Signing day- Wednesday, April 16, 2008

[Da Coach]

Dodie Dunson must have been putting in a lot of time in the weight room. When fans see him next fall, they will be impressed with his size. Below is a picture from the Vincennes website, but he has bulked up since that picture was taken. I saw him at the last Bradley home game, and he looks very muscular.
I think his strength, and athleticism will pay dividends, and he will get some meaningful playing time next season.
Chris Roberts is a strong kid, too.-

[scout4126]

Dunson is about 6'3" 195 lbs, he'll be a force in the Missouri Valley. I'd say he'll be in the Valley's top 3 players along with Eldridge and Young.

[dogsrus]

Dunson is about 6'3" 195 lbs, he'll be a force in the Missouri Valley. I'd say he'll be in the Valley's top 3 players along with Eldridge and Young.

Wow...really. Do tell. Thats good to hear even if it is only one mans opinion.


Don't forget CU's Woodfox and Stinnet.

[Big Mike]

I say watch out for AW and TW!

[Braves4Life]

Dunson is about 6'3" 195 lbs, he'll be a force in the Missouri Valley. I'd say he'll be in the Valley's top 3 players along with Eldridge and Young.

Wow! This is a pretty strong endorsement coming from scout4126! He is a very knowledgeable poster who's opinions are usually "right on", and I have come to repsect what he says about a prospect.

Whether Stinnett should be included in the top three is irrelevant to me......Just the fact that Dunson is held in this high regard is VERY exciting to me and great for Bradley basketball!!

[BUFAN]

Dunson is about 6'3" 195 lbs, he'll be a force in the Missouri Valley. I'd say he'll be in the Valley's top 3 players along with Eldridge and Young.

Love to see someone who can play with my man Theron. If this Dunson can do it, he will live up to what scout says.

[scout4126]

You'll be impressed with Dunson...the only thing is, he's unselfish to a fault. He's great at scoring the ball but doesn't look for his shot enough. He was definitely one of the top two players on his junior college team but his numbers didn't show because of his unselfishness. Most do not know this, but Kansas State offered him after the National tournament and Ohio State tried to get involved but he told both he was solid with Bradley...this information came from a member of Vincennes' coaching staff.

I'd probably say Stinnet is fourth. He's good but can get reckless at times but he was just a freshman.

[Rusty 54]

Scout, I hope you're right. If Dunson is as good as you say he is, we will be looking at a couple new banners at the end of the season.

[BradleyBrave]

You'll be impressed with Dunson...the only thing is, he's unselfish to a fault. He's great at scoring the ball but doesn't look for his shot enough. He was definitely one of the top two players on his junior college team but his numbers didn't show because of his unselfishness. Most do not know this, but Kansas State offered him after the National tournament and Ohio State tried to get involved but he told both he was solid with Bradley...this information came from a member of Vincennes' coaching staff.

I'd probably say Stinnet is fourth. He's good but can get reckless at times but he was just a freshman.

I think you're forgetting about #24 for our Braves. He's a top 3-4 player in this league hands-down, and will be a 1st teamer for the next 2 seasons.

[Lakeview Brave]

You'll be impressed with Dunson...the only thing is, he's unselfish to a fault. He's great at scoring the ball but doesn't look for his shot enough. He was definitely one of the top two players on his junior college team but his numbers didn't show because of his unselfishness. Most do not know this, but Kansas State offered him after the National tournament and Ohio State tried to get involved but he told both he was solid with Bradley...this information came from a member of Vincennes' coaching staff.

I'd probably say Stinnet is fourth. He's good but can get reckless at times but he was just a freshman.

Scout this is fantastic especially coming from you. Do you think Dunson will play point guard for us? If so then will Sam start of the ball?

If Dunson truly is one of the top 3 guards in the league next year then my expectaions for next season have just sky rocketed. I really hope you are right with your prediction

[scout4126]

Dunson is a true point guard but I'd rather have his scoring prowess if he can be aggressive enough to know that he needs to score the ball. It would be nice to have him at the 2 and Sam at the 1 but I'd love to see Dunson at the 1 and AW and TW on the wing too.

I've seen Dunson and Osiris play extensively in high school and college and, when they're playing at their best, I'd take Dunson but he is not as consistent as O.

This will be an interesting season. Hopefully, we can manage inside. That will be the factor on how well we do next season. The backcourt is taken care of talent wise.

[tornado]

I'd take Dunson but he is not as consistent as O.

But "O"'s "consistency" was highlighted by the fact that when he had an off night, there just wasn't anyone there to pick him up. He really was inconsistent at times.

In games like the MVC Final when ISU lost by 30, OE missed 11 of 17 shots but yet nobody else on the entire team even scored more than 7.

and when ISU lost at home to Dayton, OE was only 4-20, and yet the rest of the entire starting five scored only 30 points, and nobody on the bench helped either.

Then there were games at Wichita and Evansville where a bad game by OE meant the team scored less than 50 again.

Even when they edged out Utah State at home in the NIT, OE was only 4-17....he really had a LOT of those types of games.




Lastly, the PJS finally has a story about BU's signees

http://pjstar.com/stories/041708/BRA_BGC6KC74.071.php

The Pantagraph even had nice coverage well before PJS did

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/04/16/usports/doc480688e09d6df286005880.txt

WHOI has really excellent coveragecoverage

http://hoinews.com/sports/sports_story.aspx?id=122213

Kurt Pegler also has nice coverage and video

http://centralillinoisproud.com/content/fulltext/?cid=7223

Oddly, WEEK (Lee Hall) has nothing.

[Da Coach]

Here is brief recruiting news regarding a kid that Bradley was reported to have been recruiting--

A few posters already know about this kid. He visited Bradley last weekend, and Bradley had just recently began recruiting him. But he signed yesterday with University of Buffalo, which had recruited him for a longer time.
This reveals that Coach Les is recruiting big men. Maybe there are more?

Titus Robinson is a 6'7", 190 pound power forward from East Mecklinburg High School in North Carolina. He was a 1st team All State in North Carolina, and he was the MVP of the championship game, which his team won last month in the largest class in NC.

Rivals profile--

http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=2&pr_key=82317

Scout--

http://hsnorthcarolina.scout.com/a.z?s=404&p=8&c=1&nid=3651342

A couple articles from the Buffalo area paper--

http://www.niagara-gazette.com/sports/gnnsports_story_106231150.html

http://www.niagara-gazette.com/sport...107224617.html



Bradley is at the full scholarship limit now of 13 players. Here is what Jim Les says about this spring's recruiting--
"As of today, we're done," he said. "We also know enough that things change, especially in the spring. We're taking it one day at a time and are excited working with this group. Right now, we're done, but that doesn't mean things can't change. Right now, there's nothing going on."

And here is what Dave Reynolds reports about next year's schedule--
The BU coaches are working the phones trying to complete next season's nonconference schedule. Currently, Bradley has home games scheduled against Butler, Loyola and Illinois-Chicago and road games at Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Michigan State. The return game to Iowa State may be put off for a year because both schools are having difficulty arriving at a date. The Braves aren't in an exempt tournament yet for next season and may not get into one. BU is scheduled for the 2009 Great Alaska Shootout and the 2010 Chicago Challenge Invitational.

[tornado]

Creighton signs Xavier Keeling, ex-IU recruit who had trouble scoring at the Big Ten level. He played in 22 games with Indiana and averaged a little over one point/gm.
Even in juso, he was not a big scorer, just 9ppg.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1200&u_sid=10312380

A couple comments by Dana Altman:

"Altman said there are still decisions to be made about next season's roster.
"They (the players) are making them, I'm making them," Altman said. "This isn't a country club. They have to produce. We give guys the chance, but the bottom line is they came here and we expect them to compete."
Creighton has had at least one player with eligibility remaining leave the program after four of the past five seasons."


Dana Altman also has said someone needs to step up and be a leader.
Booker Woodfox said...
"We had guys that weren't that strong last year, and I was in that group," he said. "We have to get stronger,
and we have to get in better shape. We have to work hard if we want to have a good team."



Also, Indiana State just signed Rashad Reed, a Dodie Dunson teammate from Vincennes

http://www.gosycamores.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=65149&SPID=7259&DB_OEM_ID=15200&ATCLID=1441871

SIU story covers the signings at all the other MVC schools, but also notes that Ryan Hare hasn't signed yet, and is expected to sign at SIU today.

http://www.thesouthern.com/articles/2008/04/16/sports/24149462.txt

[audacious_aficionado]

But he signed yesterday with University of Buffalo

that sucks a lot