Almost time

[LittleBrave]

How about this Red-White scrimmage match-up?

Duke, Demarion, Darius, Dillon, Davis (Team D-Force)
Johnson, Zek, Thomas, Atlason, Van Der Knapp

[Stevezall]

How about this that I just found: Bradley Basketball was Ranked # 1 in the country in the final AP poll in 1950!!!! I realize it's decades ago, but it's a part of great Bradley sports history in our Basketball program!!! Of Course times have changed, However Other once no name small SCHOOLS like Gonzaga have figured out a way to continue to compete with much Larger well Known schools! Bradley has the resources I believe in NIL in Peoria to compete for the very top players! However, it appears Coach Wardle wants nothing of this grueling competition and prefers to find undervalued players ( AKA Indiana State, FAU) to compete for a real possibility at a final 4 ( FAU. SDST, LOYOLA CH). It can be done as an Underdog and it's really fun to follow and root for the DOG!!! However, to be a Connecticut, that highest level to win a Championship I believe can't happen at the Mid-Major level! But that's OK because I believe reaching the final 4 is just as satisfying if your a mid-Major/ Underdog!!!! GO BRAVES!

[Da Coach]

I love your enthusiasm, Stevezall, but I regret having to disappoint you by saying Bradley does not have the NIL resources to go after the very top players, nor to recruit against Big Ten, Big 12, ACC, and SEC schools. Those schools have recruiting budgets many times Bradley's and NIL funds even far greater than Bradley's. There are some of the head coaches at Power 6 conferences whose salaries alone exceed Bradley's entire athletic department budget and NIL capability. Bradley will never regain that lofty basketball status they had in the early 1950's, but with great coaches, and the undervalued players Bradley can attract, the Braves have proven they can put a team together that can compete with some pretty good programs.

[Stryker]

I really think Wardle believes we have a pretty complete team now - getting a freshman for the future or a big man in case of injury (or if Meta doesn't improve) I think would be smart. Wardle usually doesn't play more than 8, and we now have 8 or 9 who are good enough to play 15+ minutes, and then 2 or 3 (Van Der Knapp, Johnson, Meta) who will be fighting just for 5-10 mpg.

Is Collin Dillon really good enough to be a starter? Not that it means much on Wardle's teams. I just thought he'd be like a Ville kinda guy with a little more quickness.

yeah there are questions for me there as well. I think we will be down overall at a bit inside losing Malevy, and that puts more pressure on the guards having to be good. I think we have good enough guards, but great? idk, and we will need some decent minutes from Dillon. Time will tell.