Of all the things Peter Hanley expected would happen his senior year at Bradley University, he did not expect to receive a full athletic scholarship.
Hanley, a 6-foot-7 senior forward for the Bradley men’s basketball team, has been a walk-on for the past three seasons.
That all changed at the start of the 2018 school year.
On Aug. 22, men’s basketball head coach Brian Wardle called a meeting with all the players and staff. After talking about key player attributes such as loyalty, commitment, selflessness and leadership, Wardle surprised Hanley with a full scholarship for embodying those core values.
Wardle said that Hanley had been with the team for a long time and deserved the scholarship.
“Peter [Hanley] was one of the first guys that came into the program with me and the staff and embodied an ultimate team player: unselfish, never complained, was a star in his role, embraced his role and just worked and worked and worked,” Wardle said. “So when the opportunity came up for me and the staff to reward him, his teammates were so excited.”
Hanley said he was caught completely off guard when the team broke the news to him.
“It meant a lot to me,” Hanley said. “I put a lot of time into the program. It felt good that the coach and staff appreciated what I had done. I was completely unaware. [Wardle] just called a team meeting, and we have a lot of team meetings, so it didn’t really stand out. I just went in there, sat down and got ready to listen, and it turned out to be great news.”
While basketball is one of Hanley’s major focuses at Bradley, his studies as a psychology pre-med major have been his primary focus.
“It’s definitely difficult [majoring in pre-med],” Hanley said. “A lot of time management stuff. You have to prioritize studies over basketball and putting the proper time into everything. It’s gone alright for me. I’ve gotten more used to it [over the years]. It’s made me more disciplined.”
Hanley’s dedication to his studies has shown off the court with multiple accolades. He was named to the NABC Honors Court in 2018, received the MVC Commissioner’s Academic Excellence Award in 2016, made MVC Honor Roll (2016-2018) and has earned a spot on Bradley’s Athletic Director’s Honor Roll six semesters in a row since Fall 2015.
Hanley noted how he had even considered quitting the program in the past to focus on his studies. But his dedication to the team has paid off, quite literally.
“[I’m] not saying I never thought about [leaving the team], but I do love this program,” Hanley said. “The guys here and the coaches have been very supportive of everything I’ve wanted to do. They made it really easy to stay on board.”
Now going into his senior year during “The Arrival” era, Hanley is doing whatever he can to ensure the team competes for the Missouri Valley Conference title and a shot at qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.
“We’re hoping to compete for the Valley championship [this season],” Hanley said. “Whether it’s in the practice or in the games, I’m ready to put in the work to hopefully reach that goal. There’s a lot of good teams in the conference, we know that. We’ll need to bring our A-game to every game and practice.”
Wardle is nothing but happy that Hanley has remained on the team for almost four years now throughout the rebuilding transition of the men’s basketball team.
“He’s earned it and deserved it, and we’re just happy that he’s been with us for four years and helped us turn this program around,” Wardle said.
According to Hanley, the team is ready and excited to start the season in November.
“The preseason has been good,” Hanley said. “We’ve been practicing hard since school’s got going. We’re just ready to play other teams now.”
