2024-25 Bradley team

[bradleyfan124]

I see the starters being Deen,Dillon, Montgomery, Hannah and Thomas. I think Davis ,Burch , Atlason and Johnson to get many minutes off the bench. Jonovic"s playing time will depend on his improvement over the summer but because we do not have many bigs we really need him to be better. The Italian guy could help some if he can play defense because he appears to be good offensively. I just wish the last 2 spots would be filled with younger players.

I think with Thomas and Jonovic battling each other every practice should make both of them better

[LittleBrave]

I see the starters being Deen,Dillon, Montgomery, Hannah and Thomas. I think Davis ,Burch , Atlason and Johnson to get many minutes off the bench. Jonovic"s playing time will depend on his improvement over the summer but because we do not have many bigs we really need him to be better. The Italian guy could help some if he can play defense because he appears to be good offensively. I just wish the last 2 spots would be filled with younger players.

I am predicting almost the same THawk, but replace Dillon with Davis. I know many of you like Davis to come off the bench (heck I do too), but I think he's one of our Top 5 guys on both ends. Of course Dillon I don't know much about.

Look for Burch to have a great season and be a bit more in control of his game, though he's got that Walt Lemon go hard demeanor. If you've seen Demarion in warm-ups, he's got great mid-range touch and many shots in his arsenal, tough to guard - much like Zek, but Zek is very smooth!

The starting 5 usually is not a big deal and 2 of the guys usually get subbed pretty early and don't end up playing 30 min. even. But it's fun to guess!!!

[LittleBrave]

I think with Thomas and Jonovic battling each other every practice should make both of them better

I can tell Jonovic wants to get better and has some fight in him! Pretty good FT shooter for a 7-footer (much like POB) if he can get to the line more.

[BUfan14]

I see the starters being Deen,Dillon, Montgomery, Hannah and Thomas. I think Davis ,Burch , Atlason and Johnson to get many minutes off the bench. Jonovic"s playing time will depend on his improvement over the summer but because we do not have many bigs we really need him to be better. The Italian guy could help some if he can play defense because he appears to be good offensively. I just wish the last 2 spots would be filled with younger players.

Gotta believe Linke is the primary backup big unless Meta finds a way to improve his athleticism a lot. I said last year I don’t know if it’s possible to improve from where he was athletically enough to be a viable D1 option, but it’d sure help if he could.

I would say Deen, Dillon, Zek, Hannah, Thomas with Davis, Burch (initial backup point?), Atlason, Linke is the 9 man rotation and hope no injuries cause I think it’ll take Johnson and van der Knaap time to grow (I know nothing just basing this on what I read people saying). Feels similar to Burch and Atlason, but maybe less polished on both accounts. Burch needed time and from what people said about both, he was more polished and ready than Johnson from Milwaukee as well.

We have bigs, just not ones that have hope of being starters or in some cases contributors. Linke, Meta, Biliew all are on the bench and 5 guys “capable” of playing the 5 spot is a lot out of 13. I’ve said already, I don’t care young or not, the Biliew spot is such a waste even if there was just a small chance a guy could contribute and/or stay for next year, it’s better than 0% Biliew chance of both.

[BUfan14]

I think with Thomas and Jonovic battling each other every practice should make both of them better

No offense to Jonovic, but I hope Hannah and Thomas battle each other a lot in practice even if they’re both on the starting five group. If Thomas is a true outside threat as a five, then I hope he can beat Meta every time by stepping outside and shooting or blowing around him. Even on the inside, I would hope athletically he could get around him. I think Hannah would be much better practice against athletic D1 competition.

[LittleBrave]

Gotta believe Linke is the primary backup big unless Meta finds a way to improve his athleticism a lot. I don’t care young or not, the Biliew spot is such a waste even if there was just a small chance a guy could contribute and/or stay for next year, it’s better than 0% Biliew chance of both.

Agree on both points BUfan14. I was ok with Linke playing a little and he showed more than he did his previous 2 seasons. At least he's a decent screener, has good size, knows Wardle's system well, and can kick the ball back out (cause he's not much of a scoring threat - hee hee).

Keeping Billew doesn't make sense unless he's a walk-on, but maybe he's one of the best guys at practice - no idea. I hope I regret this, but he has little hope of contributing whatsoever for BU this season in games.

We could bring in a guy who could is better skill-wise than Billew (and Linke)...but what place would he find on the team?
It seems like Coach Wardle is content with what the group of guys he's got on the roster.

[LittleBrave]

I don't have as much basketball wisdom/education as many of you...are Davis, Zek, Burch, and Atlason all considered Wings? (2 or 3 positions)
I know just because they all shoot from outside doesn't make them a 2, but they spend a lot of time on the perimeter, but can all (maybe not Burch) post up from time to time.

[Da Coach]

I'll try my description... ....For the record, I have heard college coaches vary a little in their description of these terms.
Both Zek and Burch are capable of playing the 1 or 2 positions, though they are not as skilled ball-handlers and passers as Duke, so their time at the 1 (point guard) would be only if necessary. Burch is more of a typical 2-guard, or off-guard. Zek, because of his size (6'6") could play the 2 or the 3, which more often these days is referred to as a wing. Davis is more of a typical 3 (small forward or wing forward), but in some systems he also might be used as a wing guard. Atlason is not going to play either guard spot (1 or 2), but could play the 3 or 4. In basketball today, there is much more of a blurred line distinguishing a 2 from a 3, or a 3 from a 4. That is why the term "wing" or "swingman" is used instead (a player who plays mostly away from the basket on offense, but is not the primary ball-handler).

[BUfan14]

I’m sure there are different descriptions depending on the coach, but here are my thoughts:

Traditional basically lineup:

1- PG or primary ball handler
2- SG or primary perimeter scorer/shooter, can handle the ball pretty well, but is focused on scoring more than distributing
3- SF tweener that is taller, plays on the perimeter, good defender, not always a great ball handler
4- PF bigger guy with some athleticism, but can play back to the basket
5 - C bigger body guy who grabs rebounds and makes post moves, plays good defense

Since the three point line and more skilled big men have been incorporated in the game, two true posts (PF and C) are not that common anymore at least in college. Mid-majors especially don’t usually land skilled big men or they take a while to develop. So most good mid-majors beat teams with three point shooting, ball handling, and quickness. Kind of like how Loyola took out an Illini team with a great traditional college big man in Cockburn.

Most mid-majors it seems to go for something like this:

1 and 2 spots still the same.
3 - third taller guard who can handle it some and shoot, good defender would still be nice.
4 - basically the equivalent of the old small forward. Maybe can shoot outside a little, but quicker and can rebound and slash or play in the post a little. Ala Elijah Child or Mal or Theron Wilson or Taylor Brown.
5 - if you can get a center great, but for mid-majors this ends up being more of an old school PF. Darius Hannah doesn’t shoot like some want a four man to do in today’s game, but his body type and quickness would be an example. POB would be the closest to a true center I can remember at Bradley in a while. Meta would fit the traditional body type of this spot. Rienk and Thomas seem like more new school big men that can step out and shoot a 3 too, further blurring the traditional positions.

Since most mid-majors and most teams in general start 3 guards (occasionally four on really small teams) and they’re so important to
mid-major success, ideal roster construction to me has 7 guards, 6 forwards with hopefully one or two guys capable of playing a big bodied center role in an ideal world depending on matchups. That’s why I haven’t been a huge fan of our roster construction where we waste spots on a lot of 4/5 position guys who don’t play instead of grabbing more perimeter guys.

Some guys are “combo” guards like Hickman where they are shooting guards that can play point, but it’s not their main spot or they’re not usually the main point guard. They are usually not super small either for defensive purposes (Hickman was 6-3). Anyone can technically play any spot, but it’s not ideal. Deen would be too short to defend most 2s effectively as an example.

This is how I see them (this is all fluid and in the eyes of the beholder):

Deen - 1
Johnson - 1
Dillon - 2
Burch - 2 (could be a combo guard)
Zek - 3, 2, he does play the 1 but I didn’t think he was great at it in the past.
Davis - 3, I think he could be a stretch 4 in smaller lineups but he’s not used that way
Hannah - 4/5
Atlason - 4 (Brian used him as a 3 and 5 at times, I don’t think he should in either case)
Thomas - 5/4
Linke - 5
Meta - 5
Biliew - 5 (not skilled enough to be a 4)
van der Knaap - not sure seems like a 4 maybe a 3
Hardtke - I guess a 2? He was a walk-on so not a guy that’s typically thought of as skilled enough for any D1 position. He doesn’t handle the ball in meaningful minutes and he’s not big enough nor athletic enough to be a 3.

[PhiAlphaBoy]

Please show your work.

Linke, Hardtke, Biliew... Love'em but, if back, wasted opportunities to upgrade the roster.

[egib52]

Linke, Hardtke, Biliew... Love'em but, if back, wasted opportunities to upgrade the roster.

It's too bad Biliew didn't convince his brother to come to Peoria

[Tommy]

Linke, Hardtke, Biliew... Love'em but, if back, wasted opportunities to upgrade the roster.

PAB - Linke turned into a nice bench piece by the end of the year, and Hardtke was a walk-on and wasn't using up a scholarship. Didn't you think Linke showed some good value and progress last year? Given his performace, I'm hoping to see more growth this year which gives me hope that he will be an even better bench piece moving forward. Hardtke was getting minutes as a walk-on last year, plays good defense, and doesn't turn the ball over (granted, this was in very limited minutes, but you can't dispute the effort).

I guess for me, in this day of complete roster turnover, I'm a softie for guys that have been around for more than 1 year. I love all these guys and I'm glad to see them sticking around.

[tomahawk chop]

I still believe Wardle and staff are not done recruiting for this season. I think it all depends on which players may still be available and interested in coming to Bu. No I am not sold on Linke, Hardtke or Billiew coming back on scholarships. Those 3 need to be replaced by 2 incoming recruits that have multiple years left to play at BU. Those 3 are great young men but it comes down to production at this level and quite frankly they did not produce enough to get a scholarship. We have any injuries we would be in trouble again next season. Hickman got injured last season and we proceeded to lose 5 games in a row, those games can make a huge difference in having any chance to get an at large bid.

[PhiAlphaBoy]

I still believe Wardle and staff are not done recruiting for this season. I think it all depends on which players may still be available and interested in coming to Bu. No I am not sold on Linke, Hardtke or Biliew coming back on scholarships. Those 3 need to be replaced by 2 incoming recruits that have multiple years left to play at BU. Those 3 are great young men but it comes down to production at this level and quite frankly they did not produce enough to get a scholarship. We have any injuries we would be in trouble again next season. Hickman got injured last season and we proceeded to lose 5 games in a row, those games can make a huge difference in having any chance to get an at large bid.

This is how I feel. I think I can understand the coach's thinking by bringing back these three, but we're rolling the dice and hoping for an injury-free season by doing this. Hardtke was given a scholarship so, unless he wants to leave, I'm not an advocate of taking it back. Linke has value as a practice player and a limited sub against certain teams so I can kind of understand that, but he graduated and I think should have been recruited over. Biliew I just don't get.

[Dubl R 1]

I think this team needs another combo guard who’s accustomed to putting the ball in the hoop… don’t care what level or how many years he has left.