Bradley

Cinderella Quarterfinals: '06 Bradley vs '07 UNLV

Raphielle Johnson — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 08:35:54 -0800

WhatIfSports.com and CollegeHoops.net have partnered up to bring you Cinderella Madness 2012. This college basketball simulation tournament features 16 of the most memorable Cinderella stories from the past eight seasons. We invited teams outside the BCS conferences, seeded 7th or lower that advanced to the Sweet 16 or beyond. Teams were seeded 1 through 16 and then games were simulated using WhatIfSports.com's award-winning college basketball simulation engine. Each match was "played" 501 times.

In the First Round, Bradley upset #1 seed '11 Butler while '07 UNLV topped '06 Wichita St.

Quarterfinals: 2005-06 Bradley vs 2006-07 UNLV

The darling of Cinderella Madness after upsetting top-seeded Butler in the first round, Bradley earned a date with the UNLV Runnin' Rebels. Unfortunately for Bradley supporters, the Cinderella story came to an end for the school out of Peoria, Illinois.

UNLV overcame a diminutive starting five that included just one player over 6'6" – the 6'8" Gaston Essengue – to force Bradley seven-footer Patrick O'Bryant into just two points on 1-for-5 shooting. Credit reserve Joel Anthony for slowing down O'Bryant, as Anthony managed four blocks and seven rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench.

The hot shooting of UNLV guard Michael Umeh helped the Rebels erase a five-point halftime deficit. His efforts included a go-ahead three-pointer with 33 seconds remaining in the game to give UNLV a 70-68 advantage as they went on to record the 72-68 victory. Umeh finished with 18 points, including 3-for-4 from downtown. As a team, the Runnin' Rebels shot 45 percent (9-for-20) from three-point range.

Bradley was paced by Marcellus Sommerville's 18 points, six rebounds and three steals.

Player of the game: Michael Umeh (18 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists)

Winning Percentage of 501 Simulations: '07 UNLV 53.1% - '06 Bradley 46.9%

Game Recap: UNLV 70 - Bradley 68 (Boxscore)

More Cinderella Madness with the complete bracket.

Cinderella Madness: '06 Bradley vs '11 Butler

Raphielle Johnson — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:17:45 -0800

WhatIfSports.com and CollegeHoops.net have partnered up to bring you Cinderella Madness 2012. This college basketball simulation tournament features 16 of the most memorable Cinderella stories from the past eight seasons. We invited teams outside the BCS conferences, seeded 7th or lower that advanced to the Sweet 16 or beyond in their bracket to participate. Teams were seeded 1 through 16 and then simulated using WhatIfSports.com's award-winning college basketball simulation engine. Each match was "played" 501 times.

2010-11 Butler vs 2005-06 Bradley

2010-11 Butler: No Gordon Hayward but Shelvin Mack and Matt Howard were back as key figures for the Bulldogs, who also relied on tough defender Ronald Nored at the point. After a three-game losing streak that culminated with a 62-60 loss at Youngstown State on February 3rd, Butler would reel off 14 straight wins to reach the title game for the second straight season. The Bulldogs relied on a stout defense and timely shooting to make their run, with Howard's bucket as time expired beating Old Dominion to set up a third round matchup with top seed Pittsburgh. But the good fortune ran out in the title game, where the Bulldogs shot the lowest percentage for a finalist in the modern era.

2005-06 Bradley: Jim Les' alma mater was one of the more surprising entries into the tournament field in 2006 as they boasted a pedestrian 11-7 mark in MVC play. But the Braves got hot at the right time, winning seven straight to reach the MVC tournament final, with the seventh win being a 60-52 triumph over regular season champ Wichita State. They'd rebound from a loss to Southern Illinois to beat Kansas and Pittsburgh thanks in part to two performances from Patrick O'Bryant that likely cemented his status as a lottery pick. O'Bryant was one of four Bradley players to average double figures with the high-flying Marcellus Sommerville leading the way. Bradley had an RPI of 29 and a strength of schedule of 61, likely bolstered by the overall strength of the MVC. Bradley's season ended in the Sweet 16, where the team fell 80-64 to top-seeded Memphis.

Game Recap: Bradley 70 - Butler 68 (Boxscore)

Butler's Howard was known for his scrappy play, oversized t-shirt under the jersey and, at times, proud proprietor of upper lip whiskers that understandably required a Facebook fan page.

He averaged 14.8 points per game during the Bulldogs' run in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, but in our Cinderella Madness opening round, Howard was M.I.A. The big man scored six points (1-7 FG) in 29 minutes as Bradley renewed their run in the opening round of Cinderella Madness.

Mack (20 points) led the first half charge as the Bulldogs built an eight point lead with six minutes to go before the half. Bradley's Sommerville rallied the Braves and tied the game before Chase Stigall buried a three-ball as the halftime buzzer sounded.

Mack's bucket two minutes into the second half boosted Butler's lead back to seven, 37-30. But, over the next eight minutes, Bradley rattled off a 19-9 run and took a 49-46 lead.

With four minutes and change on the clock, and still trailing by three, Butler's Zach Hahn buried a triple from the right wing to tie the game up at 59. A couple possession's later, Tony Bennett (12 points) knocked down a jumper to give the Braves the lead for good. Bradley converted their free throws down the stretch to upset the top seed 70-66.

Player of the game: Patrick O'Bryant (18 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks)

Winning Percentage of 501 Simulations: '06 Bradley 57.9% - '11 Butler 42.1%

More Cinderalla Madness with the complete bracket.

Saturday Mid-Major Preview & Predictions

Greg Mengelt — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 22:02:42 -0800

Greg Mengelt previews and predicts four of Saturday's intriguing Mid-Major battles:

BRADLEY (5-4) AT DREXEL (4-4)

Time/TV: 4 p.m., None

Line: Drexel -8.5.

Storylines: Drexel’s Chris Fouch appears to be healthy after back-to-back 23- and 24-point performances in wins over Princeton and Niagara. Fouch, who missed the Dragons’ first four games with a knee injury, and Samme Givens the main reason Drexel was picked as the pre-season Colonial Athletic favorites.

Key Matchup: Givens vs. Taylor Brown. The undersized Givens is one of the most creative scorers in the country and Brown has been one of the most improved players on the Missouri Valley each of the past two seasons.

The Bottom Line: The return of Fouch gives the Dragons another weapon and should set them back on course for a run at the Colonial title.

The Pick: Drexel 71, Bradley 56.

OAKLAND (7-4) AT VALPARAISO (7-3)

Time/TV: 8:05 p.m., None

Line: Valparaiso -1.5.

Storylines: At this point, both the Golden Grizzlies and the Crusaders could make an argument as their conference favorites. Oakland is 7-4 despite playing one of the nation’s toughest pre-conference schedules. Valpo is already 1-0 in the Horizon League after beating Butler on the road on Dec. 3.

Key Matchup: Valpo F Ryan Broekhoff vs. Oakland G Reggie Hamilton. The two will never go head-to-head on the court, but the game could come down to which Mid-Major star has the better outing.

The Bottom Line: Hamilton is nearly impossible to stop when he wants to get his shot. If this is a one-possession game, that gives the advantage to the Golden Bears.

The Pick: Oakland 81, Valpo 78.

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN (6-3) AT COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (8-1)

Time/TV: 6 p.m., ESPN Full Court

Storylines: With Southern expected to compete in the Big South and Charleston a contender in the Southern Conference, this sets up as one of the best cross-town rivalries in a while.

Key Matchup: College of Charleston’s Trent Wiedeman vs. Southern’s Kelvin Martin. The opposing power forwards have seven double-doubles between them. It should be an epic battle under the boards.

The Bottom Line: Charleston is a little better and will have the crowd behind them.

The Pick: College of Charleston 82, Charleston Southern 71.

ST. PETER’S (2-6) AT LONG ISLAND (5-6)

Time/TV: 2 p.m., None

Storylines: Both teams were surprise entrants into the NCAA Tournament a year ago. Long Island should compete with Robert Morris, Wagner and Central Connecticut State for the Northeast Conference’s bid to the tournament. St. Peter’s will likely finish in the middle of the MAAC pack. It would have to pull off another March Miracle to go back to the tournament.

Key Matchup: LIU’s frontcourt vs. the St. Peter’s backcourt. Julian Boyd and Jamal Olasewere give LIU one of the nation’s best mid-major forward tandems. The Peacocks are led by guards Chris Prescott and Yvon Raymond.

The Bottom Line: This should be one of the most competitive games of the weekend.

The Pick: Long Island 77, St. Peter’s 75.

College Basketball Coaching Changes 2011

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 11:10:35 -0700

We'll track coaching changes as they occur. If there's any missing on here, or if you have contract info to add (including salaries), please mention it in the comments section.

Latest Hiring/Firing 6/27: Not done yet; Bethune-Cookman fires Reed

BCS Conferences

Arkansas
Was: John Pelphrey
Is: Mike Anderson (from Missouri)

Georgia Tech
Was: Paul Hewitt
Is: Brian Gregory (from Dayton)

Maryland
Was: Gary Williams
Is: Mark Turgeon (from Texas A&M)

Miami (FL)
Was: Frank Haith
Is: Jim Larranaga (from George Mason)

Missouri
Was: Mike Anderson
Is: Frank Haith (from Miami)

North Carolina State
Was: Sidney Lowe
Is: Mark Gottfried (ESPN analyst/former Alabama head coach)

Oklahoma
Was: Jeff Capel
Is: Lon Kruger (from UNLV)

Penn State
Was: Ed DeChellis
Is: Patrick Chambers (from Boston University)

Providence
Was: Keno Davis
Is: Ed Cooley (from Fairfield)

Tennessee
Was: Bruce Pearl
Is: Cuonzo Martin (from Missouri St)

Texas A&M
Was: Mark Turgeon
Is: Billy Kennedy (from Murray State)

Texas Tech
Was: Pat Knight
Is: Billy Gillispie

High-Majors

Bradley
Was: Jim Les
Is: Geno Ford (from Kent St)

Dayton
Was: Brian Gregory
Is: Archie Miller (Arizona assistant)

Fresno St
Was: Steve Cleveland
Is: Rodney Terry (Texas assistant)

George Mason
Was: Jim Larranaga
Is: Paul Hewitt (former Georgia Tech head coach)

George Washington
Was: Karl Hobbs
Is: Mike Lonergan (from Vermont)

Georgia St
Was: Rod Barnes
Is: Ron Hunter (from IUPUI)

Louisiana Tech
Was: Kerry Rupp
Is: Mike White (Ole Miss assistant)

Missouri St
Was: Cuonzo Martin
Is: Paul Lusk (Purdue associate head coach)

Pepperdine
Was: Tom Asbury
Is: Marty Wilson

Towson
Was: Pat Kennedy
Is: Pat Skerry (Pittsburgh assistant)

UNLV
Was: Lon Kruger
Is: Dave Rice (BYU assistant)

Utah
Was: Jim Boylen
Is: Larry Krystkowiak (New Jersey Nets assistant)

Wyoming
Was: Heath Schroyer
Is: Larry Shyatt (Florida assistant)

Mid-Majors

Boston University
Was: Patrick Chambers
Is: Joe Jones (Boston College assistant)

Eastern Michigan
Was: Charles Ramsey
Is: Rob Murphy (Syracuse assistant)

Fairfield
Was: Ed Cooley
Is: Sydney Johnson (from Princeton)

IPFW
Was: Dane Fife
Is: Tony Jasick (IPFW assistant)

IUPUI
Was: Ron Hunter
Is: Todd Howard (IUPUI assistant)

Kent St
Was: Geno Ford
Is: Rob Senderoff (Kent St assistant)

Loyola (Chi)
Was: Jim Whitesell
Is: Porter Moser (Saint Louis associate head coach)

Manhattan
Was: Barry Rohrssen
Is: Steve Masiello (Louisville assistant)

Northern Illinois
Was: Ricardo Patton
Is: Mark Montgomery

Princeton
Was: Sydney Johnson
Is: Mitch Henderson (Northwestern assistant)

Vermont
Was: Mike Lonergan
Is: John Becker (Vermont assistant)

Low-Majors

Alcorn St
Was: Larry Smith
Is: Luther Riley (Provine (AL) HS head coach)

Bethune-Cookman
Was: Clifford Reed
Is:

Colgate
Was: Emmett Davis
Is: Matt Langel (Temple assistant)

Eastern Washington
Was: Kirk Earlywine
Is: Jim Hayford (Whitworth College)

Florida A&M
Was: Eugene Harris
Is: Clem Johnson (Alaska-Fairbanks)

Florida Gulf Coast
Was: Dave Balza
Is: Andy Enfield (Florida State assistant)

Kennesaw St
Was: Tony Ingle
Is: Lewis Preston (Penn State assistant)

Lamar
Was: Steve Roccaforte
Is: Pat Knight (former Texas Tech head coach)

Monmouth
Was: Dave Calloway
Is: King Rice (Vanderbilt assistant)

Murray State
Was: Billy Kennedy
Is: Steve Prohm (Murray State assistant)

Navy
Was: Billy Lange
Is: Ed DeChellis (from Penn State)

Radford
Was: Brad Greenberg
Is: Mike Jones (VCU assistant)

Stetson
Was: Derrek Waugh
Is: Casey Alexander (Belmont assistant)

Tennessee Tech
Was: Mike Sutton
Is: Steve Payne

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Was: Perry Clark
Is: Willis Wilson (Memphis assistant)

Top Coaching Prospects

Todd Bozeman (Morgan St Coach)
~~Ed Cooley (Fairfield Coach) HIRED~~
Keno Davis (Former Providence Coach)
Joe Dooley (Kansas Assistant)
John Dunne (Saint Peter's Coach)
~~Andy Enfield (FSU Assistant) HIRED~~
Jim Ferry (LIU Coach)
Ray Giacoletti (Gonzaga Assistant)
~~Billy Gillispie (Former Coach) HIRED~~
~~Jim Larranaga (George Mason Coach) HIRED~~
Jim Les (Former Bradley Coach)
~~Mike Lonergan (Vermont Coach) HIRED~~
Bobby Lutz (Iowa St Assistant)
Donnie Marsh (UAB associate head coach)
Gregg Marshall (Wichita St Coach)
~~Steve Masiello (Louisville Assistant) HIRED~~
John Pelphrey (Arkansas Coach)

#91 Bradley: 2010-11 Basketball Preview

Joel Welser — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 18:14:46 -0700

Overall Rank: #91

Conference Rank: #5 Missouri Valley Conference

2009-10: 16-15, 9-9

2009-10 postseason: none

Coach: Jim Les (142-120 at Bradley, 142-120 overall)

Bradley was a slightly disappointing team last season. After a hot start that saw them beat then ranked Illinois, the Braves dropped seven of nine games in December and January. Despite that awful stretch the team managed to pull together and finish with a .500 record in conference play. With four starters returning and plenty of depth on the bench, Coach Jim Les should put together a team that should finish with a much better record.

Key Losses: G Eddren McCain, G Chris Roberts, C Sam Singh

Key Newcomers:

None of the newcomers will be asked to do much this season, but some depth in the frontcourt would be helpful. Jordan Prosser redshirted last year and his one year on the bench may make him the likely candidate to see a few minutes here and there. The ‘Milk Man’ can do a little bit of everything and has enough size to fill in at the four or five spot. Andrew Davis is an incoming freshman who will try and find some minutes as well. However, the 6-10, 215 pound Edmond, Oklahoma product needs to add more girth before he will be much of a factor in the paint. The lone newcomer on the perimeter is Walter Lemon who will find it very difficult to get minutes barring more injuries.

Backcourt:

The loss of Chris Roberts, who averaged 9.2 points, 2.2 assists and 4.6 rebounds during his senior campaign is the big one, but Bradley has an answer. Two years ago Dodie Dunson averaged 10.1 points, 1.2 assists and 2.8 rebounds. Last year he played in just two games before breaking his left arm and missing the rest of the season. Dunson will be a fine replacement for Roberts. Sam Maniscalco is back to run the show and do much more. The 6-0 senior averaged 13.1 points and 3.4 assists last season and is a great all-around scorer. Yet, those two are not even the star of the backcourt. That title belongs to Andrew Warren. Warren is a superb outside shooter and knocked down nearly 40 percent of his five attempts per game last season. He led the team with 14.4 points per contest during his junior campaign and will almost certainly do so again as a senior. What makes Warren even more important to this team is his 6-5 size and his ability to attack the basket and the glass.

Frontcourt:

Taylor Brown almost came out of nowhere to average 13.5 points and a team high 6.9 rebounds per game. The 6-6 forward has the ability to stretch out the defense by knocking down the occasional three-pointer, but he does his best work in the paint. Brown is even a very good free-throw shooter for a forward and that has come in very handy late in games. Will Egolf is the big man on Bradley. The 6-9, 232 pound center is starting to develop into a decent interior scorer, but he still needs to add strength to be more productive on both ends of the floor. Yet, it is Egolf who is the lone shot blocking threat on this team and it is that skill that Bradley really needs to develop. Anthony Thompson and Milos Knezevic both averaged less than ten minutes per game last year, but one of them needs to at least be able to spell Egolf at the five spot so the Braves do not have to play small every time a forward needs a rest.

Who to Watch:

Jake Eastman and Dyricus Simms-Edwards did not garner much attention during their freshmen campaigns, but they are the stars of the future. It was Simms-Edwards who saw more playing time and proved to be a capable scorer and rebounder from the wing. Eastman has more size at 6-4 and 208 pounds and he should be a very good player once his shot starts falling. For now, both of them have another year to come in off the bench.

Final Projection:

The Braves had reached the postseason for four consecutive seasons before the 2009-2010 campaign. They also reached the 20 win mark during those four seasons. They should eclipse that mark once again and get back to the postseason. This is not as tough of a Missouri Valley Conference as it was a few years ago and Bradley has the experience and talent to make a nice run if everything goes their way.

Projected Post-season Tournament: CBI/CIT

Projected Starting Five:

Sam Maniscalco, Senior, Guard, 13.1 ppg

Dodie Dunson, Senior, Guard, 8.0 ppg

Andrew Warren, Senior, Guard, 14.4 ppg

Taylor Brown, Junior, Forward, 13.5 ppg

Will Egolf, Junior, Center, 7.0 ppg

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MVC Basketball Preview: 2009-10

CHN — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:14:11 -0800

The MVC race is always up for grabs, and perhaps another surprise team like UNI lurks. Perhaps no league has as much parity as the Valley, where even the bottom teams are improved.

Conference Rank: 8th

10 year average: 9th

MVC Conference Page

All-MVC Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Osiris Eldridge	Illinois St	Jr
G	Josh Young	Drake	Jr
G	P'Allen Stinnett	Creighton	So
G	Adam Koch	Northern Iowa	Sr
F	Dinma Odiakosa	Illinois St	Sr

Player of the Year - Osiris Eldridge Freshman of the Year - Ben Simons (Drake)
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
High-Major All-Americans Osiris Eldridge (1st Team) Adam Koch (3rd) P'Allen Stinnett (3rd) Josh Young (3rd) Kevin Dillard Dinma Odiakosa		Points: Josh Young 15.4 Rebounds: Dinma Odiakosa 7.5 Assists: Clevin Hannah 4.3

MVC Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

41	Creighton	MVC	1	NCAA
59	Northern Iowa	MVC	2	NIT
72	Bradley	MVC	3	NIT
76	Illinois State	MVC	4	NIT
94	Wichita State	MVC	5	CBI/CIT
117	Southern Illinois	MVC	6	CBI/CIT
137	Indiana State	MVC	7
154	Drake	MVC	8
203	Evansville	MVC	9
228	Missouri State	MVC	10

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

** returning conference champion

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the MVC?

College Basketball Preview - 348 Team Ranking - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews

MVC Preseason Poll & Awards

Press Release — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:56:48 -0700

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The Northern Iowa men's basketball team has been picked to finish first in the Missouri Valley Conference, according to the preseason poll announced today during the league's annual Basketball Media Day.

Northern Iowa, which returns all five starters after sharing the regular-season title with Creighton last year, earned 38 of 39 first-place votes in the survey of league coaches, beat writers, sports information directors and play-by-play men.

Pollsters have accurately predicted the league's regular-season champ only 11 times out of 25 since 1985-86. Two teams have been picked for second place but gone on to take the regular-season crown, Southern Illinois in both 2002-03 and 2006-07.

The preseason poll doesn¹t always match the year-end standings. Last year's Northern Iowa was picked sixth and ended up in a tie for first. The year before that, Drake was picked ninth, only to finish 28-5 and win the league title.

2009-10 MVC Preseason Poll
Rk.    School (1st place votes)    Total
1.    Northern Iowa (38)    389
2.    Creighton (1)    336
3.    Illinois State    299
4.    Southern Illinois    272
5.    Wichita State    216
6.    Bradley    208
7.    Indiana State    173
8.    Drake    105
9.    Missouri State    92
10.    Evansville    55
Poll determined by panel of league sports information directors and media.

Preseason All-MVC Team
Osiris Eldridge*, Sr., G, Illinois State
Kwadzo Ahelegbe, Jr., G, Northern Iowa
Tony Freeman, Sr., G, Southern Illinois
Adam Koch, Sr., F, Northern Iowa
P¹Allen Stinnett, Jr., G, Creighton
Josh Young, Sr., G, Drake
*Preseason Player of the Year

Honorable Mention:
Kevin Dillard, Southern Illinois
Clevin Hannah, Wichita State
Jake Kelly, Indiana State
Sam Maniscalco, Bradley
Harry Marshall, Indiana State
Toure¹ Murry, Wichita State

MVC Preseason Poll & Awards

Press Release — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:10:43 -0700

ST. LOUIS - UNI, which returns all five starters and nine of 10 players from last year’s regular-season co-champ and State Farm MVC Tournament winner, has been picked to earn the Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball title in 2009-10.

The Panthers are hoping the pollsters are correct, although recent history could suggest otherwise, as only once in the past four years has the pre-season poll correctly picked the regular-season champ (last year Creighton was picked to win and shared the regular-season title with UNI, which was picked to finish sixth.)

The Panthers - also picked to win by The Sporting News College Basketball Preview, Lindy’s College Basketball Preview, and Athlon Sports College Basketball Preview - join a small group of defending Missouri Valley men’s basketball champs to return all five starters.

It marks the second time in league history the Panthers have been pegged as the preseason favorites. UNI was also picked to win the league in 2005-06. UNI finished fifth in the conference race in 2005-06, but earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.

MVC Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll
School (First-Place Votes) Total
1. UNI (38)......................389
2. Creighton (1).................336
3. Illinois State................299
4. Southern Illinois.............272
5. Wichita State.................216
6. Bradley.......................208
7. Indiana State.................173
8. Drake.........................105
9. Missouri State.................92
10. Evansville....................55
Poll determined by panel of league sports information directors, media, and coaches.

2009-10 MVC Preseason All-Conference Team
Name, School, Pos., Ht., Wt., Year, Hometown, High School
Kwadzo Ahelegbe, UNI, G, 6-2, 200, Jr., Oakdale (Minn.) Tartan High
Osiris Eldridge, Illinois State, G, 6-3, 215, Sr., Chicago (Ill.) Phillips Academy
Tony Freeman, Southern Illinois, G, 6-1, 195, Sr., Maywood (Ill.) St. Joseph’s/Iowa
Adam Koch, UNI, F, 6-8, 255, Sr., Ashwaubenon (Wis.) High
P’Allen Stinnett, Creighton, G, 6-3, 180, Jr., Las Vegas (Nev.) Brewster Academy [N.H.]
Josh Young, Drake, G, 6-1, 174, Sr., Lawton (Okla.) Lawton Christian High

Honorable Mention: Kevin Dillard, Southern Illinois; Clevin Hannah, Wichita State; Jake Kelly, Indiana State; Sam Maniscalco, Bradley; Harry Marshall, Indiana State; Toure’ Murry, Wichita State

Preseason Player of the Year - Osiris Eldridge, Illinois State

Poll: Who Will Win the MVC?

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:34:17 -0700

Bradley Basketball Preview: #72

Joel Welser — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 07:59:45 -0700

Overall Rank: #72

Conference Rank: #3 Missouri Valley Conference

2008-09: 21-15, 10-8

2008-09 postseason: CIT

Coach: Jim Les (126-105 at Bradley, 126-105 overall)

Considering all of the injuries that Bradley had to endure during the 2008-2009 campaign, it was a very good season for Coach Jim Les. The Braves ended up in the CIT and made it all the way to the finals and that at least provided some great experience for the younger players.

Key Losses: C David Collins, G Darian Norris, F Theron Wilson

Key Newcomers:

The frontcourt lost a couple key players in David Collins and Theron Wilson and that will be this team’s Achilles heel. And the only help the team will get from the newcomers in the frontcourt are incoming freshmen Milos Knezevic and Jordan Prosser. Prosseris is the more likely option to see playing time this year, but one of those two will likely be asked to contribute quite a bit off the bench. The backcourt does not need too much depth right now, but freshmen Jake Eastman, James Robertson and Dyricus Simms-Edwards will be available if they are needed.

Backcourt:

The top four returning scorers are all perimeter players and that is not counting the return of Andrew Warren who missed all of last year with an injury. Sam Maniscalco turned into a very valuable leader. Not only did he average 12.6 points per game during the 2008-2009 campaign, but he dished out 3.1 assists and connected on two three-pointers per contest. Dodie Dunson was also a double figure scorer last season who can knock down the outside shot. Chris Roberts is yet another shooter who can mix up his game by getting to the basket. What makes him different than the rest of the group is his size and he can hit the glass. Somebody has to find all those weapons and that man ended up being Eddren McCain. McCain had a superb freshman campaign and he dished out 3.1 assists per contest.

Frontcourt:

Nobody benefited from the run in the CIT more than Taylor Brown. On the year the 6-6 sophomore only averaged 11.5 minutes per game, but he came on strong late in the year and he has the potential and the confidence to play a much bigger role this time around. Sam Singh will likely be the starting center. The fifth year senior is not a great scorer, but he can eat up space in the paint. Will Egolf started playing pretty well last season, but he got hurt after five games. If he can stay healthy, the frontcourt at least has potential and some experience. Otherwise Bradley will need the newcomers and Anthony Thompson to play a lot more minutes than they probably should.

Who to Watch:

The return of Warren creates a conundrum for Coach Les. Maniscalco turned into the top three-point shooter on the team last season, but the team hit a lot more long balls when Warren was playing two years ago. If Warren gets back to his old ways of shooting over 40 percent from beyond the arc, he will playing a big role on this team. That could leave Dunson and Roberts on the bench.

Final Projection:

The other option would be to play small and put Roberts at the four spot. That has worked in certain situations, but it does leave the team vulnerable on the glass. Last season Wilson and Collins were there to pick up the slack, but Singh and Brown are not nearly as proven of players. If the frontcourt struggles, bigger teams will have their way with the Braves under the basket.

Projected Post-season Tournament: NIT

Projected Starting Five:

Eddren McCain, Sophomore, Guard, 5.6 points per game

Sam Maniscalco, Junior, Guard, 12.6 points per game

Andrew Warren, Junior, Guard, DNP last season

Taylor Brown, Sophomore, Forward, 3.4 points per game

Sam Singh, Senior, Center, 4.7 points per game

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