5 important ways the Bradley Braves basketball team is building culture this offseason

PEORIA — For the Bradley Braves men's basketball program, the destination is the same but the journey might look a little different in the 2023-24 season.

The Braves want to win another Valley regular-season title. And they want to win the Valley tournament and secure an NCAA tournament bid. They'll do it with five new faces on the roster and a target on their backs as they operate among the elite teams in the Valley and perhaps adjust the way they play.

"I don't know yet, what it's going to look like offensively," Bradley coach Brian Wardle said. "Defensively we can be strong again. Offensively, we may have to drive and kick some more. We'll probably be a team that scores with a lot of transition.

"We have to experiment this summer."

Bradley is blending its newcomers

That groundwork is underway this offseason, as five newcomers are blended in. They include 6-foot-10 forward Kyle Thomas, 6-4 guard Trey Pettigrew, 6-5 guard Emarion Ellis, 6-8 forward Almar Atlason and 6-4 sharpshooting guard Demarion Burch.

"The new guys are learning our culture, our system, our spacing and training and intensity," Wardle said. "And they are doing a good job of it. Every one of them has had flashes. What I like is they all bring something different to the table.

"Been fun to watch these guys start blending. We're talented, tall and long. But only eight or nine guys really get to play. You got to get into that group."

Bradley is filling in the gaps

Gone to the NCAA transfer portal in the spring were guard Pop Weathers, wing Zek Montgomery and all-Missouri Valley Conference first-team center Rienk Mast. Forward Ja'Shon Henry and guard Ville Tahvanainen graduated and moved on to life after basketball.

Mast and Henry were a powerful inside presence as Bradley had the best group of forwards in the league last season. But Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year Malevy Leons and big center Darius Hannah are a great start as they return in the frontcourt with 2023-24 starting guards Connor Hickman and Duke Deen.

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"We could miss inside play from Henry and Mast, and we're working on that right now," Wardle said. "But it was Deen and Hickman that led our locker room last year. It was their team, really. I can definitely see them stepping up again.

"There's leadership, and it doesn't always come from guys who put up the best stats, either. Cade Hardtke is one of our best leaders, and he's a walk-on. He doesn't put up stats, but he leads and he's important to us."

Also, in any offseason, there is a key guy whose progress will impact how the team does in the season. Heading 2023-24, that guy is Darius Hannah. The 6-9 senior can play at the 4 or 5 and was an impact starter when Mast was injured last season.

"Hannah has to take a big step for us," Wardle said. "That high level of consistent play. If he can do that, look out."He's going to be really hard to deal with."

Bradley is building camaraderie

Wardle is a master at building culture and closeness on his teams. The Braves put in their work on the floor for sure. But it's not all basketball in June and July.

"We do a lot of team-building things, play volleyball with a heavy ball, have barbecues together," Wardle said. "Last week we went to the Peoria Riverfront Museum to see the Body Worlds RX exhibit, the guys loved it.

"As the summer goes on we try to get to know each other better. We spend so much time as our job to play basketball. I like doing things off the court. We want to continue to grow and connect with each other.

"We won't let it boring."

Bradley is looking back ...

The Braves delivered one of the most exciting moments in a generation when they beat Drake 73-61 in a winner-take-all game for the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship in front of a sellout crowd at Carver Arena on Feb. 26. They struggled in the Arch Madness Tournament in early March but reached the championship game — a rematch that Drake won, 77-51.

BU went on to an NIT appearance against Wisconsin to close out a 25-10 campaign.

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"Looking back and reflecting on that night we won the Valley championship, we had to celebrate, it had been such a long time," Wardle said. "But our goals were to go in and win March Madness. Did we run out of gas in the tournament? Yes. Was Drake a little hungrier? Probably they had a chip on their shoulders.

"It's very hard to win a championship, we won that Valley tournament in (2018-19 and 2019-20). But after last season, our guys should be a little more aware of that hunger and be ready for it now."

... and the Braves are looking forward

People ask all the time how the Valley can produce multiple NCAA bids. One of the answers is to get games booked against ranked teams from Power 5 conferences. Easier said than done. The Braves nonconference schedule is still in progress.

"We have two or three more games to fill," Wardle said. "We're in talks. You don't get a whole lot done in May and June and July. But scheduling is always a challenge for MVC teams. Trying to find dates, find (Power 5) teams that will play you."

An offer for the BU future

Bradley has offered 6-foot-7, 220-pound forward Julen Iturbe, a senior at Riverside High School in Greenville, S.C.

The All-Region player is described on one scouting site as a "walking mismatch … impressive skillset allows him to comfortably dictate the action with the ball in his hands, both as a scorer and playmaker … an efficient perimeter shooter, post-up option, and penetrating threat with a phenomenal knack for making the right decision."

Iturbe is the son of Iker Iturbe, who played for Clemson University from 1994-1998 and professionally in Europe until 2010, including a stint on Spain's national team in the 2004 Olympics.

In addition to Bradley, Iturbe says he has offers from University of New Hampshire, Dartmouth College, University of Vermont, North Carolina A&T, Western Carolina, Lehigh, Boston University, Penn, American, Lafayette, Queens (N.C.), Presbyterian and Vermont, plus interest from Northern Iowa and others.

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Bradley basketball roster analysis: How BU Braves are meshing in offseason