Two NCAA Tournament Final Fours, four National Invitation Tournament championships, an AP Player of the year and a handful of NBA Draft picks have elevated Bradley men’s basketball to the national spotlight multiple times throughout its 118-year history.
After winning back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championships in 2019 and 2020, the Braves program is back on the ascent following a stretch of mediocrity through the majority of the 2010s.
Where exactly do these repeat title teams stand in terms of Bradley lore? One prominent voice believes the stretch is as good as any he’s seen.
“This is, in my opinion, the best time that Bradley basketball has had since I’ve broadcast the games,” said the radio play-by-play voice of Bradley basketball, Dave Snell.
But what exactly is Snell measuring the recent success against?
Since taking a seat in the radio booth in 1979, Snell has passionately broadcast 41 seasons of Braves games on Peoria airwaves.
In that time, he has called nine games in six NCAA Tournament appearances, including a 2006 Sweet 16 run, five MVC regular season titles and all four of the program’s MVC tournament championships. To say Snell has seen “a lot” would be considered an understatement.
To him, the current stretch draws comparisons to a specific decade.
“In my lifetime, the teams were very very good on a national basis in the ‘60s,” Snell said. “Since I’ve done the play-by-play, this is far and away the most consistent teams Bradley has had, with the possible exception being in the early 80s.”
Those early 80s teams set the tone for a prolific decade in Snell’s first few seasons in the radio booth.
Led by head coach Dick Versace, the Braves won both the MVC regular season and tournament titles in 1980 and lost by two points to Texas A&M in the NCAA Tournament. In 1982, Bradley again won the regular season title but became the first Valley regular season champion to not be included in the NCAA Tournament field. They responded by winning the NIT.
The Braves re-emerged as dominant in 1986, finishing with a record of 32-3, again capturing the MVC regular season title. The team was ranked as high as No. 7 in the AP Poll, thanks to a star-studded backcourt of Jim Les and Hersey Hawkins. The team won its first-round NCAA game but fell to eventual National Champion Louisville in the second round.
After missing the big dance in 1987, the Braves rode Hawkins’ national scoring title and AP Player of the Year performance to another regular season and MVC tournament championship in ‘88.
For those keeping score at home, the program finished atop the MVC standings four times in the ‘80s, something that current head coach Brian Wardle’s squad has yet to accomplish. In Snell’s opinion, that won’t be the case for long.
“They haven’t won a league championship yet, but I think that’s coming,” Snell said. “When [Wardle] was hired he said this is going to be built to last, and I believe it. Because of what he has done and how he has recruited for the time ahead.”
After three consecutive 20-plus win seasons, that time ahead is what excites Snell the most and for that, he credits Wardle and his staff.
“They’ve found people that are good people and good students and hard workers and they’ve established not only a foundation but a culture of knowing what it takes, the sacrifice that it takes, to win,” Snell said.
That excitement is warranted. Despite graduating three starters, the Braves return all-tournament team forward Elijah Childs and guard Danya Kingsby. The team’s three 2019-20 redshirt players – guards Terry Nolan and Kevin McAdoo and forward Reink Mast – will also play key roles. Bradley also will add three newcomers in forwards Darrius Hannah, Connor Linke and guard Jayson Kent.
“They’ll have leaders next year, Eli of course. What they accomplished this year considering he missed 12 games is really remarkable,” Snell said. “I have seen contributions made by the guys that are coming in … obviously, with Reink and Kevin and Terry, you’ve got three quality players.”
The team cannot practice right now, but Snell will be there when the Braves take the floor again.
“You can’t help but be excited about next October and November,” he added.
With the downtime provided by quarantining through the COVID-19 pandemic, Snell is working on writing a book about Bradley Basketball in his time as a broadcaster. While he’s certainly not going to have any shortage of good material, perhaps the best stories are still being written.
