Expect announcement of commitments soon

[BUfan14]

This is assuming that Wardle didn't try to sell more talented players on coming here. Unless you are privy to something I don't know of course. There are so many things that go into recruiting now. What if the players talked to Wardle and said how much playing time is available, and he said they could compete for time. There have been rumors that kids are asking for guarantees in playing time. What if kids are asking for more money then HOTB has available? I think we would all love 13 all conference players, but after having some rumored discontentment last year, maybe Wardle wants to avoid those hurdles.

I'm sure some do ask those things, but every single available kid that's an attainable upgrade? Some kids might be middle to lower Valley level and just want the best shot at the NCAA tournament (Bradley is in a good spot to sell that in the Valley this year) or maybe some kid like a Linke cares about academics/degree too.

I'm not asking for 13 all conference kids, but I think a person who could at least compete for playing time with a (previously) open spot to give is not asking for that. Like I've said before, a kid with a 10% chance of contributing this year (or a future year) is better than an automatic 0% and hamstringing your depth in an important year. As set in stone as we think we are, the only for sure things we should have right now are Deen and Hannah (and probably Zek) as starters. Dillon, Thomas, Atlason, Burch, Davis, etc. should be trying to earn minutes and prove themselves right now with various levels of at least already being in the rotation. Speaking of promises, did we promise Zek, Dillon, Thomas starting spots or just a chance to compete for them? I'd have to think the latter with Brian's style. We still landed them. Johnson had to know he'd be at best backing up Duke this year and have to grow into a role, we still landed him.

I guess I just find it hard to believe with everyone available there is not one good culture kid who can play, at least a little, interested in Bradley and possibly competing for a playing time spot. I'm sure they did try to recruit other talented kids too, but why give up already?

 

[egib52]

I'm sure some do ask those things, but every single available kid that's an attainable upgrade? Some kids might be middle to lower Valley level and just want the best shot at the NCAA tournament (Bradley is in a good spot to sell that in the Valley this year) or maybe some kid like a Linke cares about academics/degree too.

I'm not asking for 13 all conference kids, but I think a person who could at least compete for playing time with a (previously) open spot to give is not asking for that. Like I've said before, a kid with a 10% chance of contributing this year (or a future year) is better than an automatic 0% and hamstringing your depth in an important year. As set in stone as we think we are, the only for sure things we should have right now are Deen and Hannah (and probably Zek) as starters. Dillon, Thomas, Atlason, Burch, Davis, etc. should be trying to earn minutes and prove themselves right now with various levels of at least already being in the rotation. Speaking of promises, did we promise Zek, Dillon, Thomas starting spots or just a chance to compete for them? I'd have to think the latter with Brian's style. We still landed them. Johnson had to know he'd be at best backing up Duke this year and have to grow into a role, we still landed him.

I guess I just find it hard to believe with everyone available there is not one good culture kid who can play, at least a little, interested in Bradley and possibly competing for a playing time spot. I'm sure they did try to recruit other talented kids too, but why give up already?

BW has been one of the consistently most successful mid major coaches in the country since he's been here. My guess if he thought there were upgrades to be had, they would be here. I would love for us to have another scorer and big, but I'm going to trust him on 12 and 13.

 

[BUfan14]

BW has been one of the consistently most successful mid major coaches in the country since he's been here. My guess if he thought there were upgrades to be had, they would be here. I would love for us to have another scorer and big, but I'm going to trust him on 12 and 13.

Again, I look at it as 1/13 spots, I’m not sure why it has to be depth chart spots 12 and 13 automatically.

And yes, he has done a very very good job, and we’ve seen how bad it can get, and I like for the most part how he runs the program. However, I’d love to take the next step and be great, and our depth seems to hold us back each year from taking that next step. I guess I just see a golden opportunity this year to take that next step and that’s not guaranteed to happen again, and I’d want to take every even slight chance to improve that chance.

I guess we will see how it plays out, I’m really hoping we have great injury luck again this year and none of this debate matters. I do like the Zek, Dillon, and Thomas additions on paper. Should be a fun year to follow.

 

[LittleBrave]

Again, I look at it as 1/13 spots, I’m not sure why it has to be depth chart spots 12 and 13 automatically.

And yes, he has done a very very good job, and we’ve seen how bad it can get, and I like for the most part how he runs the program. However, I’d love to take the next step and be great, and our depth seems to hold us back each year from taking that next step. I guess I just see a golden opportunity this year to take that next step and that’s not guaranteed to happen again, and I’d want to take every even slight chance to improve that chance.

I guess we will see how it plays out, I’m really hoping we have great injury luck again this year and none of this debate matters. I do like the Zek, Dillon, and Thomas additions on paper. Should be a fun year to follow.

I feel ya BUfan14 and follow what you're saying. Makes sense.
No guarantees that the newcomers will live up to the hype, but at least they seem to have more upside and cohesion to what BU represents than the guys we added last year. I was skeptical of Pettigrew from the start (just a bad vibe) and Ellis hardly played the 2 years prior...Thomas looked like he could have the most impact of the 3, but even he had little production and minutes (as a freshman) on a bad EIU the year before.
The problem with all 3 may likely have been finding guys with certain basketball potential, but didn't exactly fit well into the BU culture, and if that's the case, I'm sure Wardle and staff learned their lesson when approaching the new recruits this season. It's apparent that he wants the best 13 guys that fit the culture, while having at least 10 guys who could be significant contributors, while having ALL of them add value to the team - not necessarily in ways seen on game day.

I hope CT doesn't end up playing as little as Kyle, who actually showed some good things last season IMO. I was impressed though with Corey's skill set and steady numbers in JC, and even more by what some on here had to say after watching him play.