Emarion Ellis has left the Bradley program, and is "pursuing other opportunities".

[Bballjunkie]

The portal has caused a lot of problems. There is no loyalty anymore. Jump ship if it doesn't work out. Wardle has built a culture and expects his players to perform a certain way. Addition by subtraction in my book. Yes we are thin at guard for remainder of year but we will recruit more guards next year. We are playing extremely hard right now and the team is connected again. We have at least 5 scholarships for next year. Already have 2. Need 2 more wings and another guard. This is going to give Burch the much needed experience he needs. We will be fine. With the 3 remaining I would get freshman or juco unless there is good portal fit. But be very selective.

[ManMythLegend]

“take a kid with more heart than athleticism..” Let’s just start Cade then, kids got a lot of heart but athleticism isn’t as prominent as our other players. Are we trying to win games, conference, conference tourney or are we going to try and prove points to our kids by sitting them and playing walk ons?

I said slightly less athleticism. If you're going to quote me, then quote me accurately. I'm talking Hickman types and Henry types. I understand you're upset because we lost a "4star" recruit. He wasn't a 4star in the last couple of years...maybe he will be again some day maybe not. I want wins just like we all do.

[ManMythLegend]

Zek, Reink, Terry all left for a combo of $$$ and exposure. Tough to blame the coaches.

This is exactly right. Completely different than the reasons Ellis and Pettigrew left (quit).

[Dub]

“take a kid with more heart than athleticism..” Let’s just start Cade then, kids got a lot of heart but athleticism isn’t as prominent as our other players. Are we trying to win games, conference, conference tourney or are we going to try and prove points to our kids by sitting them and playing walk ons?

Interesting question you raise. However, objectively speaking with the playing time both guys have gotten this season, who has actually helped us more?

[Bradley3342]

Geesshh guys. What’s with all the negative comments? Our coaching staff missed on a couple of recruits.I know it sucks but we don’t know a lot about what was happening behind the scenes with these guys. Coach Wardle has brought in a culture of winning and I for one don’t want to go back to the Gino Ford days where there was a culture of no discipline and a losing program. I agree we need to bring in a couple of more guards for sure but we have to play with the cards we’re dealt. Hopefully no season ending injuries. Go Braves. Let’s extend the winning streak on Wednesday night!

[Tommy]

Geesshh guys. What’s with all the negative comments? Our coaching staff missed on a couple of recruits.I know it sucks but we don’t know a lot about what was happening behind the scenes with these guys. Coach Wardle has brought in a culture of winning and I for one don’t want to go back to the Gino Ford days where there was a culture of no discipline and a losing program. I agree we need to bring in a couple of more guards for sure but we have to play with the cards we’re dealt. Hopefully no season ending injuries. Go Braves. Let’s extend the winning streak on Wednesday night!

Yeah, all the winning we’ve done since Wardle came to town really sucks!

And for the record, I’m a fan of Hardtke getting minutes. He plays hard and added value while he was out there today. Just because a guy is a walk on doesn’t mean he has no value. Scotty Pippen and Jeff Hornacek were walk ons. Anyone heard of them? Point is, player ratings don’t mean squat, but attitude, effort, and performance do. Bad attitude and effort are contagious and BW is very good at developing a culture and environment free of that and we as fans have benefited from it by seeing a consistently competitive team.

[JD1960]

I just can’t believe these kids just ‘quit’ when the going gets a little tough. A lot of these guys are soft nowadays.

[patrick_o'brian]

One thing fans don’t understand is that coach wants guys that want to work hard and get better. You stop working you start watching. Guys that left that were good mast, Roberts and zek got more cash then our Deals. So for the guys complaining about that it’s like eating at Logan’s roadhouse or Alexander’s what are you picking? I am sure everyone won’t leave your job for 100,000 more at your next job. Portal is not a good option yet for Bradley. Juco and high school to build up the depth chart. Portal is for the big time schools.

It’s a combination of 3 things. One is positive. One is a mystery. The other is a combination of the positive and the mystery.

The positive: our coach has high expectations and demands effort and teamwork, which as everyone said, has translated to unprecedented success these last 5 years.

The negatives: HOME OF THE BRAVE. Who is this group? How do ordinary fans give money? Evidently this secret society is a bit underfunded because a championship level mid-major should never lose basketball players to Georgia, Nebraska, and Rhode Island. Football I could see it.

The combo: Our Coach does demand a lot more from his players than most. He also loves his players more than most and I bet losing these two players bother him more than he shows. He does make examples to prove his point and that rubs some players, and evident some fans, the wrong way.

We were Terry Roberts away from a regular season and conference tournament championship last year. Along with possibly a deep tournament run.

This year we’re Reink Mast and Zek Montgomery away from 14-1 or 13-2 at this point and Top 36 status.

So the two questions to ask yourself. Is the coach not a good recruiter and too hard on his players OR are the players leaving for more NIL money? Is it one or the other OR is it a combination of both?

Either way I could care less. If they leave they leave. On to the next one. Next man up.

[LongTimeFan]

Pardon, but this topic should include two more people on the end of the bench that can't get into meaningful games. This year we now have 4 that have left or can't get off the bench. One of which has been riding the bench for most of three years. (I know I am being hard on kids/men that are said to be good teammates.)

Mast left for more than money. He wanted to prove himself against in 'bigger' programs. A very good way to improve his chances of NBA after graduation or higher positions on European teams. Zek wanted to play point guard. Well that didn't work out so good. I heard Pettigrew didn't want to play the point. I'm not sure if that is true but if it is that should have been discovered during the recruiting process.

[patrick_o'brian]

Pardon, but this topic should include two more people on the end of the bench that can't get into meaningful games. This year we now have 4 that have left or can't get off the bench. One of which has been riding the bench for most of three years. (I know I am being hard on kids/men that are said to be good teammates.)

Mast left for more than money. He wanted to prove himself against in 'bigger' programs. A very good way to improve his chances of NBA after graduation or higher positions on European teams. Zek wanted to play point guard. Well that didn't work out so good. I heard Pettigrew didn't want to play the point. I'm not sure if that is true but if it is that should have been discovered during the recruiting process.

Lol! Ok!

[Bradley3342]

Yeah, all the winning we’ve done since Wardle came to town really sucks!

And for the record, I’m a fan of Hardtke getting minutes. He plays hard and added value while he was out there today. Just because a guy is a walk on doesn’t mean he has no value. Scotty Pippen and Jeff Hornacek were walk ons. Anyone heard of them? Point is, player ratings don’t mean squat, but attitude, effort, and performance do. Bad attitude and effort are contagious and BW is very good at developing a culture and environment free of that and we as fans have benefited from it by seeing a consistently competitive team.

Ditto Tommy! Roger Phegley came to Bradley on a baseball scholarship and turned into a great basketball player and a career in the NBA.

[BengalFan]

It’s a combination of 3 things. One is positive. One is a mystery. The other is a combination of the positive and the mystery.

The positive: our coach has high expectations and demands effort and teamwork, which as everyone said, has translated to unprecedented success these last 5 years.

The negatives: HOME OF THE BRAVE. Who is this group? How do ordinary fans give money? Evidently this secret society is a bit underfunded because a championship level mid-major should never lose basketball players to Georgia, Nebraska, and Rhode Island. Football I could see it.

The combo: Our Coach does demand a lot more from his players than most. He also loves his players more than most and I bet losing these two players bother him more than he shows. He does make examples to prove his point and that rubs some players, and evident some fans, the wrong way.

We were Terry Roberts away from a regular season and conference tournament championship last year. Along with possibly a deep tournament run.

This year we’re Reink Mast and Zek Montgomery away from 14-1 or 13-2 at this point and Top 36 status.

So the two questions to ask yourself. Is the coach not a good recruiter and too hard on his players OR are the players leaving for more NIL money? Is it one or the other OR is it a combination of both?

Either way I could care less. If they leave they leave. On to the next one. Next man up.

Terry Roberts? Yeah, no. He used Bradley to the next level - Georgia. Then used Georgia to (attempt to) jump to the NBA. Goes undrafted (no surprise) and was in basketball exile until recently picked up by a G League team. No way he would have stayed at Bradley. So let’s not lament his loss.
Mast left for a grad degree is my understanding. He wasn’t going to stay either.
Zek? Didn’t want to play the level of defense Wardle demanded - and NIL money. He could have been a “maybe” but I don’t think so.
The past is the past. Let’s leave it be.

[tomahawk chop]

My comment would be that both sides are at fault here, the players coming here without the understanding that coach is more of an old style type that pushes his players to be the best they can be on defense and offense and runs tough practices. The coaches because he has brought in players that do not fit well with the way he coaches. Transfers that did not play much at all are hard to figure as far as what they can really contribute now. I would rather recruit D-2 players that have shown a lot of success at that level and are ready to move up.
Now we are in a mess and hopefully the players that are here can continue to play good and win many games. They all need our support.

[BUBraves2006]

I've had the opportunity to read this entire thread after today's game, not before it. Here are my thoughts:

- It's completely unquestionable that we have been playing better since Ellis was buried on the bench. Yes, Hickman has been the biggest factor, but we have played much better since he hasn't been playing. We just absolutely spanked a decent Missouri State team and made them look awful even with our so called terrible depth.

- His play, which I'm on record was encouraging to start the season, completely fell off the table. Go back and watch the games - he couldn't be trusted to do much of anything other than turn the ball over when he was in the game.

- Count me in the group that YES, playing a walkon gives us a much better chance to win than a guy who was a net negative when out there. Your scholarship status is irrelevant when it comes to the fact of how you do or don't contribute to the team's success.

- It's a complete crapshoot with everyone in the portal. That is sort of why it is what it is. The best guys are generally going to stay at their programs. Has our success in finding good players been underwhelming? Yes, but I just don't know what the expectation level really is supposed to be.

- Bradley basketball has been in such a better place since Wardle got here, it's crazy to read such negativity coming off a conference title and while still having a good season so far this year. I want a team that plays the right way that never packs it in. And if some people aren't pulling on the chain in that way, I don't really care about their pedigree, last school, how much NIL money they got, etc. Either they are a fit or they are not.

10-5 and you'd think we were 5-10 the way some people complain on here.

[bigjimmy]

In the portal era that we are living in for teams at the mid major level it's frankly a crap shoot. Thankfully Brian has done an outstanding job in bringing in freshman who are hard workers who also understand what Brian expects from them. They also have had at least a year or two of getting to know Brian and his staff through being recruited so they kind of know what to expect when they get here. Whereas the portal kids have maybe a couple of weeks and just don't understand what they are getting into. Both sides are trying to hit a bullseye while blindfolded and unfortunately it didn't work out in those 2 instances. In Brian's time here it seems like he ends up with a core 8 players by the end of the season that he trusts to play. Having reached that point now the margin of error and injury is smaller but from where I'm sitting I really like where our team is. A very cohesive, talented and committed unit ready to roll.