Ah, Peoria. It sounds like a nice place, but I have never been there. Apparently the Creighton Bluejays like it in Peoria. The games against the Braves are always a good measuring stick on where the team is at.
Two seasons ago, the Bluejays were coming off a tough loss at Evansville and came into Peoria to take on the Braves, who soundly pummeled the Jays 87-59. That sent the Jays to their fourth straight conference loss on the road (where they eventually would go 0-5 against conference opponents on the road to finish the season) in what is one of the worst conference losses in CU history by a Dana Altman-coached team.
Last season, the Bluejays were coming off losses at home to Northern Iowa and on the road at Illinois State when they traveled to Peoria to take on a streaking Braves squad. Many thought it would be a loss for CU, especially without team leader Booker Woodfox playing in the game. Much to the surprise of many, the Bluejays won, behind a breakout game from freshman Antoine Young.
In all, Creighton is 6-2 in the Bluejays’ last 8 trips to Carver Arena. Not too shabby.
You know what else isn’t too shabby? Some of these Braves’ dance moves!
OK, some of those guys are gone, as that Bradley Shuffle video is more than a year old. But it is comedy gold, Jerry!
If that video doesn’t entertain you (or even if it does), maybe our Q&A with Kirk Wessler of the Peoria Journal Star and the sports site Bradleyhoops.com will. Wessler was kind enough to entertain some questions from White & Blue Review, ahead of Wednesday’s CU-BU matchup (which can be seen live in Omaha on Cox Channel 2).
White & Blue Review: Besides having two of the three games at home (and one against lowly Evansville), what has been the biggest area of improvement for the Braves during their 3-game win streak compared to their 2-4 start to MVC play?
Kirk Wessler: They’re playing defense instead of talking about it. They’re rebounding better, too, although they got clobbered on the boards at SIU. After opening MVC play at Drake, they gave up 80-plus points in four consecutive games and lost three of those. In the last four games, including a 2-point loss at Northern Iowa, their opponents have averaged 56.8 ppg, and they’ve given up more than 60 only once. Offensively, the two biggest factors have been Sam Maniscalco getting healthier (he’s had ankle and foot problems) and Will Egolf establishing himself in the post.
WBR: Who is the vocal leader for the Braves? Maniscalco seems like a fiery guy; is he willing to let his teammates know when they’ve done something wrong? Is he the go-to guy to get the team pumped up? Who is?
KW: Vocal, in-your-face leadership on the court was something this team didn’t have for quite a while. Theron Wilson provided that last year; you’d see him grab a teammate’s jersey, or call the whole team together at a critical juncture and say what needed saying. Recently, Egolf has begun to fill that void. I talked to him about it last week, and Will said he figured someone needed to do it, so he did. He talks it up during warm-ups and doesn’t stop till the game is over. Sammy is one of the tri-captains, and he’s a tough kid, but he has been more of a lead-by-example player. He and Sam Singh, though, talked to the team after they wiped out at Missouri State on Jan. 9, talked about the need to dig in defensively and stop trying to simply outrun and outscore people. [That] seems to have been a turning point.
WBR: Who are the newcomers that Creighton fans need to be aware of? Who of the group plays the most significant minutes?
KW: Depends on what you mean by “newcomers.” Egolf is in his third year, but he played sparingly as a freshman and blew out his knee in November as a sophomore, so this is the first season the Valley is getting a look at him. He’s 6-9, quick, fast, with decent hops. He has averaged 11 points and almost 7 rebounds this month, including two double-doubles. He’s getting smarter defensively, avoiding fouls but still being a presence and blocking some shots. The other is Taylor Brown, a 6-6 sophomore. He was Wilson’s backup last year. He played every game, so Bradley fans were aware of him, but he was off the radar to most everyone else. I think he’s the Braves’ most talented player; the best blend of athleticism and basketball skill. He has four double-doubles. He is a strong mid-range shooter (53% on 2-point attempts). They’ve also been using two freshman guards off the bench: Dyricus Simms-Edwards (DSE) and Jake Eastman. Both are high-energy guys who go to the floor, play physical, and like defense. DSE plays about 17 minutes, Eastman about 12. DSE is strong to the basket with the ball and starting to show signs of a 3-point shot. Eastman’s a classic coach’s kid; his dad is an assistant for the Boston Celtics.
WBR: What has been the impact of Andrew Warren back with the team this season after being out last season with his injury?
KW: Positive, obviously, since he’s the leading scorer (14.8 ppg). After a slow start, he’s back up to 42% from the 3-point line. His absence was really noticeable last year because the Braves didn’t have that pure outside stroke and were really vulnerable against zones. His range has to be respected, and that has had the biggest impact on Chris Roberts, who is shooting 42% on 3s, as well. Maniscalco has benefitted, too. As opponents either go man or spread the zone to stop the 3-point shot, the inside offense opens. Bradley has become pretty strong at driving the ball to the paint. The Braves aren’t a pound-the-post team, but they can get you inside because guys like Brown, Roberts, Simms-Edwards, Maniscalco, and Warren are strong off the dribble. The outside shooting makes their penetration that much easier.
WBR: Many got a kick out of the MVC Shuffle that the Bradley basketball team was involved in last season. What was the story behind that?
KW: Dave Snell, who has been doing radio play-by-play for more than 30 years, used to work in TV. In the Peoria area, his sports video highlight reels on Bradley hoops have become must-see TV for fans. Always creative, even if some of them make you roll your eyes. I don’t recall who had the original idea to parody the Bears’ Super Bowl Shuffle, but the players got into it. One reason it got “out there,” so to speak, was because after it was shown at the preseason banquet, the university sold copies to raise money for the Danny Dahlquist Scholarship Fund. (Dahlquist was the soccer player who died in the house fire the previous year.) Then the local TV broadcast of a game showed it during halftime. Then it got discovered on the Net.
WBR: Bradley went to the Sweet 16 a few years back. What has kept them from getting back to the dance? In the same breath, what will it take for Bradley to finish in the top three in the conference?
KW: There’s no simple answer to the first question. First, there were personnel issues, starting with the unexpected early departure of Patrick O’Bryant — although without him the next season, Jim Les did his best coaching job, went to the Phoenix Suns offense, and probably was one four-point loss to Illinois shy of an at-large return to the NCAA. Subsequently, though, in the rush to fill POB’s spot and shore up the depth, recruiting mistakes were made. In all, there were two juco transfers and two conventional transfers who didn’t pan out. The two conventionals never suited up. The two jucos left after one rocky season. Some fans keep bringing up injuries — and Bradley indeed has had an uncanny run of injuries to key players. Jeremy Crouch missed close to a third of his junior season, Daniel Ruffin missed a month the next season, and Warren and Egolf were out all of last season. But only Crouch’s (in the 3-centric year right after the Sweet 16) cost them wins that might have put them back in the Dance. To Les’s credit, he never mentions those, at least not publicly. And they shouldn’t be held as excuses, but they are inescapable facts. Still, the primary reasons for failure to return — or finish better than fourth in the MVC — are found in lack of solid post play, inconsistent defense, generally poor rebounding, and a tendency to lose multiple Valley home games every season. Every year of the Les tenure, except one, has been marked by slow starts to the conference season. Even in the Sweet 16 year, the Braves started 2-4 and then 3-5, so they were out of the race before the end of January, scrambling to catch up.
To finish in the top three, they need to fix all of that. Or at least most of it.
WBR: What is the climate like surrounding Les’ standing as coach? How much time will the Braves faithful give him to get back to the NCAA Tournament before putting pressure on his program?
KW: Mixed bag. Some fans already are calling for his head. Some say if he doesn’t at least get back to the NIT this year, he should be gone. Others will follow him to the bottom of the ocean. But the pressure is already starting to build. He’s safe this season, and he should be. But there’s a new athletics director on campus as of Jan. 1, and the president isn’t the one who hired Les either. So the expectations and evaluations have changed. What really has a growing number of fans worked up is the fear that these 21-win seasons and long runs in third- and fourth-tier postseason tournaments are somehow acceptable and indications of success. There’s a palpable anger over the “four consecutive 21-win seasons” and “10 postseason wins in four years” hype.
I think most people here recognize that getting to the NCAA on a regular basis is not easy. That’s why they’re willing to accept NIT bids and support them, because it’s an indication you were at least on the bubble. But if you never compete for a conference title, you’re never going to be on the bubble, and that’s not acceptable. That, I think, is the biggest frustration among the faithful. They want a fighting chance, and they’re starting to doubt Les can deliver that.
WBR: With Creighton being without P’Allen Stinnett for the game Wednesday night, will this have an effect on how Bradley plays? Do you think Creighton will be hurt or benefit from this?
KW: Who knows? It shouldn’t. But Creighton came in here last year without Booker Woodfox and won. I obviously am not around Creighton’s program every day, but my sense is this could be one of those situations where you have addition by subtraction. We’ll see.
WBR: Is it really Singh’s last season in a Bradley uniform? Is he one of the leaders on the team?
KW: LOL. But yes — unless he has dirt on somebody big at the NCAA who can set precedent for a seventh season. By virtue of being around so long, he’s a leader. He calls it “a father figure.” Somebody the other day joked “more like a grandfather figure.” Teammates value his experience of having seen it all: Sweet 16, multiple injuries, starter, no-time bench player, redshirts, etc.
WBR: What is your final prediction to the game? Can the Braves extend their winning streak?
KW: I’ll go with 65-60 Bradley.
