Bradley Basketball Preview

[Qman]

http://whiteandbluereview.com/?p=1845

SEVEN // Bradley

Believe me, I agonized long and hard about this one. Bradley won 21 games a year ago, including winning 8 of their last 11 games, good for fourth place in the MVC. They advanced to the finals of the CollegeInsider.com postseason tournament. They get Andrew Warren, their leading scorer two years ago, back after a medical redshirt last season. Sam Maniscalco, last year’s leading scorer at over 12 points a game, is back too. Leading three-point shooter Dodie Dunson, who averaged 10 points and 4 boards and was 49-133 from deep, is also back. I’m going to stop now before I change my mind.

So how about some negatives to justify my prediction, then? Theron Wilson, a perennial thorn in the Jays’ side, has used up his eligibility. The Braves frontcourt will be a problem all season, as two freshmen (Milos Knezevic and Jordan Prosser) join six-year-wonder Sam Singh in a battle for minutes among the big men. Jim Les is back as the coach (just kidding!)

A preseason trip to Brazil is hoped to have provided some much-needed game experience for their inexperienced frontcourt. It was also to have allowed Andrew Warren a chance to get some game-speed action in his return from a broken foot, but his injury had not healed enough to be cleared to play.

The Braves definitely have talent, but the loss of Theron Wilson will prevent them from finishing much higher than sixth. Seventh is more likely, and that’s where they are on my list.

What to Watch For: The Las Vegas Invitational that featured such crummy teams when Creighton played in it a year ago has Oklahoma State, Illinois, Utah and Bradley this year. I will now gouge my eyes out with a fork. Anyway, the MVC needs them to pull an upset or two to bolster their collective non-conference resume.

Versus Creighton: January 27 in Peoria, February 27 in Omaha

Prognosis: 14-15, 6-12 in the MVC

They don't seem to have a lot of size so at home we should be able to roll them.