Duke returns

[Classof77]

Great news! Thank you Duke!

[egib52]

Great decision Duke. Recruit your guys, improve during the off-season, and run through this conference.

Watching him get incredibly hot a few times this season was amazing. Now just need it more consistently.

[houstonbrave]

Great news.Duke we love your game and your fight. We are lucky to get to see you another year.

[BUBraves2006]

Let me add to the thread.

Thank you, Duke! I always felt like you knew you had unfinished business when you didn't take a senior night this year. You have been the engine that makes our team go for years now. Run it back one more time and let's see where we can take this thing!!

[egib52]

Rumor on X by one person with unknown connections, Hick gone and DH on the fence. Take it fwiw

[Da Coach]

Rumor on X by one person with unknown connections, Hick gone and DH on the fence. Take it fwiw

That source did tweet that Duke was staying nearly an hour before Duke's "One Last Go Around with my guys !!" tweet.
Trying to verify...

[Bradley3342]

Rumor on X by one person with unknown connections, Hick gone and DH on the fence. Take it fwiw

Hope that’s not true but like you said fwiw. Thanks for making a lot of Braves fans happy today Duke. Let’s go win a championship now and maybe a POY for you….

[Stryker]

Great news! Hopefully Malevy making the decision to stay this year and the good things he said about it is swaying more of his teammates to do the same for next year.

[Dubl R 1]

Man I really really don’t wanna see Hick and Darius playing in other uniforms next year. Come back and finish what you started. BU auto bid next year!!

[Stryker]

Man I really really don’t wanna see Hick and Darius playing in other uniforms next year. Come back and finish what you started. BU auto bid next year!!

Would be hard to see Hick not graduate at BU after three great years here. Grad transfers are one thing, players leaving early like Zeke, another.

[BUfan14]

Deen being back is a great start! Guy is all heart!

Hick - you’re at 953 points. Become a Bradley legend, score 1,000, become one of Bradley’s all time three point shooters, join Duke and take the team to the tournament. Bradley Hall of Fame could be in your future! Is it worth being a one year footnote elsewhere to give that all up?

Hannah - same deal, except you already have the 1,000 point club. When looking ahead, how many programs can you become a legend at in one year? Bradley you can! No program will love and appreciate how much you’ve grown like Bradley!

Atlason and Burch - look how far those previous three came and how much love they get! You could be next! This program develops all around games.

Davis - I still see a potential big leap in your game, let’s keep at it! You’re the glue guy we need!

You six stick together and we could be Valley champs! I don’t know if anyone reads this or cares, but this is what I’d say to them if they did!

[Da Coach]

From what I am hearing, nothing has been decided yet, other than Duke's announced decision. But we should know within the next day or two.

[CarolinaBrave]

Great news on Duke. I don't know if they do this or not but I would love to have players back from the past who stuck around(Hawk had a chance to transfer to bigger programs as did Parker) and guys who became March legends(2006 team) to speak to players. When I was at Bradley the BB stars were local superstars and still revered in town today. Not sure todays players would listen or take it to heart but I think a lot could be gained by having yesterdays BU superstars explain to them what it means to be a Brave after graduating. They are much too young to focus only on transactional value.

[Da Coach]

Great news on Duke. I don't know if they do this or not but I would love to have players back from the past who stuck around(Hawk had a chance to transfer to bigger programs as did Parker) and guys who became March legends(2006 team) to speak to players. When I was at Bradley the BB stars were local superstars and still revered in town today. Not sure todays players would listen or take it to heart but I think a lot could be gained by having yesterdays BU superstars explain to them what it means to be a Brave after graduating. They are much too young to focus only on transactional value.

That's a good idea, or maybe just have them do a video that can be shown to the team. We already have a recent star on the team (Darrell Brown) who maybe could have some influence, and there are others locally like Marcellus Sommerville and Jeremy Crouch. It might help these young guys see what the effect of transferring is on the rest of their lives, compared with the immediate gratification of NIL money or playing for a more prestigious team. Those guys you mentioned wouldn't trade their degrees from Bradley for anything, and they will always have their names in the Bradley Hall of Fame.

[patrick_o'brian]

First off, THANK YOU DUKE DEEN! This is fantastic news and can’t wait to see you flourish next year.

Secondly, maybe I’m way off but I’m with the general consensus here. Using the term “my guys” makes me think we’re okay. It seemed Hick, Duke, and Hannah got along and played together well. I’m sure Hick and Darius are considering options but if the other two were leaning towards leaving would a) Duke come out to try to coax them back over or b) just reassure Coach that he has at least one of the 3 coming back so he can focus on the other 2?

I’m not sure I phrased that right. So it probably doesn’t make sense. Of course I thought Reink would stay too, but some of these NIL offers and the drive to compete at the highest levels defy logic. Even the logic of being, almost, a guaranteed conference champion and NCAA Cinderella.

Mal stayed, repeated as DPOY and made 1st team All-MVC. That exposure got him invited to Portsmouth. All I’m saying is there’s opportunity here to play at the highest level and get exposure.