• Welcome to BradleyFans.com! Visitors are welcome, but we encourage you to sign up and register as a member. It's free and takes only a few seconds. Just click on the link to Register at the top right of the page, and follow instructions. If you have any problems or questions, click on the link at the bottom right of the page to Contact Us.

Huge Victory for BU tonight!!

I could catch very much of the game (only a few minutes from 7:20 PM - 7:25 PM) because of a piano recital that I had to go to. The Braves were down by 4 at that time after a 9-0 Wright State run. However, I'm glad that the Braves won (even though they needed some overtime to do it)!
 
houstonbrave said:
OK Sam is much better on D than I ever thought he would be at this point and that is huge. However, he makes me very nervous handling the ball on the point. He is only a freshman but he throws the ball away way too much and he gets up in the air without knowing where in creation he is going to throw it. He'll be fine given more time but geez if we give him the point next year it is going to be a MASSIVE move down from Ruff. We are going to fall off in any case but he just makes me nervous at the point.

I like his hustle, I like his defense, and he is only at the beginning of his freshman year but...
Click to expand...


Don't take this wrong Houston, but DUHHHHHHHHH!

Of course it will be a move down from Ruff (Les is More said it best about getting the kid some experience). This is college b-ball......You're gonna have a year or two where there is a drop-off in talent at a position, especially at the mid-major level. Good coaches will adapt to the talent that they have and put forth a game plan based on this.

I think Sammy M. could do an admirable if he's our PG next year......I really like this guy!!!
 
bert notorius said:
AW scores 23 and puts the team on his back and has to listen to this...
Click to expand...

I think you only watched the first half bert... AW's back was on the bench when it came to crunch time. The player that put the team on his back, and who always seems to play with more heart than most, was Theron Wilson. To say that AW took the team on his back would require him to gut it out during the stretch or make things happen. I love AW but to say the team was on his back is a slap in the face to TW, DRuff for calming the team even when he was hurt, and those players who played some real D in the closing minutes.
 
Braves4Life said:
Sam M. = Possible Freshman of Year in MVC (IMO)

I love Sammy!!!!!
Click to expand...

If Sam keeps getting the minutes he is now, especially late in games, you can make a strong argument for him as Freshman of the Year. However, we haven't even entered conference play yet so we still have a ways to go. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing Sam on the court and playing, being a sophomore myself, it is great to see what he is doing and to be able to think that he will just keep getting better each and every year.

As for AW, if you remember he had a good game or two earlier this season and then has been a bit of a letdown since then. I think the next games against Butler and VCU will speak a lot for if he has truly stepped up to what Les said about him. Granted Butler is a very good team and VCU is now slouch pushover themselves, but like usual they are going to try to shut down Ruff and Crouch so we will be able to see if Warren steps up like he did tonight.
 
DUBrave5 said:
If Sam keeps getting the minutes he is now, especially late in games, you can make a strong argument for him as Freshman of the Year. However, we haven't even entered conference play yet so we still have a ways to go. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing Sam on the court and playing, being a sophomore myself, it is great to see what he is doing and to be able to think that he will just keep getting better each and every year.

As for AW, if you remember he had a good game or two earlier this season and then has been a bit of a letdown since then. I think the next games against Butler and VCU will speak a lot for if he has truly stepped up to what Les said about him. Granted Butler is a very good team and VCU is now slouch pushover themselves, but like usual they are going to try to shut down Ruff and Crouch so we will be able to see if Warren steps up like he did tonight.
Click to expand...

Just a word of advice, Butler will try to shut down AW as well. Butler did try to recruit him and Brad Stevens knows him very well and knows he is a excellent shooter. AW has played at Hinkle a lot so lets hope he remembers where all the "dips" are in the floor!
 
Heart and soul and desire and hustle are all good to talk about and blah, blah, but basketball is a game of points. AW, who is only a soph, scored the most. And the last time I checked, a field goal counts the same in either half. Defense comes with experience. I just don't think you know what you've got here.
 
Lakeview Brave said:
Great to get a big road win!!

A few points:

1) Does anyone know what exactly is wrong with Ruff? I guess it cant be that bad since he played almost the whole game

2) Why dont Collins and SIngh play more the Salley? I think we have hit the ceiling with Salley and probably Singh as well but Collins still has alot of potential IMO. I think he is the only player on the team who will be able to draw double teams in the post.

3) Warren had a great game tonight and we need more of that from him BUT if I were him I would be embarressed to be subed out at the end of games on D in favor of a 6'0 tall freshman. I know Sam hustles and plays hard but come on! Warren needs to step it up on both ends of the floor consitantly for us to go from good to great

4) TCS??? They guy scored over 1100 points in JUCO and was recruited by Dana Altman.. Who would have thought he would be playing less then Sam? Imagine if he could come in and hit some shots? I think he along with Warren have the best ability to create their own shot but he is giving us nothing.

5) WILSON = Boogie = AWESOME! I would like to see us go bigger sometimes with him at the 3 like we did with Cellus, POB and Boogie. He can hit shots and put the ball on the floor and guard at the 3


6) Why did Les go out of playing zone?
Click to expand...


AW has NOTHING to be embarressed about. What makes you think he is not stepping it up on D. Some guys are quicker than others on D. Give it up he had a great game tonight!
 
Les is More said:
Why can't warren be that reliable more often!

He is hit or miss, but I will take the Hit this game, we needed him to step up with their stellar D on ruff and JC
Click to expand...

He could be more reliable if he didn't have to stand over in the corner and get most of his shots. Any one that knows basketball knows that if your shot is not dropping the corner is the worst place to be shooting from. However most of the "plays" call for him to be over in the corner. In addition AW has been challenged to play harder on D. If he can do that, it will make him a much better player that he is.
 
Naptown24 said:
He could be more reliable if he didn't have to stand over in the corner and get most of his shots. Any one that knows basketball knows that if your shot is not dropping the corner is the worst place to be shooting from. However most of the "plays" call for him to be over in the corner. In addition AW has been challenged to play harder on D. If he can do that, it will make him a much better player that he is.
Click to expand...

I think it's more 'aggressive' than 'reliable'. I trust AW, and when he's aggressive and assertive, he's a ton. Honestly, I would rather he had the ball to create the last shot than Ruffin. He can get a shot off over a defender and is more under control than Ruffin. Keep growing AW, be THE MAN.
 
Ahem, a little perpective on Sam M

Ahem, a little perpective on Sam M

Sam M is not spectacular folks, he is a good freshman with potential to be a very good player as he develops down the road as a junior and senior--but not like Daniel, Anthony Manuel, or Jimmy. Yes, he's scrappy and short, but he is a freshman and does play like it many times a game with bad decisions, turnovers, etc. But without being misinterpreted, he does the fit the type of role as a fan favorite, a la Jimmy Les, Aaron Zobrist, and Danny Adams. He is also slow for the level of point guard our system requires, and I would like to see what his real wieight is--he looks like he needs to get more lean. I believe we have that juco kid signed for next year who is very quick and can shoot threes, so I'm guessing Sam M may not always be on the point in the next year or two.

Now with all that as realistic critique, here is the definite and great upside: he was a very solid high school player, has a solid outside shot that should be very good and will be used often as he progresses, seems very knowledgable/court aware as a freshman, very intense on D, and in general, the overall effort is incredibly consistent and strong, not only as a freshman, but he may only be topped by Daniel for who has worked the hardest so far this season.

But, there should be an observation/critque of how he is played, and how his minutes come at the expense of other players who match up way better with the other team's players on the floor at given times. I have said it before and I will say it again, there is no way, unless on a bad switch, that he should wind up against someone a half foot taller or more. And as far as the defense for offense rationale switching with Andrew tonight, AW's defense has greatly improved over last year, in fact, folks should have noted the minutes and how well he did against Nitzel. I think someone made the comment elsewhere that AW could be the key for us, especially if the big man really do not come along, and if AW does start performing, and if one or two real 4 and 5 men come along down the stretch, than we will see what we have been hoping for :-)
 
Just a great win! The team could have folded a couple of times, but they stuck it out and got the w.

Until now, I didn't know if Bradley could play without Ruffin or Crouch lighting it up, but that's what happened tonight.

I think AW plays okay on defense. I think there are matchups where he has trouble... but that's true for all players. SM, who I thought played a very nice game, was just getting torched by one of their guards for a while. I think AW had been playing a bit tentative since his big game earlier this year, but not tonight.

I hope Ruffin and Wilson get healthy by Butler.

GO BRAVES
 
Ahh what a huge win. I mean whats better than picking up a win at Wright State where a #16 rank team scored 25 points less than us tonight. Some key notes below...

-Bradley killed the boards again for a +10, however our -6 TO's negated that factor.

-Once again Collins missed only one shot for the 7th time out of 10 games for a 72% FG shooting. I watched Salleys 3 or 4 impossible to miss chip shots and about barfed on my pizza. Collins wasn't to bad on the D, got burned once or twice but overall did well. Got in some foul trouble but a couple of them were cheap calls. Salleys days as a starter is on a very short leash.

-Then finally, Sam M. If he got Ruffins minutes tonight, it would of projected to be 16 points, 6 boards and 6 assists along with 2 turnovers. For a freshman with only 10 games under his belt, thats not to shabby. He'll be just fine for another 3 years as long as we get another capable backup PG.

-Thats about all for now, got a whole 8 days to rest which couldn't come at a better time for Wilson and Ruffin. Lets just hope that flu bug doesn't get them, it's going around big time in most of my classes.

Jason
 
ghunt said:
Sam M is not spectacular folks, he is a good freshman with potential to be a very good player as he develops down the road as a junior and senior--but not like Daniel, Anthony Manuel, or Jimmy. Yes, he's scrappy and short, but he is a freshman and does play like it many times a game with bad decisions, turnovers, etc. But without being misinterpreted, he does the fit the type of role as a fan favorite, a la Jimmy Les, Aaron Zobrist, and Danny Adams. He is also slow for the level of point guard our system requires, and I would like to see what his real wieight is--he looks like he needs to get more lean. I believe we have that juco kid signed for next year who is very quick and can shoot threes, so I'm guessing Sam M may not always be on the point in the next year or two.

Now with all that as realistic critique, here is the definite and great upside: he was a very solid high school player, has a solid outside shot that should be very good and will be used often as he progresses, seems very knowledgable/court aware as a freshman, very intense on D, and in general, the overall effort is incredibly consistent and strong, not only as a freshman, but he may only be topped by Daniel for who has worked the hardest so far this season.

But, there should be an observation/critque of how he is played, and how his minutes come at the expense of other players who match up way better with the other team's players on the floor at given times. I have said it before and I will say it again, there is no way, unless on a bad switch, that he should wind up against someone a half foot taller or more. And as far as the defense for offense rationale switching with Andrew tonight, AW's defense has greatly improved over last year, in fact, folks should have noted the minutes and how well he did against Nitzel. I think someone made the comment elsewhere that AW could be the key for us, especially if the big man really do not come along, and if AW does start performing, and if one or two real 4 and 5 men come along down the stretch, than we will see what we have been hoping for :-)
Click to expand...

It's pretty rare for a freshman pg to do well. They are prone to a lot of TOs. SM seems to be playing just fine at this point. He will hopefully be a lot better in a year or two.

I have a feeling that AW will be much better at the end of this year and the start of next year. He shows flashes of greatness-hopefully he can string them together.
 
My favorite quote from the radio broadcast:
"You don't throw an alley-oop to Salley. He has about the same leaping ability as you and me, Dave" -- CB
 
ReCap

ReCap

I was at the game tonight and came away very impressed with Wright State. For the most part they have pretty young team so I expect them to get even better over the next couple of years. I think Butler and the rest of the Horizon conference should be real worried about them.

I thought the Wright State fans we??™re a good group and I think they deserve more support then they got tonight from their fan base. Coming off a win against a ranked Butler team the fans should have continued their support for this game??¦it could have been the difference for them in the last few minutes. Let??™s hope BU fans keep up the support for the rest of the year, no matter if it??™s a ranked team or not!

Before the game I had nice conversation with some Wright State fans. I mentioned to them that Bradley has a bad habit of spotting almost every team they play 7-10 points (check) and that they??™ll probably see more 3??™s taken than they thought possible (check). I also mentioned that I thought Ruff might not be 100% based on Bradleyfans.com info (check) and if AW is hitting shots and going to the hole they might be in trouble (check). They asked about inside game and I said that I thought our best offensive big man might be DC off the bench (check) and that TW would be our beast on the boards (check). Based on past BU road history (glad to see it could be changing), I said the game was probably too close to call (check for regulation) and if Ruff did not play they would have great chance to win (thanks to Ruff for playing).

BU looked like Michigan State for a couple of possessions on the boards tonight. It felt good to see our team dominate the glass for the first half. AW was the man on offense most of the night, thank goodness too, since you could tell Ruff wasn??™t his usual self. Wright State did a great job of taking JC and Ruff out of the game until the last 6 minutes and overtime. It was nice to see JC and Ruff not force their game even though they had to be frustrated at times. SM plays tough D but needs to be more aware of the back cuts until we can get DC to protect the paint better on D. DC did alter a few shots inside tonight with his size. Both teams missed a ton of point blank shots. I really liked a couple of their players #44 and #21 and they are only sophomores so that bodes well for their program. TW was great all game and continues to do a little bit of everything for BU, including hitting big 3??™s! MS needs to finish better in the paint and SS needs to donate his soft hands to DC when he leaves BU after his 10th year here. SS did do an admirable job in his minutes so I look for him to continue to build on that. Overall, I thought the Braves stole one tonight but at the same time I give the whole team and coach??™s credit for not folding and keeping their composure. Now, if the team could get off to better starts and cut down on the turnovers they wouldn??™t be playing too many games down to the wire like this.

I must have gotten stopped about 10 times with people asking me where Bradley was located. I told everyone that it was in Indiana and suburb of Chicago.
 
peoriaspitfire said:
I must have gotten stopped about 10 times with people asking me where Bradley was located. I told everyone that it was in Indiana and suburb of Chicago.
Click to expand...

I love how many ppl think Peoria is a suburb! Just 3 hours from downtown-not a bad commute.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top