Jan 11, 2023 @ 1:20pm. G 5-11 Norwalk, Iowa (Norwalk High), Jace Carter, UIC So. Brian Wardle: Inside the Bradley basketball coach's basketball journey Bradley is the No. Probably the best sleep I've had in a long, long time and I kind of knew that might be an omen. [1], Bradley's current head coach is Brian Wardle. Photo by Christian Gooden, cgooden@post-dispatch.com, Bradley head coach Brian Wardle talks to his team during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Loyola on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016, in Chicago. (Henry's) dunk, and Hickman's dunk just kind of sealing the game and getting the crowd nuts in the last two minutes. Bradley Beal scored 37 points and Kyle Kuzma added 28 as the short-handed Wizards stifled Trae Young and the Hawks when it mattered most. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Title. "I know they are talented, but I'm even more impressed with the character of the kids here. What's your take on that? A lot of people don't know this, but three games ago, before we went over to Southern Illinois, I put '16-4' up in the locker room, and I put the 'MVC Champs 2023' up on the practice gym wall. He was hired in March 2015 [2] to replace Geno Ford, who was fired after the 2014-15 season. High Point University has fired men's basketball coach G.G. Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. I've sat in that banquet and seen a lot of great coaches get it. Bradley University has extended the contract of men's basketball coach Brian Wardle through the end of the 2022-2023 season, according to an announcement by Bradley Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Chris Reynolds. Brian was close to grandpa. G 6-6 Brookhaven, Ga. (McEachern High)/Arkansas, Landon Wolf, UNI Fr. We've got to keep improving and playing with confidence and executing. "By the time he won a national championship as a 16-year-old, I knew he was going to be a coach," Jim Wardle said. He was right over there in Bloomington, and he fits our culture.". Reach him at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. After taking on NCAA Tournament teams Marquette, Wisconsin and Virginia during the 2011-12 season, Green Bay knocked off Big East champion Marquette during the 2012-13 campaign and eventual ACC champion Virginia during the 2013-14 season to go along with the 2014 victory at Miami. I try to stay in the moment and zone everything out, to be honest. "Box 1 I wanted to check while being the coach at Bradley, no doubt. It also marked the first time since 1954 and 1955 that the Braves qualified for the NCAA Tournament in consecutive campaigns, while the teams 23 wins were its most since 1993-94. The Rock Island native played for Northern Iowa and, after graduation, played pro basketball in Australia and Portugal. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh), Bradley head coach Brian Wardle calls in a play during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against the Drake in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, Friday, March 2, 2018, in St. Louis. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com, Bradley coach Brian Wardle yells at the referee on Sunday, March 10, 2019, during the championship game of the Missouri Valley Tournament that was won by Bradley over Northern Iowa 57-54. St. Louis, Mo. Wardle is building his own family now. STA00221PO23 . Crouch played professional basketball in Germany's top division for one season, and he was the director of basketball operations at Bradley for two years under ex . "Now it's all digital. Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. "Then we'd go to Prospect Park, I was always the youngest kid at the court in seventh, eighth grade. He was selected by the Boston Celtics in the first round (23rd pick overall) of the 1981 NBA draft.Born in Havre de Grace, Maryland, Bradley was a 6'5" shooting guard from the University of Wyoming.He played in three National Basketball Association (NBA) seasons, from 1981 to 1984, with the Celtics . PEORIA The Bradley Braves filled their vacant assistant coach position with former Illinois State associate head coach Brian Jones on Wednesday afternoon. Kind of reset a little bit in that timeout, and we did that. "As a head coach in college basketball, you don't sleep great usually in January and February. There was a problem saving your notification. Moline recorded a big victory over Bradley-Bourbonnais 71-39 on Feb. 24 in Illinois boys high school basketball. Tonight and in the days to come we've got work to do. He is the seventh Bradley coach to win the honor. I mean there are a lot of factors to win this time of year, and depth is always big. Bradley lost the game I love having Murphy in my name.". List of Bradley Braves men's basketball head coaches. To see the players celebrate, they deserve it. There are now over 150 coaches in the BCAM Hall of Fame. bradleybraves.com. To qualify for the Hall of Fame a coach must have coached Varsity/College Head Basketball for 20 years or more and/or accumulated 300 or more victories. G/F 6-7 Waukee, Iowa (Waukee High), Marcus Domask, S. Illinois Sr. F 6-6 Waupun, Wis. (Waupun High), Ben Krikke, Valparaiso Sr. F 6-9 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (Jasper Place), Rienk Mast, Bradley Jr. F 6-9 Groningen, Netherlands (Donar Groningen), Roman Penn, Drake Gr. Former Bradley University basketball coach Dick Versace, who went on to coach in the NBA, died Feb. 25 in Chicago, which he made his home most of his adult life. "You're right. Conference tournament champion. We'd go out to lunch, my dad would take me to get Italian beef. ', "It was a lot of fun to get on the train and go downtown with him, go to work with him and all the older guys messing with you all day and learn how to do blue-collar work. (AP Photo/Michael Woods), Bradley coach Brian Wardle talks to his team during a time out against Arkansas during an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022, in North Little Rock, Ark. I mean, our league's really good. "My dad is very particular, a perfectionist, in the sign business, and so was my grandfather," Wardle said. PEORIA Bradley men's basketball has about 60 Bradley shield logo decals scattered on its practice floor, a sign of the COVID-19 era and social distancing.. Braves coach Brian Wardle wanted . Alabama men's basketball coach Nate Oats released a statement Tuesday night clarifying what he said at a news conference earlier about Brandon Miller's connection to the fatal shooting case . (2000) Coach Bradley has worked as an gym clinician for the past 20 years in over 12 . The Ramblers (22-7, 13-5) slipped from first to fourth after dropping their final game to Northern Iowa. That was one of the hardest things to go through as a coach, when that happened to that group, but we'll see. That's partly from what he learned in the Devine driveway and in the parks around Westmont and Clarendon Hills. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson), Bradley head coach Brian Wardle talks to his team during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Missouri Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, in Columbia, Mo. Yes, we did. The Redbirds cleared out the coaching staff after the season ended. High Point University has fired men's basketball coach G.G. How Bradley remembered a coach, welcomed a baseball hall of famer and On he went to a coaching career, as an assistant at Marquette and Green Bay, then head coach at Green Bay and now at Bradley. A 2006 graduate of Division III Lawrence University in Wisconsin, Bradley played for Hillsdale College head coach John Tharp during the coach's tenure with the Vikings prior to coming to Hillsdale in 2007-08. I don't take long. Because it is a numbers game.". If you watched us, I thought we were locked into DeVries and (D.J.) Underwood is the 18th head coach in Illinois history, hired in March 2017 as the Richmond Family Endowed Men's Head Basketball Coach. He played basketball at the YMCA, where the young players wore color-coded wristbands so they knew who to guard on the other team. Bradley announced Versaces death in a news release Saturday morning, hours before the Braves finished the regular season with a 79-55 win over Valparaiso at Carver Arena. 02 Mar, 2023. A team that's competitive, but also having fun, is a scary team this time of year, Bradley coach Brian Wardle said entering the 2023 MVC tournament. It remains to be seen how long Coach Wardle will stay with BU, as his success in . The enigmatic team flopped down the stretch in Snyder's Atlanta coaching debut, losing 119-116 to the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night. "I was kind of uncoordinated, couldn't really dribble the ball real well. Your support truly makes a difference. G 6-0 Greeneville, Tenn. (Greeneville High), Chance Moore, Missouri St. ", More: How Bradley Hall of Famer Lindsay Stalzer ended up back playing volleyball in America. The regular season's hard. "It was awesome. Dick Versace: Ex- Bradley, NBA coach stood by his players and by Wardle was in second grade when he made that as part of a homework assignment when students were asked to write down three words to describe themselves. "Hasn't been done in a long time here. After college, Wardle played in the NBA Developmental League and the Continental Basketball Association. Assistant AD for Marketing and Fan Experience . Leons and wing Zek Montgomery were named to the MVC Most Improved Team on Tuesday, joined by Tytan Anderson (Northern Iowa), Darnell Brodie (Drake) and Ben Krikke (Valparaiso). Bradley head coach Brian Wardle is seen on the sidelines during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Drake in the semifinal round of the Missouri Valley Conference men's . Bradley University Head Mens Basketball Coach Brian Wardle has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year. Bradley will open play in the MVC Tournament against defending champion Loyola at 2:30 p.m. Friday. I would just bike around each day to wherever the pickup games were going. He was always in the driveway. Pekin basketball: Five former Dragons players are on coaching staff Whitnall High School (Greenfield, WI) Varsity Basketball Ferguson had suffered from dementia the last few . Because he saw it that way while putting away the typesetter blocks. Twitter. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com, Jack Watkins, right, works at the scorer's table at a Missouri Valley Conference tournament game in 2019 as Bradley coach Brian Wardle chats with referee Gerry Pollard. Tweets by Amie Bradley. I had to call time out. He died in 2019. Bradley was 8-0 when Wardle wore these shoes. "Yeah, believe me. 2023 www.pjstar.com. He went on to play collegiately at Marquette, helping the Golden Eagles to a pair of NIT appearances in 1998 and 2000. "I went over and got a glass of water. And here you are today. "I've done this a long time, and expanding to doing other things is great, the more I can learn the better for me. She has worked primarily with the post players, guiding Alicia Froling to 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, the first player . "Let's see, 7 a.m., what'd I do? Leons piled up 50 steals and 49 blocks to become just the fourth player in MVC history to record a 40-40 effort in those categories. That included the program's first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in 2017. Bradley basketball fans hear Wardle often talk about wanting his teams to be tough and physical. He knew everything that was going on.". "Drew is an excellent recruiter, and he deserved a chance to go to Cincinnati," Wardle said. . On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. I thought (the road record) was blown a little bit out of proportion to be quite honest, and I thought we proved that. Bradley student-athletes have received MVC Scholar-Athletes accolades 21 times during his seven years on campus. "When we learned more about social distancing, and the Kinexon system came in, we wanted to bring that into our practices," Wardle said. High Point University has fired men's basketball coach G.G. Staff Directory - TCU Athletics "Standup, high-character guy. Just don't say that to Brian Wardle, who says he has a competitive nature much like his mother, Cindy, a feisty proud Irish-Catholicfrom the south side of Chicago, the product of a blue-collar, hard-working family. 2022-23 Klein Oak Basketball. He had a 95-65 record at Green Bay but failed to make the NCAA Tournament.[2]. "But I thought transition D was a huge key for us, getting back matching up. FIGHTERS: Klein Oak in Regional Semis. He was a very skilled guy, he hand-painted signs. I'm from this area, I still have family here and I'm glad to be able to stay here.". When he needed those 6-inch by 6-inch vinyl adhesive removable signs for the BU floor, he turned to his father. I don't know the numbers well enough. I had never played golf before," Wardle said. The following is a list of Bradley Braves men's basketball head coaches. But they still go in there and they kind of rake that ball out with their hands, and they do a good job of that. We eat at 11, and then I go home and relax and then come here and the best part was driving in. Dick Versace, one of the most successful men's basketball coaches at Bradley University, died Friday at the age of 81. His Braves put together the nation's third-longest active home win streak at 17 games, and head into Arch Madness on a 10-game overall win streak and with the No. "He picked up the guitar a little bit. "I've been coaching for 27 years and that was the first time I've ever been on a staff that was let go," Jones said. Feb 24, 2023. Coaches: Bradley, Brian Wardle (8th season). As expected, he was named MVC Sixth Man of the Year on Wednesday night. No Braves player had won it outright. Bradley Braves men's basketball head coaches, "Bradley names Brian Wardle as men's basketball coach", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Bradley_Braves_men%27s_basketball_head_coaches&oldid=1141712736, Lists of college men's basketball head coaches in the United States, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 12:04. Bradley Braves Athletics (@BradleyBraves) / Twitter They ended up traveling all over the country, everywhere, says Wardle, but Alaska and Hawaii. The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy. The Missouri Valley Conference also selects a Sixth Man Award recipient, and for the second time it goes to a Bradley student-athlete, as JaShon Henry earned the award this year. Bradley High School | 2800 Walker Road | Hilliard, OH 43026. Wardle also remembers, at age 13,how playing golf with his father and grandfatherforever changed him. I don't know if they factor in health I wish they would. This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Bradley basketball has a MVC's top coach and defensive player, Here are 3 reasons to be even more excited after Bradley's historic basketball victory, Bradley beats Drake to win the MVC men's basketball championship, Bradley basketball has a MVC's top coach and defensive player. People aren't coming out to watch games live as much anymore, and there's multiple factors for that, there's not just one, there's multiple. When (Henry) hit that dunk and Malevy hit that corner 3, I mean felt good that that crowd was energizing us and energizing us defensively, too. PEORIA, IL - A rising star in the coaching profession, Northwestern Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator Kate Popovec has been named the 10th head coach in Bradley University Women's Basketball history, according to an announcement from Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Chris Reynolds Wednesday morning. Talk about that crowd today? The Braves have had four previous MVC Defensive Player of the Year winners, the most recent in 2013 when Dyricus Simms-Edwards won it. We depend on your support to keep telling stories like this one. Wardle was asked to keep wearing a red pair of shoes his wife had bought him. Bradley High School (AR) Varsity Basketball - MaxPreps.com (AP Photo/Michael Woods), Bradley coach Brian Wardle on the sidelines against Arkansas during an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022, in North Little Rock, Ark. I love proving people wrong. You better pull your own weight and keep up. Jeanette Bradley: Athletics Business Manager Amanda Brooks: Athletics Accountant Taylor Patterson: Business Office Graduate Assistant . 309-677-2668. He was an assistant coach at Green Bay from 2005-10, before being named Phoenix head coach April 15, 2010. Wardle earned first-place votes in 37 of 56 ballots, and finished nearly 100 points ahead of Indiana State's Josh Schertz (8 first-place votes) and Belmont's Casey Alexander (8). Then the guys would come in at 10:30, and we do our film and walkthrough. They have children Davin, 8, Emery, 11 and Mya, 14. You have permission to edit this collection. They compete as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.The Braves are currently coached by Brian Wardle and play their home games at Carver Arena.. Bradley has appeared in nine NCAA Tournaments, including two Final Fours and national championship . Bradley Basketball (@BradleyUMBB) / Twitter