Bradley 2025-26

[Da Coach]

One good piece of news.... I have heard that every player with remaining eligibility, except two, has signed NIL agreement papers, which is a form of a commitment to return. The two exceptions were Ahmet and Almar, who haven't signed yet, and are conferring with their NIL advisors and considering other factors.

[carter]

I would not be disappointed at all if either of them leave.We should be able to find better from the portal.

[Classof77]

That is good news. I hope Ahmet stays with us. Almar can head on down the road.

[Big Mike]

Meta must return...really alters the game with his size!
Atlason must improve on both ends of the court...shed 10 or 15 lbs...no reason for him to weigh 230....ended up being a real liability...
Also please win the appeal for Christian Davis getting another season with the Braves...

[Landof10thcoaches]

You want both of them back. Let’s not forget that Almar has the potential to be a great brave. Yes he needs to fix things like confidence, play in the right position and stay here all summer to work on his feet and quickness. CT needs the weight room and about 30 pounds of muscle and tape of his game against George Mason on repeat. Needs to be beast mode. Meta has gotten way better but he needs to work on shooting and vertical. He should be able to catch a lob for a dunk and right now that’s impossible. We can’t leave out that as a staff we need to get better at in game adjustments. Tonight wasn’t the first time we had seen a complete breakdown and we are just to stubborn to stop doing the same thing. Good seasons need to turn into great seasons. Portal combat up next

[Da Coach]

I believe the coaches want both Ahmet and Almar back next season, especially since the scholarship limit expands to 15 from 13 this year. And I hear it is more likely than not that they will be.
Both have shown improvement, and much of what fans see as deficiencies for Almar was because he was playing out of position at the "4". When he plays more of a perimeter position, he can be effective. Unfortunately, matchups at the "3" spot were also difficult for Almar defensively. I believe he will improve and become more of a consistent asset.
Check his stats below. He shot over 38% from three, an excellent number for a 6'9" player, and his shooting helped Bradley win some games earlier in the season.
Stats- https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba.../almar-atlason

[bradleyfan124]

I believe the coaches want both Ahmet and Almar back next season, especially since the scholarship limit expands to 15 from 13 this year. And I hear it is more likely than not that they will be.
Both have shown improvement, and much of what fans see as deficiencies for Almar was because he was playing out of position at the "4". When he plays more of a perimeter position, he can be effective. Unfortunately, matchups at the "3" spot were also difficult for Almar defensively. I believe he will improve and become more of a consistent asset.
Check his stats below. He shot over 38% from three, an excellent number for a 6'9" player, and his shooting helped Bradley win some games earlier in the season.
Stats- https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba.../almar-atlason

I agree with you.I think Almar hit the " sophomore slump". If he works on what his negatives are he will be much improved. He himself was getting frustrated on his defense

[molar50]

When Almar entered a game, he was a minus on defense and offense. I don’t have the plus/minus stats for his time on the court, but it must be a significant negative number. I hope Ahmet stays. I know he has been dating a girl on the women’s tennis team

[daveineureka]

Season has come to an end, but not the way we all wanted it to. Now time to turn the page and get ready for next year. Promising freshman class along with the possibility of Sommerville and Koch being persuaded to come to BU. Still a long shot but there is a chance. Hope Christian Davis wins his case and gets another year of eligibility. Portal war now in full swing and hope we can land strong post players to add to the mix. Already looking forward to next year as Wardle and staff can hopefully take us to the next level. I guess having a good chance to play for the championship in St. Louis every year is a realistic goal with the program now going forward. Looking forward to see what the off-season brings.

[BU freak]

If Atlason is not hitting his shot, which was wildly inconsistent, he has no value to this team. He may be the worst defensive player I’ve seen in years. He can’t guard anyone. Meta is going to be highly coveted, a big man on the rise. I was worrried about Bully and am glad he will return. We are loaded at PG next year for sure. Excited to see who we get with the remaining scholarships.

[LittleBrave]

Wow - this is really good news especially after yesterday's game.
Burch and Quan are the guys we can build the team around. I think Burch's lack of playing time (for so long in a game) showed last night, even though he had an outstanding game. I expected him to finish this way this season, which was a big plus!

I probably am in the minority that I think losing Almar will hurt us, but if we could find another sharp-shooter they need to defend better.
We have seen this sophomore slump often for Braves, and he may have the best stroke from long range on the team - I think it's mental for him right now. He's a good kid and you always like for guys who have contributed in some way with a willingness to win/get better to stay with the program.

[Southside]

Next year is going to be very interesting:

As much as I love Duke Deen, it's tough when your go to player is a 5'8 jump shooter. Offensively, it was too easy for teams to take him out of the game. But, who will be the Alpha next year? Is it someone on the roster who greatly improves? One of the freshman? A transfer?

This is the 1st time I'm hearing/seeing a good amount of people rumbling about the coaching. The substitutions were puzzling at times and the in game adjustments were iffy. Has Bradley maxed out with the Wardle as HC or can he take the team to another level? If Bradley is an NIT team or worse next year, will fans be calling for a new HC?

What will the roster even look like? Does Bradley have a legit shot at the Peoria transfers? If not can we find a couple high level transfers that will not just provide depth but help get us to the tourney?

Can the staff solve the inconsistency problems. The last few years, this team has been so incredibly inconsistent, rarely putting together 2 good halves. The MO has been get out to a good start and fold in the 2nd half or get down big and attempt a furious comeback. Whether its execution or focus, the staff needs to get the team to play with more consistency.

[Stryker]

If Atlason is not hitting his shot, which was wildly inconsistent, he has no value to this team. He may be the worst defensive player I’ve seen in years. He can’t guard anyone. Meta is going to be highly coveted, a big man on the rise. I was worrried about Bully and am glad he will return. We are loaded at PG next year for sure. Excited to see who we get with the remaining scholarships.

Concur. Atlason is a major liability on the floor if he is not hitting beyond the arc. In fact I would say he needs to hit at least 3 shots beyond the arc to be a positive on the floor in the minutes he has gotten.

[BradleyBiz]

I've heard Meta's people are asking for NIL money that likely exceeds his current value. I still think he has a lot to work on, especially his handling skills. We'll see what happens.

As far as BW goes...we need to take a step back and understand that he has built a program that succeeds consistently and a culture that keeps a majority of our players. Success year in and year out helps keep those players too. We have not had that consistent success for a long time. Are we at Drake's level right now? Or at LUC's previous level? No, but we're pretty darn close. Does BW have room for improvement? Of course, we all do. But he has built a winner here and it's consistent. We had 28 wins this season. I'm sure Drake fans are enjoying their success over the past several seasons. But at the same time, they have been on a roller coaster with coaches and players. It worked out very well this year for them...a less than stellar hire may change that next season. We know what we have with BW...and I'm excited for next season, our best recruiting class to date, and what this staff will hopefully do with the portal.

[CarolinaBrave]

Next year is going to be very interesting:

As much as I love Duke Deen, it's tough when your go to player is a 5'8 jump shooter. Offensively, it was too easy for teams to take him out of the game. But, who will be the Alpha next year? Is it someone on the roster who greatly improves? One of the freshman? A transfer?

This is the 1st time I'm hearing/seeing a good amount of people rumbling about the coaching. The substitutions were puzzling at times and the in game adjustments were iffy. Has Bradley maxed out with the Wardle as HC or can he take the team to another level? If Bradley is an NIT team or worse next year, will fans be calling for a new HC?

What will the roster even look like? Does Bradley have a legit shot at the Peoria transfers? If not can we find a couple high level transfers that will not just provide depth but help get us to the tourney?

Can the staff solve the inconsistency problems. The last few years, this team has been so incredibly inconsistent, rarely putting together 2 good halves. The MO has been get out to a good start and fold in the 2nd half or get down big and attempt a furious comeback. Whether its execution or focus, the staff needs to get the team to play with more consistency.

I'm really on the fence with Wardle. I'm VERY thankful for him getting BU to a perennial top of the MVC team and playing for championships every year. I am also very leery of a new coach but we know very well(Ford) that doesn't guarantee more success. But I think we've all seen enough to know this is what we are going to get from Wardle led teams(good, not great). I lean on him sticking around rather than flipping the coin hoping for better. But that being said I'm not as worried anymore about him going elsewhere on his own if the opportunity presents itself.