Heading into the 2024-2025 college basketball season, there was one expectation for the Bradley men’s basketball team.
An NCAA tournament appearance.
The Braves returned three starters and six of their top eight scorers from a season in which they finished 23-12. Bradley was arguably the most talented, experienced and well-coached team in the Missouri Valley Conference. The team received the honor of being crowned the preseason favorites by coaches, communications directors and a media panel.
Standards were very high for the Braves, but they embraced them.
“We embraced all preseason recognition, but we put those expectations onto ourselves since the summer,” senior guard Duke Deen said after Bradley’s exhibition game against Milikin on Oct. 30, 2024. “I want to win and get to the NCAA tournament. So if we don’t, then it’s a fail.”
Spoiler alert: The Braves did not advance to the NCAA tournament after losing 63-48 to Drake in the MVC tournament championship game.
Despite the loss, their season was not a failure.
Bradley did not reach its ultimate goal, but neither this season nor the players’ careers should be defined by one performance. This year, the Braves won the Myrtle Beach Invitational, scored the most points in a conference game in Bradley’s history and finished with 20 wins for the third straight season.
“The thing I told them, and you really don’t want to hear it, but it’s important to say as the adult in the room having been through this, is one game doesn’t define you,” Wardle said after the loss to the Bulldogs.
“Duke Deen’s had an unbelievable career,” Wardle added. “Unbelievable. Great player. Great leader. Darius [Hannah] has had a great career. It’s so cool to see how he’s developed and grown. It’s hard in this moment to realize that in maybe two, three, four days. I know the tournament’s big and the NCAA tournament is big, but it doesn’t define you as a person or what you did in your career.”
After spending every second possible working toward a goal and ultimately falling short, realizing what you’ve accomplished can be challenging. Still, Wardle’s right; the Braves did incredible things this year as individuals and a team.
Montgomery’s homecoming
One of the season’s biggest storylines was senior Zek Montgomery’s return to the Hilltop after transferring to Rhode Island for one year in what turned out to be one of the most challenging seasons of the guard’s career.
In his lone season with the Rams, he averaged 9.6 points per game and shot 43% from the field and 31.5% from behind the arc. Montgomery was also forced to play minutes as the four, away from his natural position as a shooting guard.
“It was a very eye-opening experience,” Montgomery said. “I played some of my best basketball there and some of my worst. Sometimes the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.”
He performed much better in his homecoming, averaging 12.2 points per game and shooting 44% from the field and 39% from three.
“Zeko,” as Wardle and his teammates call him, also reached 1,000 career points with his mother watching in the crowd for the first time in two years.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted,” Montgomery said after Bradley’s game against Northern Iowa on March 2. “I just always wanted to reach 1,000 points just for my mom. It meant a lot that she was here tonight.”
Deen and Hannah cement their legacies
Montgomery was not alone in reaching the 1,000 points club; the teammates he’s referred to as his brothers also reached that milestone.
Both seniors reached in the only way they know how. For Deen, it was a deep three; for Hannah, it was an electric dunk.
Neither player stopped there. Both continued to etch their names in Braves history. On Feb. 12th, Hannah became the program’s leader in games played, and in the loss to Drake, Deen tied the record for most three-pointers in a career.
Deen and Hannah will be remembered fondly by Bradley fans for years for their contributions on and off the court. They gave their all to this program and the city.
“Coach took a chance on me,” Deen said. “I am forever thankful for that. You can’t overlook what they did for me here. They embraced me with open arms through the good and the bad. They let me shoot threes from wherever. I just love it here. I am definitely going to buy a house here. I just love Peoria dawg.”
Bradley’s unsung hero
It would be a crime not to highlight senior forward Christian Davis. While he finished just shy of 1,000 career points, he has still cemented himself as a Braves legend. Davis has flown under the radar in Peoria, but he has unquestionably been one of Bradley’s most important players over the last two seasons.
Davis doesn’t give you highlight dunks or deep threes, but he guards the opposing team’s best players, dives for loose balls and makes countless unselfish plays.
In the quarterfinals of Arch Madness, Davis rolled his ankle after finishing a layup and limped off the court into the locker room.
He stayed in the locker room for only 10 minutes before tying his shoes tighter and going out to put his body on the line for his team.
“We sweat together, we work together, we bleed together, we cry together,” Davis said before their arrival in St. Louis.
The future
The Braves will lose a lot of talent and experience this offseason, which makes the loss even more painful, but the future could be bright.
At the moment, Bradley will enter next season led by freshman point guard Jaquan Johnson, juniors Ahmet Jonovic and Corey Thomas and sophomores Demarion Burch and Almar Atlason.
Johnson took the Valley by storm this season as a strong piece off the Braves’ bench and quickly became a fan favorite. “Bully” delivered momentum-swinging plays throughout the season and was named to the MVC’s all-bench and freshman teams.
“It’s crazy because he’s not even showing his full bag,” Deen said about Johnson. “He has a lot more in the tank. I’m not going to say anything because I don’t want to get him scouted early, but I know what he can do. I feel like everyone in this program knows what he can do. It’s going to be on him to keep working on it. I feel like the sky is the limit. He’s going to be a problem.”
Jonovic was arguably the biggest surprise of the season. After playing under ten minutes a game and starting in three in his first two years, Jonovic appeared in every game for Bradley and started in fifteen of them. Jonovic’s touch, body control and defense improved this season and he could be in for a bigger leap next year.
“I’m proud of Meta [Jonovic], man,” Hannah said. “It comes down to reps and it comes down to confidence. I see it growing in him every day. We believe in him a lot.”
Thomas transferred from Cowley Community College and played a pivotal role as a starter and backup big this season. He flashed potential as a finisher, shooter and shot-blocker, and if he can become more coordinated and disciplined, he could be scratching the surface of his ceiling.
The junior had big performances in big games. None bigger than the 16-point, six-rebound outing on the road at Murray State.
“It’s about time,” Thomas said in an interview with the Peoria Journal Star. “About time. I’ve been working in the gym with coaches and watching extra film. I’ve gotten better every year of college basketball I’ve played. For me to be struggling a little bit at the start of this season and not being able to find my rhythm was hurting a little bit. But I got used to the system, got in the flow and once I find my rhythm, I’m hard to stop.”
Burch and Atlason had up-and-down seasons. Throughout the year, Burch dealt with a foot injury and illness.
In the midst of a bumpy season, he kept his head on straight.
“I’ve been waiting for my time to come, staying patient and level-headed,” Burch said after scoring 13 points against Northern Iowa. “I sat [for] a couple of games, but that’s not nothing. I still continue to cheer my teammates on and pray that we win each and every night. I just stay prayed up and patient. Coach called my name, and I got up and showed what I knew that I could do. Hard work pays off every time.”
Atlason lost his starting spot early in the season and received inconsistent minutes from game-to-game. He handled the role change like a pro.
“He could have checked out,” Deen said about Atlason’s mentality after being benched. “He could’ve said forget it, I’m not doing this, but he’s tried to get better every day. He knows what he has to get better at, and he’s been working at it. We all respect him.”
Outside of potential returners, Bradley will bring in the top-ranked recruiting class in the MVC this offseason, headlined by Peoria native Dietrich Richardson, the number two ranked player in Illinois for the class of 2025.
For Richardson, and other future Braves, Hannah has a parting message.
“Believe in yourself,” Hannah said. “It’s gonna take time. You’re not going to always be the best. You’re going to have your days, but keep your head down and continue to work. Do the extra. I learned that over the years. I wasn’t always in the gym freshman or sophomore year. I developed that from learning from older guys that came to Bradley. As long as you keep your head down and work and develop, continue to have that hunger, you will be somewhere.”
To Braves fans, soak in Hannah’s message about the future. Believe in your team. Keep your head up and continue cheering.
Continue to make the trip to Carver Arena and uplift the team when needed. As long as the Red Sea is making waves, the Braves will reward its supporters with what they so desperately desire.
A return to the NCAA tournament.
