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Final score: Memphis 71 Bradley 56

Bradley was ranked 10th in shooting percentage in the MVC, and that will not change, though their FG% drops a bit to 39.9% (the only MVC under 40%).
But they were ranked 4th in the MVC in 3-point shooting before tonight at 36.0% before tonight.
But with their 2-23 tonight, that percentage drops to 32.1%, which will drop them a couple notches to 6th in the MVC in 3 point percentage.
 
Bradley is now 5-3.
There are 5 non-conference games left before the MVC season begins Dec. 31 at home against Drake.
4 of the 5 are home games (current record in parentheses)-
Dec. 7- Home vs, North Carolina A&T (2-6)
Dec. 10- Home vs. D2 Maryville (3-4)
Dec 15- Home vs. Georgia Southern (5-3)
Dec. 21- Road game at Miami (Ohio) (4-4)
Dec 28- Home vs. Toledo (5-2)

All 5 games appear winnable. If Bradley could win these remaining 5 non-conference games, that would leave them 10-3 headed into the conference.
With a good MVC season, they should go over 20 wins again. But obviously this team is up and down. 2 of the last 3 games (Northwestern & Memphis) have been poorly played games. So nothing is guaranteed. We need more consistency and strong leadership from our seniors.
 
DC you mention leadership. I’d like to point out the only person I saw calling huddles and getting vocal this game was Childs. He is the undisputed floor leader on this team.
 
Couldn’t have said it better Da Coach. Consistency is the key. How can our seniors go from hitting everything one game to such a horrible shooting game the next. Let’s sweep the rest of our non conference games going into the valley season...
 
Thought we played hard but playing hard only gets you so far if you can't hit shots. DB has struggled with his shot so far this season but I would take this game as him trying way too hard in front of his family and friends and when he just kept missing he started to press even more. I just hope this hasn't crushed his confidence. Hopefully he can build it back up during the next 3 home games. Not going to sound the alarm. We'll be fine.
 
Dub said:
Again with Bar on the bench Eli goes off. I’m confused on how we are using Bar.
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Yes, yes, and yes! Why doesn't BW see this as it is SO evident! That being said, when Childs is the only guy that can make a shot, it's going to be tough to win.

Seems to me that we don't travel well, but let's hope it's just when we play Power conference teams and have some pressure because of that and it doesn't translate over to conference games. If you look at games away from home, the only one we've won is Kansas State and that was a tournament game where we had been there for a couple days already. Other than that, we looked terrible last night, terrible against NU, and lost to a St. Joe's team that we should have been able to handle to start the season.

Not sure how you fix that if traveling is an issue. Maybe leave earlier and make sure the team is getting enough rest. I do think there may be something to that.
 
I feel sorry for Darrell but he has to put this behind him. You could tell he was taking it hard and nearly got a T near the end there.

Either Darrell, Ville or Danya need to emerge as a reliable outside threat alongside Nate if we want to keep defenses honest. Gabriel is actually leading the team shooting 44% but I don't know if that's sustainable.

I'd say it's time to take away Bar's 20 footer green light. He made a couple early on but he's being left alone at the top of the key for a reason. And when he wasn't left alone made a bad turnover that led to a runout just when we were getting back in it.
 
It seems to me one major thing we are missing is a “slasher”. Someone who can effectively drive to the basket and either get to the bucket or kick it out. We are not getting enough open looks at 3 while running the offense. DB is too small to do it effectively and Nate is not quick enough or big enough to create enough separation.
 
houstonbrave said:
It seems to me one major thing we are missing is a “slasher”. Someone who can effectively drive to the basket and either get to the bucket or kick it out. We are not getting enough open looks at 3 while running the offense. DB is too small to do it effectively and Nate is not quick enough or big enough to create enough separation.
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I have to agree. The team needs a Theron Wilson/Taylor Brown type player.

And Kennell definitely hasn’t developed how I’d hoped. I was hoping for a Crouch type career for him, but he just hasn’t gotten there. Maybe once or twice a season, but by the time Crouch was an upper class man he was putting up 15 pts pretty much every night and 20 a lot as well. Same with Brown. Can’t be 0-10 from the field 75% of the way through the game.
 
houstonbrave said:
It seems to me one major thing we are missing is a “slasher”. Someone who can effectively drive to the basket and either get to the bucket or kick it out. We are not getting enough open looks at 3 while running the offense. DB is too small to do it effectively and Nate is not quick enough or big enough to create enough separation.
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I think the hope was that SG would be this player. We severely miss DLO right now because he fits that role. We miss his leadership along with his ability to slash to the basket. He shot a lot of FT's last year and at a pretty high success rate.
 
Tommy said:
Yes, yes, and yes! Why doesn't BW see this as it is SO evident! That being said, when Childs is the only guy that can make a shot, it's going to be tough to win.

Seems to me that we don't travel well, but let's hope it's just when we play Power conference teams and have some pressure because of that and it doesn't translate over to conference games. If you look at games away from home, the only one we've won is Kansas State and that was a tournament game where we had been there for a couple days already. Other than that, we looked terrible last night, terrible against NU, and lost to a St. Joe's team that we should have been able to handle to start the season.

Not sure how you fix that if traveling is an issue. Maybe leave earlier and make sure the team is getting enough rest. I do think there may be something to that.
Click to expand...

I believe Coach Wardle does see this - and Coach Wardle is looking at the bigger picture during the MVC regular season when there will be times when these two Bar and Childs will need to be on the court at the same time due to size and rebounding situations. I believe Wardle is trying out all player combinations so that they can "all" play together.

As for team traveling.... Da Coach or anyone - does anyone know when the team generally arrives for an away game. Is it the day before or night before and when do they usually practice before an away game ? I hope all coaches and trainers recognize if this team is becoming lethargic due to traveling schedules. Good thing the next 3 games are at home - besides basketball - all these players will be wrapping up this fall semester and finals by Dec. 20th.

GO BRAVES !!!
 
Gabriel can be that slasher but he’s not there yet. One time last night he slashed to the hoop and I don’t think his layup hit the rim.
 
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