Team Previews

[BuBrave2006]

A lot of newcomers for Bradley so take these a bit with a grain of salt, but here's what I've got.

Tier 1:

Elijah Childs - You know what you are getting here. POY Candidate. Team leader. If he stays healthy, we can beat anyone

Ja'Shon Henry - Ja'Shon is going to take a big step this year. He looks bigger and stronger and has worked on his outside game (we'll see how much that translates to games). I don't know if he is going to start (more or less plays the same position as Elijah), but he is going to get big time minutes and be a major contributor again this season. He is going to give you energy, defense, rebounding and is going to dunk the ball...a lot.

Terry Nolan Jr. - Probably the guy most Bradley fans are excited about seeing. I expect him to fill the role of Darrell Brown both as a scoring guard, and a leader. Can get to the basket and finish, can shoot and is excellent defensively. Brian Wardle's kind of player. He is also going to get in your face and he is going to let you know when he is getting the better of you. I would be surprised if he didn't make all-newcomer team.

Tier 2:

Danya Kingsby - Probably the PG to start the season. Sean East may have something to say about that down the line, but Kingsby is very solid. He's athletic, good defensively, a decent shooter, a decent scorer, and does a good job running the team. He'll likely look to attach a bit more offensively this season with Darrell Brown gone. He won't make many mistakes.

Ville Tahvanainen - Ville is going to remind everyone a lot of Nate Kennell. Absolute knock down shooter. Played a lot of big minutes down the stretch last season and hit a lot of big threes for us. Needs a bit of work defensively, but he has a much more all around offensive game than Nate did. Probably a bit more talented than Nate was his soph season, better attacking the basket and a more consistent shot. Ville will get big minutes this season and will be on the radar for most improved.

Sean East - Lightning quick. Sean is good defensively, will get a lot of steals defensively. He is every bit of being left handed, but it's not going to matter...he is still going to get left even though everyone knows he is going that way. He is a good passer and good at finishing at the rim. He is an average shooter right now and will more than likely start games at some point this season.

Ari Boya - The man in the middle. Boya is likely the starting Center. This is Boya's first full offseason healthy and he looks a lot smoother than he has in the past. He is still pretty raw and and no one will confuse him with Cameron Krutwig offensively, but he is every bit of 7'1" and you can't teach that. Going to be a force defensively in the lane blocking and latering shots if he can stay out of foul trouble. He's not a back to the basket post player like Elijah, but he'll cause problems on the screen and roll catching lobs from the guards.

Rienk Mast - Rienk is going to remind a lot of people of Luuk Van Bree. Another tall shooter from the Netherlands. His shot is probably a bit smoother than Luuk's was but Rienk is much bigger and stronger. Bradley is going to be very difficult to guard when Elijah and Rienk are in the game at the same time because of Rienk's ability to stretch the defense.

Tier 3:

Antonio Thomas - Antonio is a smooth PG. Will make a lot of smart decisions, will do a good job managing the offense when he was in the game. He really struggled shooting the ball from the outside last season and is not particularly big. He's a very good passer and can finish at the rim when he is able to get there. He looks a lot stronger this year than he did last year, but he is going to have needed to improve his shooting if he is going to get consistent minutes this season given some of the other guards Bradley has on the roster.

Kevin McAdoo - McAdoo is another transfer who seems to me to be good, but not great at a lot of things. I've heard a lot of good things about him and I think the coaches like him, but I just haven't seen it myself yet. He's more of an off guard, decent shooter, good defensively, seems like a quieter guy, not overly vocal. I think he's going to get minutes and contribute and I may be underselling him, but I just haven't personally seen enough of him to feel like I can make any concrete statements about him.

Darius Hannah - Long and lanky freshman. Reminds me a lot of Elijah his freshman year. He is still pretty small, needs to get into the weight room and bulk up like most freshman, but he looks to be very skilled inside with a decent mid range game. Not much of an outside shooter. I have high hopes that Darius will be a major contributor for Bradley down the road, and he will get his chances this season when some of the rotation players aren't playing well or get in foul trouble, but will likely be primarily a role player this season.

Tier 4:

Jayson Kent - Kent is an athletic small forward but initially looks like he's got a ways to go. He's got good offensive skills, but has a lot to learn defensively and just doesn't have the body right now to hold up in the valley. Darius Hannah can benefit from the weight room, but is still big enough that he can handle regular minutes, Kent can't really stake that same claim. He really needs to bulk up if he is going to be able to guard guys like Tyreke Key in the valley.

Connor Linke - The last freshman on the roster. Linke is big and strong, but not the most skilled. He kind of reminds me of a Jordan Prosser, but maybe more skilled? He could develop into a good strong player in the post in time, but will likely not be a major contributor on the floor this season.

Tier 5 (walk ons):

Thomas Hall and Riley Burger - Not expected to have a role in meaningful minutes. Only included here because this is the first year in Wardle's tenure where we hopefully will not have to use any walk ons throughout the season.

[Adunk33]

Over the past three years we've seen a steady regression for the Redbirds. In the 2017-18 season, the Birds were coming off a 28 win season, and lost Muller's first recruiting class (Paris Lee, Tony Wills, Teddy Hawkins, and Mikyle McIntosh) to graduation/grad transfers for the latter two. The next season fans weren't sure to expect except that the keys were being handed to Yarborough. Phil Fayne and Keyshawn Evans also had great years as juniors, all averaging over 15 ppg. Those three were the team. As they went, the team went, and like we've seen so many times before, the season ended with a Sunday loss at Arch Madness. After that season, the team didn't lose much so it was expected to be a similar season with Yarborough, Fayne, and Evans all being their 15ppg guys again and adding in California's JUCO POY- Zach Copeland. The Birds went 9-9 in the conference (two buzzer beater losses to Mo State and Valpo) and had to play Thursday night. Lost on Friday to Drake. It's well documented that handing the keys to Yarborough was going to be problematic. When the "team leader" was involved the headlines he was, it's never good for the team as a whole. Muller took too long to realize that.

So, why share the Redbird hoops history lesson prior to a team preview? It's to set the stage that I believe Muller has started to change the TYPE of player he is recruiting, starting with last year's class of Horne and Reeves.

Last season was going to be a transition year. We knew that going in but expected to be more in the middle of the pack as opposed to a 5-win team in the conference. Some early losses really shook the team's confidence and they played scared when they had a lead. Early season losses to UCF (by 2), Cincy (By 1) really spiraled the team's confidence. But what gives this Redbird fan hope is that the team was IN almost every loss. There were a handful of losses that were ugly but for the most part the team was scrappy, competitive, and seem to give a sh*t- something that was lacking the previous two seasons.

Now, as we move on to this season- the Birds are picked ninth and probably should be. There is a lot of unknown. The team should be restarting practice this week after COVID ran through it.

Here's a rundown of the team.
Starters:
G- DJ Horne (Soph)- All-Freshman selection a season ago. Really settled in during the last few games of the season. He is more of a scoring point guard than a distributor and Muller would like to move him over to his natural 2 spot if someone else on the team steps up to be an every day 1.

G- Josiah Strong (Jr)- JUCO transfer from Iowa Western and spent his freshman season at Navy. Muller has said Strong has proven to be an every day player. This is an example of where I said early that the "type" of player Muller is recruiting has changed. Strong said his time at Navy helped teach him to be more disciplined on and off the court. Strong can play the 1 and 2 and could assume the ball handling responsibilities so Horne can play the 2.

G- Antonio Reeves (Soph) - All-Bench Team last season. He was recruited to be a sniper for the Birds. He showed flashes but the consistency wasn't there shooting just a hair above 30% from three. He only started three games last year but finished a lot of them because of his defense.

F- Abdou Ndiaye (Soph) - Became a starter towards the end of last season. We don't really know what we have with him yet. He got a block per game last season and we'd love to see that go up and have him be a true rim protector. Scoring wise, when he was recruited we saw tons of tape that suggests he has a solid strong and can score at all three levels. That wasn't his role last season, we'll see if anything changes.

F- Keith Fisher (Sr)- Team leader. He's vocal and holds the team accountable. He really struggled to start the season but finished averaging somewhere in the 15 pts 8 rebounds range the last 10 or so games of the season. He showed his ability to step out and hit the three towards the end of the season.

BENCH:
F- Dusan Mahorcic (Jr) - JUCO transfer out of Moberly Area. He averaged 10 points and 6 rebounds per game and shot just shy of 60% from the field. He's one of the most traditional "big men" the Birds have had at 6'10-230. Should help bring maturity to a young roster

G-Dedric Boyd (Jr)- Could end up a starter if he starts seeing some shots fall. Very much a volume shooter. He scored 164 total points last season on 172 shots. He'll need to become a more consistent scorer or a lockdown defender to get in the starting lineup.

G- Howard Fleming Jr. (Fr) - The recruit I'm the most excited about. He's 6'5 and a TRUE PG. He had shoulder surgery right before his senior year so it limited his exposure on the AAU circuit. He committed to the Birds in November 2019 and came back from surgery in February. His HS coach and local Louisville media believe that he would've gotten HM offers had he waited to commit till Spring. One outlet said something to the effect of "Why is U of Louisville letting this kid leave town?" We'll see.

F- Alex Kotov (Soph) - High school at the prestigious Montverde Prep followed by stops at Palm Beach and Daytona State. Didn't really put up any numbers in JUCO and was a RS last season due to injury. Not really sure what to expect except maturity and discipline.

G/F- Emon Washington (Fr) - 6A Player of the year out of Georgia. Really great athlete but raw basketball skills. He's 6'6 and shows that he can finish in traffic.

F- Harouna Sissoko (Fr) - At 6'7 210 he' could be a tweener in regards to his position but would likely spend time at the 4. He was a redshirt last year.

F- Alston Andrews (Fr)- 6'9 220 originally from Detroit but played HS ball in Florida. Another under the radar guy who missed his entire junior year due to injury. It's said that he is still growing and his projected to hit 7 feet. Depending on what happens with some of the other guys at his position he could use a RS year (in a normal world, but if everyone gets an extra year due to COVID then....idk.)

F- Sy Chatman (Jr) - Transfer from UMASS. I've heard several rumors about him being a "me over we" guy. However, he is childhood friends with Josiah Strong, hopefully that helps keep in grounded and a positive addition to the team. They have submitted a waiver for immediate eligibility and have not heard the outcome. Muller said that he'll see what's happening at the forward position before making a decision on whether or not Sy will play.

WALK ONS
G- Malcom Miller (RS Fr)- He was with the program last year as a redshirt. From Shelbyville, Ill he averaged 27 poings and 11 rebounds and was a first-team all-state player in Class 2A. He's a sniper but could be a liability defensively that would keep him off the court.

G- Nik Stadelman (Fr) - 6'0 guard out of Rockford. Practice player.

G- Jayden Johnson (Fr) - 6'6 guard out of Batavia HS. Averaged 19.5 and 6.1 in HS. Did have an offer from SIU during the Hinson days and got one from UIC and chose to walk-on at ISU instead.


Overall, a very young team that will be relying heavily on the sophomore class. Muller's seat is likely getting warm and with a new AD coming in the first of the year, we'll see what their plan is. I do think that the guys that are in the program now have the ability to grow into what Paris Lee and co did. I haven't felt that about the team since Muller first brought those guys in way back in 2013.

Apologies for the long post. I'm sure that everyone was ecstatic to read about the likely 9th place team

[Blers]

Ja'Shon Henry - Ja'Shon is going to take a big step this year. He looks bigger and stronger and has worked on his outside game (we'll see how much that translates to games). I don't know if he is going to start (more or less plays the same position as Elijah), but he is going to get big time minutes and be a major contributor again this season. He is going to give you energy, defense, rebounding and is going to dunk the ball...a lot.

I've loved Henry the last two years, super tough player down low... Does Bradley ever put Childs at the 5 to pair them together?

[Redhawk]

Apologies for the long post. I'm sure that everyone was ecstatic to read about the likely 9th place team

No need to apologize Adunk. I always look forward to your realistic and detailed insight regarding the Redbird program!

[BuBrave2006]

Ja'Shon Henry - Ja'Shon is going to take a big step this year. He looks bigger and stronger and has worked on his outside game (we'll see how much that translates to games). I don't know if he is going to start (more or less plays the same position as Elijah), but he is going to get big time minutes and be a major contributor again this season. He is going to give you energy, defense, rebounding and is going to dunk the ball...a lot.

I've loved Henry the last two years, super tough player down low... Does Bradley ever put Childs at the 5 to pair them together?

Yes. Childs and Henry will both be on the floor at the same time a lot this season (probably more at the 3 and 4 than at the 4 and 5, but both will happen). Bradley had a lot of lineups last season with Childs at the 5 and Henry at the 4 when Koch was out of the game. This year with Boya and Mast, it's less likely we see that again. When Boya is in the game, Eli will always be the 4, but when Mast is in the game, Eli will likely play the 5 on offense while Mast will guard the other teams big on defense. Those types of lineups (especially is Ja'Shon is playing at the 3) caused a lot of problems two seasons ago when Eli and Luuk were in the game because of how versatile both players were.

[hot nuts]

Apologies for the long post. I'm sure that everyone was ecstatic to read about the likely 9th place team

Much appreciated! I think Copeland caused Muller the same problems as Yarbs, most talented guy on the team but put himself before his teammates. I'm hopeful this team finally has the right mindset, the remaining question would be whether the talent is enough to compete.

[siudawgs]

Saluki JUCO big JD Muila out for the year with a torn meniscus suffered in practice last week. He'll still have two years to play, but it's a substantial blow for this year's squad, especially in terms of rebounding and interior defense.

Not a lot of good options to shoulder the load in his place: D-II transfer Anthony D'Avanzo is 6-8 but probably more of an inside/outside stretch 4, true freshman Kyler Filewich is unlikely to be ready to play major minutes out of the chute and Sekou Dembele's health (and offensive ability) is a question mark.

Southern is now very likely to play lots of small ball because they do have plenty of quality guards and wings, which may work pretty well offensively, but losing Muila will be a problem on defense, especially against teams with athletic bigs.

[Adunk33]

Keith Fisher III has opted out of the season due to COVID safety concerns and his new daughter. It sucks to learn about it just before the season is slated to start but this Redbird fan supports the decision. Much bigger things going on in his life over basketball.

Biggest update on the Redbirds side of things, they really need Sy Chatmans waiver to come through. If not, they just have three “bigs” on the roster- not counting 6’7 Sissoko who can play the 4.

Dusan Mahrocic (definitely spelled that wrong) just said in an article yesterday that the rhythm he and Fisher had developed was going to be something to watch. It seems the decision has surprised everyone. The Redbirds will need Dusan or another player to step up in a big way this year if they want to be even a little competitive.

[mexicobufan]

On the Bradley review, stating that Mast will remind you of LVB is way off base in my opinion. Mast will be a much harder matchup than LVB. Mast is not a good three point shooter, he is a great three point shooter. He is a wide body and not thin like LVB. He is an extremely smart player that makes guys around him better. He can post up much stronger than LVB. It may take a while for him to get his feet under him after sitting out over a year but he will be a very difficult match up in the MVC. After that the other guy I think is being underrated is McAdoo, he will be a very good player for BU.

Time will tell!

[DUBulldog]

OK, I'll give this a shot for Drake.

Bulldogs finished a somewhat disappointing 8-10 (7th) in the conference last season, but still won 20 games. A lot of focus has been placed on the loss of Liam Robbins. Despite the loss of Robbins, Drake returns 5 of the top 7 players from last season, and return 5 players who have started more than 15 games apiece at Drake.

There's not a lot of size, but this is likely the most athletic Drake team in recent memory. I expect this team to play a lot of small ball and try to push the tempo. This is also the deepest team since DeVries took over.

Likely starters:

Darnell Brodie: 6'10", 275 lb Jr.: transfer from Seton Hall. Didn't play much in his two years at Seton Hall, but was a 3* recruit out of high school. If he can give the 'dogs 15-20 somewhat productive minutes a game, I'll be happy.

Tremell Murphy: 6'6" Sr.. Missed most of last season with a knee injury. Was the most athletic player on the team prior to the injury. Averaged 10 ppg and 6 rpg two years ago, while shooting 42% from 3. Per the coaching staff, he has really been working on his range, and expect him to shoot a lot more 3s. With his ability to drive and finish, that would make him a really tough matchup.

Shanquan "Tank" Hemphill Sr.: 6'6" transfer from Green Bay. Missed last season with an injury, but averaged 12 ppg and 7 rpg in 2018-19. Was a juco teammate of the Murphy twins and DJ Wilkins. Anybody who's watched Drake the last few years knows how athletic the Murphy twins are. This young man is more athletic. He high jumped 7 feet in high school. Not a great outside shooter, but should be a superior defender and a good shot blocker.

DJ Wilkins; 6'2" Jr.: 2 year starter for the 'dogs. Had a somewhat disappointing sophomore season (9 ppg) after averaging 11 ppg as a freshman. Every report out of practice is that he's the most improved player on the team and has been a vocal leader.

Roman Penn; 6'0' Jr: The best player on Drake's team at times last season. In the MVC tourney against UNI, he had 26 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. The coaching staff wants him to be more selfish and try to score more. Like Wilkins, reports are that he's really elevated his game over the summer.


Reserves:

Garrett Sturtz, 6'3" Jr. Probably the best walk-on in the league. Averaged 7.5 ppg last season on 65% shooting. Averaged 37 ppg as a high school senior. One look at him and those stats, and you'd assume he was a 3-point bomber....he's exactly the opposite. Virtually all his points come around the hoop despite his small size and thin frame. He's incredible at moving without the ball, and usually ended up with 2-3 layups per game off of back-door cuts. Teams backed off of him last season, daring him to shoot the 3, and he was hesitant to do so. He spent all summer working on his 3-point shot. Didn't start many games, but he was almost always on the court the last 5-6 minutes of each game.

Jonah Jackson, 6'3" senior: Started 23 games last season, and averaged 6 ppg. Every one of his 66 baskets was a 3-pointer. Only attempted 8 free throws all season. Designated 3-pt bomber off the bench. Not a great all-around game, but he can get you 2-3 3-pointers in a hurry.

Noah Thomas, 6'2" Sr.: Started 1 game last season after starting 18 as a sophomore (the year Drake tied for the MVC championship). Extremely fast, but often out of control. You always knew something would happen when he came in to the game, you just didn't know which team it would benefit

Joe Yesufu, 6'0, Soph: Missed almost the entire MVC season with an injury. Very stocky point guard who can absolutely jump out of the gym. Didn't get much of a chance to see what he could do last season. Minutes might be hard to come by.

Okay Djamgouz, 6'5" R-Fr: Redshirted last season. Was considered by some to be the best shooter in Canada when he was in high school. Had an offer from Kansas State. Pretty thin, not a great ball-handler, but he could step in to Jonah Jackson's role next season. I think his overall game is more versatile than Jackson's.

Nate Ferguson: 6'8" R-Fr. Missed last season with a back injury. Didn't really start practicing until February. He is pretty athletic for a big man and can hit the 3. Has added about 20 pounds of muscle since last season. Could get some minutes at the 5 in a small-ball lineup.

Issa Samake, 6'8" R-Fr: Redshirted last season. Very raw offensively, but really intriguing prospect. He has a 7'5" wingspan and can really jump. Should be a shot-blocking machine.

Jordan Kwiecinski: 6'9" Fr.: Hard to judge his high school stats. His team had multiple D1 players, but his coach insisted on playing a slow-down game with scores usually in the 30s. In video I've seen of him from AAU, he can run the floor and shoot the 3. Needs to add a little more weight.

Bryson Burns: 6'5" Fr: Played at a prep school last season. Late pickup for DU, who originally signed with UIC, but left after a coaching change. Good athlete.

Connor Gholson, 6'3" R-Jr. Walk-on who's a good shooter.

Andrew Barrett: 6'5" Jr: Walk-on

Deven Dahlke, 6'2" Fr: Walk-on. Son of former Drake player Dave Dahlke (played for Drake in the 80s after transferring from Minnesota).