Last season, the Bradley men’s basketball team was one of the worst teams in the country. They averaged 56 points per game, shot 38 percent from the field and averaged nine assists per game, all marks ranking last place in the conference.
The Braves also happened to be the youngest squad in the conference. The freshman-filled team entered the conference inexperienced and physically inferior to most of its opponents. Naturally, that would explain the lack of scoring, rebounding and the 3-15 conference record.
So after a year under head coach Brian Wardle’s regime, are the Braves going to put up a better fight in year two?
According to Wardle, the answer is a confident, “Yes.”
“I think our guys have more confidence, and they understand what Division I college basketball is all about and the intensity and competitiveness that we demand every day,” Wardle said.
Of course, when a team finishes its season 7-24 overall, there are a lot of areas for improvement. Bradley pretty much needs to do everything better, according to Wardle, whether it be scoring, rebounding or passing the ball. The most important improvement, though, wasn’t necessarily on the court.
“We needed to have a great commitment to the weight room and physical strength and conditioning in the off season, which we did,” Wardle said. “Not only just weight lifting but also nutrition. We needed to put on weight and get stronger … We needed to spend a lot of time studying the game and improving our decision making when it comes to shooting, passing or dribbling.”
Wardle said the team’s work in the off-season is starting to pay dividends on the court, too.
“We’ve been making shots [in practice] more consistently this year than last year because we’re a better passing team,” Wardle said. “I think our returners have improved, and our newcomers bring a lot of things that we were missing last year.”
Wardle once again introduced a large recruiting class of six freshmen and two transfers. The addition of these newcomers, including 6’10” center Koch Bar and guard Darrell Brown, add different dimensions to the roster in terms of athleticism and ability, Wardle said. Add that to a roster with stronger and experienced players, and there’s reason for optimism.
“I think we know there’s more talent in that locker room now,” Wardle said. “We can play a lot of different lineups because we’re so deep and versatile.”
Wardle said he doesn’t know what his lineup will look like on opening night. However, he said the most important thing is not necessarily who starts, but who finishes games.
Junior Donte Thomas will likely be one of the guys finishing games for Wardle and the Braves. Thomas was the team’s leading scorer and is the longest tenured player on the roster.
Thomas said the bar is set high for the team no matter what outsiders may say.
“[Our expectations] are to go out there and give our best performance every day,” Thomas said. “We’re trying to show the crowd our heart and effort every time out there no matter whether we get the win or loss.”
Thomas said Bradley’s depth is the team’s strong point, as it has fostered a lot of inner-team competition. Will it foster better competition against its opponents? There are 32 games and four months for that question to be answered, and it all begins Sunday at 2 p.m. against UW-La Crosse in Carver Arena.
