Every year, a new class of freshmen come through the doors of Bradley eager to start their collegiate careers.
A few of these freshmen have another career to look forward to.
This year the men’s basketball team has five incoming freshmen, ready to challenge for playing time.
Last year, the team finished with an overall record of 21-15 and went to the finals of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament where they lost to Old Dominion by the score of 66-62.
This season the Braves start fresh. The team took a trip overseas this summer and played in the COPA EPTV de Basquette, a tournament held in Sao Carlos, Brazil.
The team walked away from Sao Carlos with a third place finish after beating XV de Piracicaba in its final game.
Coach Jim Les has been working his team hard during the offseason in preparation for the start of the 2009-10 season.
“I am looking forward to this team, building off the experience we had in
Brazil and building off the experience so many of our players had last
season,” Les said. “I think this class is skilled and athletic and now it’s a matter of them learning our system and what it takes to play Div. I basketball, especially now in the preseason when we do all of our conditioning and individual workouts.”
Les said he hopes the freshmen will give the team a shot of energy and enthusiasm.
“I am very excited about our … incoming freshmen, who bring a wealth
of talent and personality to our program. They will be the cornerstone
of Bradley basketball for years to come,” he said.
Of the five new freshmen, the Braves have recruited three guards and two forwards. All five athletes are coming in with their own style of play looking to blend in and use those experiences to help them in the Bradley system.
“I am also looking forward to us getting healthy and the challenge of blending in the new players to make us a cohesive team,” Les said.
Jake Eastman is a 6 foot 4 inch, 200-pound guard coming from Douglas Freeman High School in Richmond, Va.
Dyricus Simms-Edwards is a 6 foot 2 inch, 195-pound guard coming from Washington Community High School located in nearby Washington.
Jordan Prosser is a 6 foot 8 inch, 210-pound forward from Eureka High school in Eureka.
Milos Knezevic comes from Liberty High School located in Las Vegas, and is a 6 foot 8 inch, 215 -found forward.
Charonn Woods is a 5 foot 10 inch, 165-pound guard out of the Metro Academic & Classical High School located in St. Louis. He has been red-shirted for his freshman season, meaning he will not play in any games his first year on the team.
The season begins on the road against BYU in Provo, Utah, on Nov. 13. The Braves home opener is 6:05 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15 against Idaho State at Carver Arena.
