Bradley, SIU rebuilding after tumultous off-seasons stripped their rosters

On June 2, around 1,200 people filled the ballroom at the Peoria Civic Center to welcome new Bradley basketball coach Brian Wardle and athletic director Chris Reynolds.

That attendance accurately represents the passion for Bradley basketball in Peoria, a city that is not-so-patiently waiting for the basketball program to return the favor. The Braves have played in one NCAA Tournament since 1997 — a Sweet 16 in 2006 — and haven’t finished higher than fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference since 2001.

“It’s one of the reasons why I really, really wanted to get this opportunity to be the head coach here,” Wardle said Monday during a conference call with MVC coaches. “It’s always been a basketball town. The enthusiasm, the energy is there.”

On Monday, the conference call wrapped up with Valley commissioner Doug Elgin pumping up the 2015-16 season. Wichita State returns as a national power. Northern Iowa proved the loss of Creighton isn’t fatal to national aspirations for the rest of the MVC. Six of the 10 All-MVC players return, as do eight of the top 10 scorers.

Just think how much better things would be if Bradley and Southern Illinois — two cornerstone programs of the MVC — weren’t in such turmoil. Wardle, who spent the previous five seasons at Wisconsin-Green Bay, inherits the MVC’s last-place team and lost eight players from that roster. He is rebuilding with nine newcomers. SIU lost five players, including All-Freshman forward Jordan Caroline.

“Right now, we have 11 young men that I’m confident in and comfortable with,” SIU coach Barry Hinson said. “If that’s all we have to start the season, that will be OK with me.”

When the Valley emerged from its dark period of much of the 1990s, SIU played a leading role and Bradley helped. SIU dominated the Valley by winning five titles from 2002-2007 and twice advancing to the NCAA’s Sweet 16. Bradley made NIT trips in 1999, 2001 and 2007, a period highlighted by its Sweet 16 in 2006.

Since then, the Braves and Salukis are more likely to play on Thursday in St. Louis than deep into March. Wardle starts rebuilding after Geno Ford’s four-season tenure produced one winning season. Hinson enters his fourth season at SIU without a winning record. He appeared to prod SIU in the right direction with a fourth-place tie in 2014. SIU slipped to ninth last season and the departures of Caroline and guard Deion Lavender appear major setbacks after they played growing roles as freshmen.

“We are excited about the guys that we have that have decided to stay,” Hinson said. “It’s made our guys bond together a little bit better. In all aspects, our strength and conditioning, our summer workouts, even our spring workouts, were much more spirited.”

SIU returns second-team All-MVC guard Anthony Beane, forwards Sean O’Brien and Bola Olaniyan and guard Tyler Smithpeters. Hinson signed junior-college guards Leo Vincent and Mike Rodriguez. He has two scholarships remaining and would like to add more depth in the backcourt. Center Ibby Djimbe, who played in 24 games last season, is recovering from a knee injury.

“We corrected our size issue,” Hinson said.

Bradley also lost an All-Freshman player to transfer, forward Josh Cunningham. Wardle is starting over with eight freshmen, including 6-foot-9 center Callum Barker from Australia, 6-3 guard Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye from England and 6-8 forward Luuk van Bree from Netherlands.

“It’s going to be a day-to-day process,” Wardle said. “We just build an identity and stick to it. We do have some young guys coming in who have leadership qualities, a lot of them, but it’s a matter of getting here and doing the work.”

The rest of the MVC is enjoying a stable period. Wardle is the MVC’s lone new coach. WSU and UNI are coming off seasons in which they earned national rankings and NCAA Tournament bids. Evansville (CIT) and Loyola (CBI) won postseason tournaments. Elgin is pleased to see five schools, including WSU, in an ESPN-sponsored holiday tournament.

“We should have great non-conference strength of schedule,” he said. “Our (athletic directors) have been successful getting their teams into the more elite (tournaments). These events create great opportunities for our teams to play strong, top teams on neutral courts.”

WSU makes hire official — Wichita State announced the hiring of assistant coach Kyle Lindsted on Monday.

Lindsted, 39, comes from Sunrise Christian Academy, where he coached since 2000. His salary is $80,000, according to WSU.

Since 2010, Sunrise sent 35 players to NCAA Division I schools, including Buddy Hield at Oklahoma and Lourawls Nairn at Michigan State. Former Sunrise players Zach Brown, Rauno Nurger and Eric Hamilton and walk-on Brett Barney are playing at WSU.

“Having gotten to know Kyle, I feel we share a similar ideology and recipe for success,” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said in a news release. “We both believe in the importance of seeking out talented young men who also possess high character.”

Shockers stay home this summer — Wichita State’s men’s basketball team will likely push its foreign exhibition trip to the summer of 2016.

Coach Gregg Marshall considered using the once-every-four-years option in August. Instead, he decided next season’s Shockers will benefit more from the 10 practices and three or four games against international competition.

This season’s Shockers are experienced with seniors Evan Wessel, Ron Baker, Fred VanVleet, Bush Wamukota and Anton Grady. Baker and VanVleet will try out for the Pan Am team in July. Should they make the team, Marshall said he wouldn’t play them in August and risk over-working his backcourt. Sophomore transfer Conner Frankamp couldn’t play in August because he doesn’t become eligible at WSU until Dec. 12.

“Next year, with the five seniors using up their eligibility, will be a better time for us to go,” he said Monday. “Fred and Ron … they would just be along for the ride. They wouldn’t do anything on a foreign tour in August after doing the Pan Am Games tryouts.”

Pan Am roster announced — USA Basketball released the names of the 20 players joining Baker and VanVleet in Colorado Springs for the Pan Am tryouts.

Notable names include Virginia’s Malcolm Brogdon, Baylor’s Rico Gathers, Iowa State’s Monte Morris, Butler’s Kellen Dunham and former Kansas star Keith Langford.

Former WSU coach Mark Turgeon will coach during training camp. Former WSU assistant Tad Boyle is one of Mark Few’s assistants for the team.

The training camp runs July 7-12 in Colorado Springs. After cuts, the team trains July 13-16 in Chicago. The Pan Am Games begin July 21 in Toronto.

Murry suits up for Wizards — Former Shocker Toure Murry will play with the Washington Wizards in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

Murry played four games for the Wizards last season. He will join former Shocker Darius Carter, who is playing for Denver in Las Vegas. Tekele Cotton is working out in Oklahoma City this week, according to his agent, and hopes to join its team.

This story was originally published June 29, 2015 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Bradley, SIU rebuilding after tumultous off-seasons stripped their rosters."