Emarion Ellis commits to BU

[bradleyfan124]

Bradley definitely utilized fresh legs to get wins in the MVC this past season. It was apparent in several games I thought. We brought in solid bench players and kept the starters legs in good shape, and it resulted in strong runs in the 2nd half of several games this past year.

I also liked what I saw of Jonovic. I think his area of improvement will be defense and staying out of foul trouble. He is more athletic than I realized though, and he got up and down the floor pretty quickly. I think he has some good potential and could develop really well. All ifs, but the building blocks seem to be there.

Exactly!! I also noticed we seemed to play better in the second half probably because Bradley was in better shape and the other team was wore down

[Da Coach]

Jim Mattson interviewed him at 3:30pm on his radio show yesterday

https://espnpeoria.com/shows/jim-mattson-show/

The past broadcasts are posted here but they haven't posted Friday's. I suspect
it will be up there by Monday or Tuesday.
https://espnpeoria.com/jim-ondemand/

Here is the archived audio recordings of the Jim Mattson shows. The Friday
Scroll down to Friday, April 21, click on the red arrow to start Hour 1, and move to the 22:30 mark to hear the beginning of the Brian Wardle interview. It runs to about the 34:00 minute mark.

https://espnpeoria.com/jim-ondemand/

Summary of a few things that were said by Coach Wardle-
He thinks he is done recruiting for 2023, but he says, "We should be, but you never know"...
He gives brief summaries of the five 2023 recruits-
>> Almar Atlason- They call him "Al". They scouted him last year at European Championships, and the coaches like his skill set.
>> Trey Pettigrew- The coaches saw him in high school. They feel fortunate to get him, and he is very skilled.
>> Kyle Thomas- the coaches also saw him some in high school. They like his skills and size, and "high IQ".
>> Emarion Ellis- Coach Wardle called Marquette head coach Shaka Smart, and talked about him. He was under-recruited because he was injured all this past year.
>> Demarion Burch- excited to have him; skilled and has a high upside.

Other comments-
Tried to get the NAIA Player of the Year (Mason Walters), but "couldn't afford him" (because teams were throwing lots of NIL money offers at him)
All 5 new recruits will be on campus this summer (in late June).
Emarion Ellis is 100% healthy now, and fully recovered from his injury and surgery.

[bradleyfan124]

Here is the archived audio recordings of the Jim Mattson shows. The Friday
Scroll down to Friday, April 21, click on the red arrow to start Hour 1, and move to the 22:30 mark to hear the beginning of the Brian Wardle interview. It runs to about the 34:00 minute mark.

https://espnpeoria.com/jim-ondemand/

Summary of a few things that were said by Coach Wardle-
He thinks he is done recruiting for 2023, but he says, "We should be, but you never know"...
He gives brief summaries of the five 2023 recruits-
>> Almar Atlason- They call him "Al". They scouted him last year at European Championships, and the coaches like his skill set.
>> Trey Pettigrew- The coaches saw him in high school. They feel fortunate to get him, and he is very skilled.
>> Kyle Thomas- the coaches also saw him some in high school. They like his skills and size, and "high IQ".
>> Emarion Ellis- Coach Wardle called Marquette head coach Shaka Smart, and talked about him. He was under-recruited because he was injured all this past year.
>> Demarion Burch- excited to have him; skilled and has a high upside.

Other comments-
Tried to get the NAIA Player of the Year (Mason Walters), but "couldn't afford him" (because teams were throwing lots of NIL money offers at him)
All 5 new recruits will be on campus this summer (in late June).
Emarion Ellis is 100% healthy now, and fully recovered from his injury and surgery.

Interesting podcast. Good information. There seemed to be a question on this board whether Atlason was actually 6'8"or 6'9". Wardle says he is

[algotrader]

I just can't help but feel like Bradley could be one of the biggest mid major schools in D1. With our deep history in basketball and ability to pack Carver Arena to the rafters at big games, the situation is ripe for a set of good players to etch their name in the history books. I wish more 4 and 5 star recruits who might not see much playing time elsewhere would recognize that getting together at Bradley would almost guarantee them an NCAA run.

Just seems to me like if your goal is to get into the NBA, getting the attention of various teams would be a lot easier if you played at Bradley instead of chasing the top teams for a handful of minutes.

The raw materials are there. We have a good coach. We've had back to back Arch Madness wins, We just won the regular season conference. Feels like something is starting to come together.

[bradleyfan124]

I just can't help but feel like Bradley could be one of the biggest mid major schools in D1. With our deep history in basketball and ability to pack Carver Arena to the rafters at big games, the situation is ripe for a set of good players to etch their name in the history books. I wish more 4 and 5 star recruits who might not see much playing time elsewhere would recognize that getting together at Bradley would almost guarantee them an NCAA run.

Just seems to me like if your goal is to get into the NBA, getting the attention of various teams would be a lot easier if you played at Bradley instead of chasing the top teams for a handful of minutes.

The raw materials are there. We have a good coach. We've had back to back Arch Madness wins, We just won the regular season conference. Feels like something is starting to come together.

Wardle is not just building a team. He is building a program.

[HOTBrave]

Interesting podcast. Good information. There seemed to be a question on this board whether Atlason was actually 6'8"or 6'9". Wardle says he is

Almar is a legitimate 6-8/6-9. He is as tall or taller than Malevy.

[Stryker]

Just want to say I am really excited about the players that Wardle brought in. Ellis could be absolutely huge for BU. Going to be a lot of fun seeing some better guard play this year I think, and even though Mast is gone, Malevy is still here and the post should still be pretty good.

[PhiAlphaBoy]

Just want to say I am really excited about the players that Wardle brought in. Ellis could be absolutely huge for BU. Going to be a lot of fun seeing some better guard play this year I think, and even though Mast is gone, Malevy is still here and the post should still be pretty good.

I think on paper we are probably better than last year. This team will dance if Wardle coaches as well as he has the last two seasons.

[Dub]

As discouraged as I am regarding the new normal of portal, increased focus on $, and new rosters every year…. I will say I’m encouraged by where our program is situated in terms of being able to navigate this landscape with some savvy and a positive mental attitude. Good effort and outcome on reloading again!

reflecting back on last season… the sold out championship home game win against Drake took me back to a childhood-level of joy I didn’t think was still possible for me. I’m very thankful for that and for those I was able to experience that with.

[basketball nut]

I don't know about others but I'm not showing hour 1. Only 2 and 3.

[Da Coach]

I don't know about others but I'm not showing hour 1. Only 2 and 3.

That's odd. Mine shows Hours 1 and 2 for the Friday, April 21 show-

https://espnpeoria.com/jim-ondemand/

If that doesn't work, try this Soundcloud link for Hour 1 of Friday's show- however, you will need to listen from the start. It does not seem to allow you to move ahead without setting up an account.

https://soundcloud.com/ampillinois/jim-mattson-show-04-21-23-hr1