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Bradley University 1981.

Morez Johnson’s dad wrote a scathing report on Facebook, very critical of Underwood and his coaching tactics. Especially critical of when a player made a mistake, he was benched for long periods. Plus he had his favorites.

There some players on this team that need to leave. Hopefully many hit the portal. Never ever figured out Timothy is at the end of the bench all year then he’s suddenly starting. Not Ready For Prime Time. And don’t say if only we had Zeek and Darius, no excuse when you don’t adjust make adjustments in the second half.

Hi Da Coach,
I'm back after years of not being on the board. I saw the picture of the 1982 championship trophy and thought... he seems pretty connected to past BU basketball, so I wonder if you knew my former father-in-law Ron Harris who was a former assistant coach? Just curious...
Georgethedog

With the brackets coming out I just wish we would hear something from our Athletics Department. We did hear about the new President, big news. Might owe just a little to the fans for backing them all year, players that are in and who’s out?! Something encouraging news?!

Kyle Thomas, remember him? He starts for SIU Edwardsville.

There was a turning point in which we could have made a run. I believe we were down 47-41 when DH got fouled and it was reviewed. Instead of DD going to help DH, he shoved the Drake player right in front of the official. How stupid and selfish. So instead of going to the line with a possible 4 free throws and the ball, we now get 2 free throws and Drake gets 2 free throws and the ball. Converted that into 5 points. Game over. Discipline and we had very little of that. It was a home game for BU, crowd was 3-1 BU and we puked again. BW better hit the portal and find players over 5’5.

I have never know a more dysfunctional Network than ESPN Plus and the MVC Network. As a subscriber, nothing is easy. No games today, but we sure get to watch the IHSA girls. Come on conference, get something that everyone interested can watch. I can see it on my phone, but trying to get it anywhere else is a major task. Tired of it.

Joanne and by extension - Mike Cross spent a ton of time kissing up to the big donors and those who spent money on advertising... then appointed them or their people to the Board so she always had the votes to do what she wanted, like fire Kavanagh, fire all of Les' assistant coaches, run Stowell off, fire the golf coach Ryan, veto certain recruits of les so ge wouldn't win (like Jim's own son, Tyler) then ultimately fire Jim also.
Then spend almost $800 K to hire Geno.
She was so desperate to please the big money people like the McCords (the insurance people) that when Michel McCord, who was the President of the Board of Trustees, passed away and she worried his gifts would end, she rigged that phony "contest" to select the 4 MILLIONTH FAN and hand them a whole bunch of awards & prizes during a halftime celebration...hoping it would keep them loyal giving cash.
She CHOSE McCord's own daughter Tori to receive all the prizes.
How crooked is that?? Hand picking the daughter of the Bradley Board of Trustees PRESIDENT to stay in his good favor so they'd continue their million $$ a year gift to the University (which they didn't because Mike McCord had died)

That was just one example of Joanne's bullcrap and I agree with you 100% that Mike Cross was one of the prime reasons the fan base dropped from 10,000 regular fans to 5,000, he was a flaming asshole.
He literally asked around to find the identity of certain people who posted things on the message boards that he did not like, then called people he could find the identity of and scolded or threatened them with threats like yanking their season tickets or disallowing them to ever attend a Bradley event again (even though I'm not sure how he;d ever be able to accomplish such a thing)

2 fact to clear up definitively:

-Tory Jennetten is NOT the daughter of Mike McCord (but she is related)
-Tory DID attend the ISU game and was on the scoreboard during the 2nd half when they announced it during a TV timeout.

The whole thing was not handled very well...several issues with how it was promoted, how it was selected, and the fact that they didn't even hit the 9,500 threshold makes the whole thing look silly when technically the 4 millionth fan would have entered during the Evansville game.

And I don't know why they didn't promote the winner. Maybe they didn't want the validity of the thing exposed due to the attendance issue vs ISU.​
while I would agree she is not Mike McCord's biological daughter, she was taken in and was raised by him and his wife as their own daughter when the family member who should have parented her was "absent", and I am sure you know that.
She even went by the name Tori McCord]/url] and got a nice job in administration at Bradley (she worked there as far back as 2001) because of Mike and then she became Jennetten when she married.
Just do a search for Tori McCord and her "father" Michel or "Bradley" and she is "TORI MCCORD" on her own LINKEDIn page - LINK

Executive Director, Smith Career Center.

Speaking of the foul fest at Evansville, you should note that they got back into the game because one player started driving the lane out of control looking for contact to get the call and to the line. Tired of officials awarding players for initiating contact. Note that he was also the one who went to the line and shot free throws after the timeout when he wasn’t the one fouled.

Bradley should be able to have a great in/out game similar to what Purdue did with Zac Edy. Unfortunately we have a big man who is unable to catch the ball or puts the ball on the floor in that scenario. Having Meta in the game late with game on the line serves no purpose.

PJS article

01-25-2025, 08:41 AM
How Bradley's star guard could end up with a another year of college eligibility

PEORIA — Duke Deen is leading the Bradley Braves into the final 10-game stretch of his regular-season college career.

Or is it? The fifth-year star guard for the Braves could come back for a sixth season under a deal struck by the NCAA and announced on Dec. 23.

Players whose NCAA Division-I eligibility expires at the end of the 2024-25 season, but burned eligibility previously playing junior college basketball, will receive an additional year in 2025-26.

And that includes Duke Deen. He played the 2020-21 season at Panola College, a junior college, then moved on in 2021-22 to D-1 Troy before joining Bradley, where he is a fifth-year senior playing his third season on the Hilltop.

"We believe that is correct," Bradley coach Brian Wardle said earlier this month. "But really we haven't thought about that at all. We'll see where that (rule change) goes and if it becomes official and good to go.

"There's going to be a lot of back-and-forth (with NCAA rules) between now and then. We're just taking it one day at a time, trying to block out all the noise and the distractions and stay focused on the next game."

Deen is laser focused on that, as well, but he took a moment this week to talk about the NCAA eligibility ruling and his future.

"When that ruling was announced (in late December), Coach Wardle pulled me into his office and we talked about it," Deen said. "I'll definitely take it into consideration, playing another year. I might want to do that." Get the Sports Headlines newsletter in your inbox.

Deen has a 2-year-old son, C.J., and an extra year in the Name, Image and Likeness era could make an impact on supporting his child, especially if that extra year happens hypothetically with a Power 5 team and the bigger money that would likely follow.

"You can't overlook the NIL in today's equation," Deen said. "It's a big factor for everyone. I don't think anyone really knows for sure what is going to happen with (NCAA eligibility) rules. And I'd have to decide if I really want to continue with school, too.
"Right now, I'm focused on staying level-headed and leading this team. That's not going to change." The Diego Pavia rule and how the NCAA got here

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Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia played two years of junior college ball before his NCAA career started.

His NCAA eligibility expired with the conclusion of the 2024-25 season. But he contended that now, in the changing NCAA climate of increasing NIL payments, his expiring eligibility would cost him an estimated $1 million in NIL earnings he might have been awarded next season, had those junior college years not counted against him.

So Pavia won an injunction in a Tennessee court, in what was seen as a legal blow to the NCAA.

The NCAA has appealed the court ruling, but on Dec. 23 announced it was extending eligibility to 2025-26 for athletes with a junior college history like Pavia.
So what could happen with Deen? Well, he could decide to call it a college career, and move on with his life. He could return to Bradley for another season, although that could be complicated for a roster that has a group of talented, incoming guards and returnees.

Or he could transfer to a Power 5 school in search of a large NIL payment, an option that feels like the best fit. All of that is something that Deen and Bradley will address after the season.

Right now, it's the big picture of the Missouri Valley Conference.

"All any of us are thinking about, focused on ... is getting better, and winning (in March) in St. Louis to get to the NCAA Tournament," Deen said. "We can be better offensively. We can be better defensively. Good is not what we're after, we have to be great.
"I sense that we're close to that. All of us do."

GO Braves!
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This Drake team is essentially the same Drake teams of old. They own the paint and they are physical. And the back door cut they used several times last night? DeVries used that play over and over with Sturtz and Ferguson. They don’t shoot the three or free throws as well, but they still get to the line with their aggressiveness. We do a great job in getting players with character, but we need to adapt to the aggressive styles from other teams. Seasons not over everyone, just a blimp. A home crowd and a win in Chi town against UIC will cure all ills.

I’m amazed how several Valley teams have “reloaded” this year. Namely ISU-B&R, Belmont, Valpo, NIU and of course Drake! Tough road games ahead for our Braves but our deep evolving bench will help.

Just how did we win this one? Never have I seen allowing over 30 3’s taken and being outshot from free throw line by 3-1 and still winning?! Glad to see the ref swallow his whistle at the end.

What did miss?? Details Pleazzzz

Welcome

Can't defend, can't rebound, can't shoot other than that should be cake walk to MVC title