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Bradley 2025-26

Da Coach

Da Coach

Moderator
Staff member
One good piece of news.... I have heard that every player with remaining eligibility, except two, has signed NIL agreement papers, which is a form of a commitment to return. The two exceptions were Ahmet and Almar, who haven't signed yet, and are conferring with their NIL advisors and considering other factors.
 
I would not be disappointed at all if either of them leave.We should be able to find better from the portal.
 
Meta must return...really alters the game with his size!:idea:
Atlason must improve on both ends of the court...shed 10 or 15 lbs...no reason for him to weigh 230....ended up being a real liability...:oops:
Also please win the appeal for Christian Davis getting another season with the Braves...;-) 8)
 
You want both of them back. Let’s not forget that Almar has the potential to be a great brave. Yes he needs to fix things like confidence, play in the right position and stay here all summer to work on his feet and quickness. CT needs the weight room and about 30 pounds of muscle and tape of his game against George Mason on repeat. Needs to be beast mode. Meta has gotten way better but he needs to work on shooting and vertical. He should be able to catch a lob for a dunk and right now that’s impossible. We can’t leave out that as a staff we need to get better at in game adjustments. Tonight wasn’t the first time we had seen a complete breakdown and we are just to stubborn to stop doing the same thing. Good seasons need to turn into great seasons. Portal combat up next
 
I believe the coaches want both Ahmet and Almar back next season, especially since the scholarship limit expands to 15 from 13 this year. And I hear it is more likely than not that they will be.
Both have shown improvement, and much of what fans see as deficiencies for Almar was because he was playing out of position at the "4". When he plays more of a perimeter position, he can be effective. Unfortunately, matchups at the "3" spot were also difficult for Almar defensively. I believe he will improve and become more of a consistent asset.
Check his stats below. He shot over 38% from three, an excellent number for a 6'9" player, and his shooting helped Bradley win some games earlier in the season.
Stats- https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/stats/_/id/5176313/almar-atlason
 
Da Coach said:
I believe the coaches want both Ahmet and Almar back next season, especially since the scholarship limit expands to 15 from 13 this year. And I hear it is more likely than not that they will be.
Both have shown improvement, and much of what fans see as deficiencies for Almar was because he was playing out of position at the "4". When he plays more of a perimeter position, he can be effective. Unfortunately, matchups at the "3" spot were also difficult for Almar defensively. I believe he will improve and become more of a consistent asset.
Check his stats below. He shot over 38% from three, an excellent number for a 6'9" player, and his shooting helped Bradley win some games earlier in the season.
Stats- https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/stats/_/id/5176313/almar-atlason
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I agree with you.I think Almar hit the " sophomore slump". If he works on what his negatives are he will be much improved. He himself was getting frustrated on his defense
 
When Almar entered a game, he was a minus on defense and offense. I don’t have the plus/minus stats for his time on the court, but it must be a significant negative number. I hope Ahmet stays. I know he has been dating a girl on the women’s tennis team
 
Season has come to an end, but not the way we all wanted it to. Now time to turn the page and get ready for next year. Promising freshman class along with the possibility of Sommerville and Koch being persuaded to come to BU. Still a long shot but there is a chance. Hope Christian Davis wins his case and gets another year of eligibility. Portal war now in full swing and hope we can land strong post players to add to the mix. Already looking forward to next year as Wardle and staff can hopefully take us to the next level. I guess having a good chance to play for the championship in St. Louis every year is a realistic goal with the program now going forward. Looking forward to see what the off-season brings.
 
If Atlason is not hitting his shot, which was wildly inconsistent, he has no value to this team. He may be the worst defensive player I’ve seen in years. He can’t guard anyone. Meta is going to be highly coveted, a big man on the rise. I was worrried about Bully and am glad he will return. We are loaded at PG next year for sure. Excited to see who we get with the remaining scholarships.
 
Wow - this is really good news especially after yesterday's game.
Burch and Quan are the guys we can build the team around. I think Burch's lack of playing time (for so long in a game) showed last night, even though he had an outstanding game. I expected him to finish this way this season, which was a big plus!

I probably am in the minority that I think losing Almar will hurt us, but if we could find another sharp-shooter they need to defend better.
We have seen this sophomore slump often for Braves, and he may have the best stroke from long range on the team - I think it's mental for him right now. He's a good kid and you always like for guys who have contributed in some way with a willingness to win/get better to stay with the program.
 
Next year is going to be very interesting:

As much as I love Duke Deen, it's tough when your go to player is a 5'8 jump shooter. Offensively, it was too easy for teams to take him out of the game. But, who will be the Alpha next year? Is it someone on the roster who greatly improves? One of the freshman? A transfer?

This is the 1st time I'm hearing/seeing a good amount of people rumbling about the coaching. The substitutions were puzzling at times and the in game adjustments were iffy. Has Bradley maxed out with the Wardle as HC or can he take the team to another level? If Bradley is an NIT team or worse next year, will fans be calling for a new HC?

What will the roster even look like? Does Bradley have a legit shot at the Peoria transfers? If not can we find a couple high level transfers that will not just provide depth but help get us to the tourney?

Can the staff solve the inconsistency problems. The last few years, this team has been so incredibly inconsistent, rarely putting together 2 good halves. The MO has been get out to a good start and fold in the 2nd half or get down big and attempt a furious comeback. Whether its execution or focus, the staff needs to get the team to play with more consistency.​
 
BU freak said:
If Atlason is not hitting his shot, which was wildly inconsistent, he has no value to this team. He may be the worst defensive player I’ve seen in years. He can’t guard anyone. Meta is going to be highly coveted, a big man on the rise. I was worrried about Bully and am glad he will return. We are loaded at PG next year for sure. Excited to see who we get with the remaining scholarships.
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Concur. Atlason is a major liability on the floor if he is not hitting beyond the arc. In fact I would say he needs to hit at least 3 shots beyond the arc to be a positive on the floor in the minutes he has gotten.
 
I've heard Meta's people are asking for NIL money that likely exceeds his current value. I still think he has a lot to work on, especially his handling skills. We'll see what happens.

As far as BW goes...we need to take a step back and understand that he has built a program that succeeds consistently and a culture that keeps a majority of our players. Success year in and year out helps keep those players too. We have not had that consistent success for a long time. Are we at Drake's level right now? Or at LUC's previous level? No, but we're pretty darn close. Does BW have room for improvement? Of course, we all do. But he has built a winner here and it's consistent. We had 28 wins this season. I'm sure Drake fans are enjoying their success over the past several seasons. But at the same time, they have been on a roller coaster with coaches and players. It worked out very well this year for them...a less than stellar hire may change that next season. We know what we have with BW...and I'm excited for next season, our best recruiting class to date, and what this staff will hopefully do with the portal.
 
Southside said:
Next year is going to be very interesting:

As much as I love Duke Deen, it's tough when your go to player is a 5'8 jump shooter. Offensively, it was too easy for teams to take him out of the game. But, who will be the Alpha next year? Is it someone on the roster who greatly improves? One of the freshman? A transfer?

This is the 1st time I'm hearing/seeing a good amount of people rumbling about the coaching. The substitutions were puzzling at times and the in game adjustments were iffy. Has Bradley maxed out with the Wardle as HC or can he take the team to another level? If Bradley is an NIT team or worse next year, will fans be calling for a new HC?

What will the roster even look like? Does Bradley have a legit shot at the Peoria transfers? If not can we find a couple high level transfers that will not just provide depth but help get us to the tourney?

Can the staff solve the inconsistency problems. The last few years, this team has been so incredibly inconsistent, rarely putting together 2 good halves. The MO has been get out to a good start and fold in the 2nd half or get down big and attempt a furious comeback. Whether its execution or focus, the staff needs to get the team to play with more consistency.​
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I'm really on the fence with Wardle. I'm VERY thankful for him getting BU to a perennial top of the MVC team and playing for championships every year. I am also very leery of a new coach but we know very well(Ford) that doesn't guarantee more success. But I think we've all seen enough to know this is what we are going to get from Wardle led teams(good, not great). I lean on him sticking around rather than flipping the coin hoping for better. But that being said I'm not as worried anymore about him going elsewhere on his own if the opportunity presents itself.
 
BradleyBiz said:
I've heard Meta's people are asking for NIL money that likely exceeds his current value. I still think he has a lot to work on, especially his handling skills. We'll see what happens.

As far as BW goes...we need to take a step back and understand that he has built a program that succeeds consistently and a culture that keeps a majority of our players. Success year in and year out helps keep those players too. We have not had that consistent success for a long time. Are we at Drake's level right now? Or at LUC's previous level? No, but we're pretty darn close. Does BW have room for improvement? Of course, we all do. But he has built a winner here and it's consistent. We had 28 wins this season. I'm sure Drake fans are enjoying their success over the past several seasons. But at the same time, they have been on a roller coaster with coaches and players. It worked out very well this year for them...a less than stellar hire may change that next season. We know what we have with BW...and I'm excited for next season, our best recruiting class to date, and what this staff will hopefully do with the portal.
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Great post BradBiz!

I think we've got it REALLY good with Coach Wardle - no BU head coach has brought a team to consistency of winning and finishing Top 3 or 4 since I've been a fan in the early 90s. We may question his substitutions, but dang...34-0 when leading at half before last night!!! (and 38-0 when up at the 5-minute mark). We (BU fans) are not accustomed to 2nd half meltdowns when up at the half AT ALL the past 2 seasons and we've been able to hold the lead.

The guys on the floor made mistakes last night that cost the game...the turnover barrage hit, and we were without Hannah and Zek. Not excusing the loss, but without question we win last night (and pretty easily) with DH.
The players need to own up for not executing in the 2nd half, but they played hard - just short-handed and we missed some open 3s in the 2nd half similar to 1st round game vs N. Alabama.

For whatever knock we have on Wardle, the guy has built a culture that is 2nd to none in the Valley (perhaps among the best in the country), has recruited some great freshmen with high character, and is able to keep guys coming back to build year after year. Yeah, he's been out-coached a few times (though I don't think last night was one of them), but he's out-coached the other guy more in the last 5-6 seasons as a whole. I seriously doubt if we bring someone else in that we'll enjoy the kind of success we have since 2019...and if so, it will take a few years to get there.

It's frustrating that we're on the cusp of doing AMAZING things - like winning Arch Madness again, or getting the to the NIT Final 4, but we're staying strong with Wardle and staff. Let's see where this new Freshman class will take us - my hopes are high!
 
LittleBrave said:
Great post BradBiz!

I think we've got it REALLY good with Coach Wardle - no BU head coach has brought a team to consistency of winning and finishing Top 3 or 4 since I've been a fan in the early 90s. We may question his substitutions, but dang...34-0 when leading at half before last night!!! (and 38-0 when up at the 5-minute mark). We (BU fans) are not accustomed to 2nd half meltdowns when up at the half AT ALL the past 2 seasons and we've been able to hold the lead.

The guys on the floor made mistakes last night that cost the game...the turnover barrage hit, and we were without Hannah and Zek. Not excusing the loss, but without question we win last night (and pretty easily) with DH.
The players need to own up for not executing in the 2nd half, but they played hard - just short-handed and we missed some open 3s in the 2nd half similar to 1st round game vs N. Alabama.

For whatever knock we have on Wardle, the guy has built a culture that is 2nd to none in the Valley (perhaps among the best in the country), has recruited some great freshmen with high character, and is able to keep guys coming back to build year after year. Yeah, he's been out-coached a few times (though I don't think last night was one of them), but he's out-coached the other guy more in the last 5-6 seasons as a whole. I seriously doubt if we bring someone else in that we'll enjoy the kind of success we have since 2019...and if so, it will take a few years to get there.

It's frustrating that we're on the cusp of doing AMAZING things - like winning Arch Madness again, or getting the to the NIT Final 4, but we're staying strong with Wardle and staff. Let's see where this new Freshman class will take us - my hopes are high!
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Anyone not excited to have BW is forgetting the post-Les years and just how dark they were. Honestly, while the overall talent level at BU may be less than in the past (I'd argue the Les teams were more talented, but the game was different then, the MVC was a stronger league, etc) BW has done a fantastic job and should deserve every chance to continue taking the program to the next level.
 
Stryker said:
Anyone not excited to have BW is forgetting the post-Les years and just how dark they were. Honestly, while the overall talent level at BU may be less than in the past (I'd argue the Les teams were more talented, but the game was different then, the MVC was a stronger league, etc) BW has done a fantastic job and should deserve every chance to continue taking the program to the next level.
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Nice post - totally agree!
 
Yes. Most fans have totally discarded the memories of Joann, Michael Cross, and Geno. It is too painful to recall and there isn’t enough alcohol to think about that era.
 
I can't even believe people are talking about Wardle being on the fence. Wardle is a very good coach and has done a great job. I would hate to see him go.
 
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