arch Madness and beyond I think he would be very hard to replace.

Two reasons I can see not wanting him to return is if a highly rated transfer or freshman could take his place but there is always risk with that not panning out. Or that we could potentially be overweighting the team with upper classmen next year making 24-25 a more difficult year but with the transfer portal and the limited windows of opportunity mid-majors get to succeed I'd gladly take that chance and go for a big 23-24 and a diminished 24-25.

[Tommy]

With Malevy Leons saying he will return to Bradley for a 5th season of eligibility, will that have an effect on Bradley's other senior, Ville Tahvanainen?
I know fans have had disagreements, but I think we all want to see Bradley continue to keep getting better. I would hope Ville does return.
Anyone else agree?
https://www.bradleyfans.com/forum/sp...e-deen-bradley

I love Ville. He has frustrated us all this year for certain, but you can't deny his passion and leadership, and the Murray State game gives us hope for a return to the Ville we all grew to appreciate. Regardless of his performance, good or bad, he's a true Brave through and through and part of our successful history as an MVC tourney winner and I'll take as much time with him as we can get.

[Stryker]

I would personally like it if Ville stayed and got an MBA or some grad degree. Ville seems to me at least be an unselfish player that knows their role in the team which I think is huge in a game where minutes are worth their weight in gold and can cause dissension within a team.

Also some recency bias is coming into play here but if he keeps up his improved shooting into Arch Madness and beyond I think he would be very hard to replace.

Two reasons I can see not wanting him to return is if a highly rated transfer or freshman could take his place but there is always risk with that not panning out. Or that we could potentially be overweighting the team with upper classmen next year making 24-25 a more difficult year but with the transfer portal and the limited windows of opportunity mid-majors get to succeed I'd gladly take that chance and go for a big 23-24 and a diminished 24-25.

I'd be happy to have him back and I've been calling him out on this forum this season. He brings a lot to the team in a great way, I was just very frustrated with his dry spell during the conference season. Past two games he has turned it around.

[BUfan14]

The Ville question is an interesting one. In a vacuum of course a solid role player who stays within themselves and is seemingly a good person would be great to have back. I'm said several times he is a good rebounder for a guard, makes some solid creative drives, good free throw shooter, and is a average/slightly above three shooter with solid team defense but poor individual defense when placed on anyone with any kind of speed. The last game raised his stats three shooting wise quite a bit, but for the most part he has been pretty inconsistent (but overall slightly above average) as a shooter over the last three years (and even freshman year with his start). A team should never turn away good role players like that.

However, here is my caveat. Let's assume everyone comes back, which is a huge assumption right now, and Mast is my biggest concern. Does Ville also coming back mean Davis leaves or doesn't play much again? We already probably need to squeeze a backup point guard into the rotation, as well as a driving/slasher/get to the free throw line guard (like I hope Burch is). I always want one more shooter too, but if Ville is back and Davis gets more minutes, along with more consistency from Hickman, Deen doing his thing, Leons doing his, and a budding sharpshooter in Zek I think the shooting will be more than fine as it has this year. With Zek stepping up to be that big time sharpshooter next year, that covers that too. In an ideal world, we replace Jashon with a post that can do similar things too, but that may not be realistic with all the posts we already have.

But I still believe we need for sure need a guy who drives and gets to the line (Burch?), and a backup point guard (I don't believe this is Hickman's ideal role, though he is fine for short stretches). With everyone back, Burch takes Jashon's scholarship, and perhaps Davis steps into the rotation more (I think he'd be an awesome stretch 4 against smaller teams). Usually you have an eight to nine man rotation (Mast, Leons, Zek, Hickman, Deen then Hannah, Davis, Ville, Burch, backup point guard) is already 10, and that would unusual to play that many. That also doesn't include Jonovic. So that's 11 that need minutes, plus we still need a scholarship for a backup point guard. Will Linke and Biliew both stay? Maybe the backup point guard can be in the Davis mold and play a little (more in the event of an injury), but hopefully use next year as more of a development year.

Of course there are always injuries, and these things tend to work themselves out, so take all the talent you can and go for it any year you can in a transfer oriented world. Also, again, I'm making a huge leap that every rotation player will be back. However, I'm worried it becomes a Ville vs. Davis issue if we also add more guards, as we should and already have for next year, and I don't think Ville is so much better than Davis next year that I want to make the trade and sacrifice future years of Davis. I also am not sure we need Ville more than a backup point guard if it comes down to that scholarship. So yes, I want him back, but no if it means it costs us one of our other rotation players like Davis, or means we don't get the other point guard we desperately need (imagine if Deen gets hurt long term).

[Tommy]

The Ville question is an interesting one. In a vacuum of course a solid role player who stays within themselves and is seemingly a good person would be great to have back. I'm said several times he is a good rebounder for a guard, makes some solid creative drives, good free throw shooter, and is a average/slightly above three shooter with solid team defense but poor individual defense when placed on anyone with any kind of speed. The last game raised his stats three shooting wise quite a bit, but for the most part he has been pretty inconsistent (but overall slightly above average) as a shooter over the last three years (and even freshman year with his start). A team should never turn away good role players like that.

However, here is my caveat. Let's assume everyone comes back, which is a huge assumption right now, and Mast is my biggest concern. Does Ville also coming back mean Davis leaves or doesn't play much again? We already probably need to squeeze a backup point guard into the rotation, as well as a driving/slasher/get to the free throw line guard (like I hope Burch is). I always want one more shooter too, but if Ville is back and Davis gets more minutes, along with more consistency from Hickman, Deen doing his thing, Leons doing his, and a budding sharpshooter in Zek I think the shooting will be more than fine as it has this year. With Zek stepping up to be that big time sharpshooter next year, that covers that too. In an ideal world, we replace Jashon with a post that can do similar things too, but that may not be realistic with all the posts we already have.

But I still believe we need for sure need a guy who drives and gets to the line (Burch?), and a backup point guard (I don't believe this is Hickman's ideal role, though he is fine for short stretches). With everyone back, Burch takes Jashon's scholarship, and perhaps Davis steps into the rotation more (I think he'd be an awesome stretch 4 against smaller teams). Usually you have an eight to nine man rotation (Mast, Leons, Zek, Hickman, Deen then Hannah, Davis, Ville, Burch, backup point guard) is already 10, and that would unusual to play that many. That also doesn't include Jonovic. So that's 11 that need minutes, plus we still need a scholarship for a backup point guard. Will Linke and Biliew both stay?

Of course there are always injuries, and these things tend to work themselves out, so take all the talent you can and go for it any year you can in a transfer oriented world. Also, again, I'm making a huge leap that every rotation player will be back. However, I'm worried it becomes a Ville vs. Davis issue if we also add more guards, as we should and already have for next year, and I don't think Ville is so much better than Davis next year that I want to make the trade and sacrifice future years of Davis. I also am not sure we need Ville more than a backup point guard if it comes down to that scholarship. So yes, I want him back, but no if it means it costs us one of our other rotation players like Davis, or means we don't get the other point guard we desperately need (imagine if Deen gets hurt long term).

I'm sure there will be some natural attrition due to playing time and the wide open portal that will allow us to pick up any needs we may have, and Davis seemed to crack the rotation in the Murray State game, so I don't think keeping Ville means an either/or for the two of them, especially with JaShon moving on.