Second chances doom Bradley in first game
Braves fall 69-63 to St. Bonaventure to open the season
One thing you won’t find here is a ticket to “Overreaction Theater”. It’s not really who I am and hopefully you’re not in that place either. It’d be easy to think things like:
AJ Smith stinks
Coach Wardle is burying some of the freshmen
Montana Wheeler will win Freshman of the Year
After one game, I don’t consider any of these to be true, but they are things you can do because you don’t have much else to go on with the group.
Bradley did lose to St. Bonaventure in the second game of the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon. The Bonnies didn’t play perfectly either but they’ve got plenty of talent to finish highly in the A-10. The reality is that the Braves were tied with 1:23 to play in the game and didn’t close it out effectively.
Let’s get into the details.
Starting Five
21 AJ Smith (F)
14 Ahmet Jonovic (C)
3 Alex Huibregtse (G)
22 Jaquan Johnson (G)
0 Demarion Burch (G)
» Same as the Green Bay exhibition, no surprises here
The Moments
Follow along with me … (Below are game times, not video times.)
First feed (the game cuts out with about 4 minutes left in the half and a new stream is started after halftime):
17:28 - After a really slow start by both teams, Corey Thomas (along with Timoty van der Knapp) come into the game. Thomas slips a screen down low and it’s time for the first points of the season and it’s a KABOOM!
I really would like to know what Bill Walton was thinking here. No, it’s not Bill Walton? Well, based upon his look, Joseph Grahovac is certainly trying to emulate the ebullient face of the 70s. He surely wasn’t emulating Bill’s defense, just letting Thomas go by with barely a pat on the back.
15:58 - For those not paying attention to the rules committee (something that Coach Wardle was actually a participant), college basketball has instituted a continuation rule like found in the NBA. In past seasons, a shooter would have to actually be attempting to score when fouled to get free throws. Now, if there’s contact that will result in a foul, the player can complete a movement (step, pivot) to the basket to complete the act of shooting and free throws will result after this attempt.
Watch the whole sequence. This was the first example of it, so be aware as you see games this season on the change to how/when guys get free throw opportunities.
14:20 - Wheeler comes in off the bench and knocks down a three off a screen. Bradley has missed a bunch of open looks already so this felt important to somewhat get the proverbial cover off the basket. (8-4 St. Bonaventure)
12:40 - The offense is still moving fine, and the baskets are coming a little easier. Here’s a nice pass by Wheeler and a clean finish by Jonovic.
12:00 - Burch great drive but still can’t get going offensively. Loved that he didn’t quit on the play though and knocked a ball out of bounds on the ensuing defensive possession.
10:25-10:12: This is a fun sequence watching the difference in styles between two big men. First, Frank Mitchell bullies Thomas on one end in the paint for an easy basket. Then Thomas almost immediately comes back on the other end to knock down a three. (17-12 St. Bonaventure)
8:52 - Wheeler just keeps making great plays and just does not look like a freshman intimidated in his first game. He looks confident and is speedy when he turns on that extra gear:
8:15 - Meta fouls on a rebound from a free throw; then he gets doubled on offense and makes a bad turnover. This leads to a layup and the Bonnies lead has spiked to 23-14, forcing Bradley into a timeout.
7:14 - Burch finally starts to ignite the offense, hitting a 3, then leads the break after a steal and goes to the line for free throws.
Burch hits 1-of-2 from the line to cut the lead back to 23-18 and Bradley tries to use its 1-3-1 zone. To put it mildly, it didn’t work:
Coach Wardle called this out in the postgame as something that he considered a mistake. He repeatedly talked about knowing his players and where they are at right now in their maturity. The setup was disorganized and it led to a layup.
And it got worse after that possession, with the Bonnies hitting back-to-back 3s on the ensuing possessions and suddenly the lead was all the way up to 31-18.
4:04 - The game stream cuts out. To make matters worse, the feed is frozen on one of the St. Bonaventure’s players dads with an extremely surly tone. I listened to the WMBD feed from Bradley, but going back and looking at the video, this guy was apparently right by the broadcasters and yelling loudly throughout the entire game. I don’t know if he ever said anything wrong, he was just very prominent on the broadcast. Fans were stuck with this image for the rest of the half and through halftime until the Field of 68 kicked off a new stream. Bradley trails 34-26 at the half.
Second half and the shots start to fall
Second feed:
First few minutes: No exact time stamp here but it’s really a microcosm of the team so far this year in preseason and in practice: inconsistency. A few examples include:
Meta gives up an easy basket on D then the next possession makes a a solid move in the post and scores.
The defense earns a shot clock violation against St. Bonaventure. Huibregtse and Burch combine for a 3 pointer.
Meta first plays good defense in the post, then he sags too much and they get an easy jumper.
We get a beautiful layup from Huibregtse on a backdoor cut, then the defense lets a long two and an alley-oop get past them and the lead is back to nine at 38-33.
16:10 - Just an update: It’s still not Bill Walton, but Grahovac is still around, knocking down shots.
This was followed up by a turnover and another alley-oop and BU is burning another timeout at 15:47, down nine again.
The Braves Finally Close the Gap
Coming out of the timeout, I had been begging the Braves to figure out how to string a run together. The inexperience playing together just hadn’t come together for a long enough stretch to claw back.
As the Braves have had a propensity to do, it all began with a good play out of the timeout, finding Burch for an open 3. (42-36 St. Bonaventure)
Corey Thomas forces a steal out of Walton (Grahovac)’s hands. Burch runs out for an easy layup. (42-38 St. Bonaventure)
14:36 - The defense keeps coming out of the official timeout, pinning their big guy Frank Mitchell in the corner and van der Knapp getting the steal:
12:44 - The Braves just keep coming, utilizing their speedy small guards. The run is capped off with Bradley finally taking the lead again (45-44) after this preposterous drive by Johnson:
The teams keep trading baskets with Bully really taking over with his slashing game. An almost botched inbounds play turns into one more layup for Johnson and suddenly the Braves are up six with 9:20 to play (55-49 Bradley).
The Bonnies weren’t done. The rebounding was getting worse, including a missed block out on a free throw turned into a four-point possession. Darryl Simmons II got really hot in the second half, and he almost single-handedly brings St. Bonaventure back ahead with three 3-pointers (62-57 St. Bonaventure; 5:48 to go).
2:09 - Neither team could score for nearly four minutes until Huibregtse broke the string. Watch how active his on this set. You can tell this is built for him to score and he shows that he’s not just a 3-point bomber:
Bradley’s back down 3 and then Mitchell fouls Thomas on a 3-pointer the next possession. It was really a foolish decision, especially since Mitchell has been down by the basket the whole game and extending out defensively isn’t how he’s going to really help the Bonnies defend. Thomas coolly knocks in all them and it’s a new game with 1:23 left, tied at 62.
1:06 - Bradley decides to run the 1-3-1 again and it fails again. Simmons finds open space and knocks down a wide open three to but St. Bonaventure up 65-62.
0:39 - Johnson utilizes a mismatch on Mitchell and draws a foul. He only makes 1-of-2 (more on this later), the Braves still trail 65-63.
0:07 - The Bonnies burn clock and Simmons tries to end it with a wild drive to the basket. Somehow he almost makes it, but the Braves secure a rebound.
This last play will be debated, but take a look at this view that Smith had on his outlet pass:
Burch has a step at least four of five Bonnies and has Thomas right with him for a 2-on-1 with enough time left to score and send it to OT. For me, even though Smith didn’t have a great game, it was the right call.
I’ve watched the play countless times and even though it looked like Burch might have tripped on the referee or the St. Bonaventure coach, in the end, I think he just got his feet tangled on his own. It’s a really unlucky finish for Burch who really was one of the catalysts for Bradley even having a chance.
After that, Simmons knocks down two free throws to seal it. Bonnies win 69-63.
The Observations
Shooting woes: The first 9 minutes of the game, I just repeatedly kept saying the same thing, “missed open shot”, “missed open shot”. Even though the offense was actually running just fine, the team just couldn’t make open looks whether it was from short or long range. The big question here is how significant of an issue will the shooting become as the season goes on? We know the Braves don’t have the shooters that they did last year, but the roster as currently constructed should have enough.
Stars need to shine: Cayden Charles carried St. Bonaventure in the first half. Simmons did the same in the second. The Braves took too long to get going with their key players, even though Huibregtse, Burch and Johnson all ended up with 13 points.
Find some Windex: To put it plainly, Bradley got crushed on the glass (44-29). Mitchell, Grahovac and Andrew Osasuyi were beasts, securing 23 rebounds just between them. Even their guards rebounded (Simmons - 5, Charles - 8). The question now comes is what the Braves can do about it. It’s true that the Bonnies were a bigger team, but that can’t be the excuse. Last year’s Braves were not bruisers and they did fine most games rebounding. Eight combined boards from Smith, Jonovic and Thomas just isn’t going to be enough, especially with the smaller guards that will be on the floor so much. Smith in particular really was mostly invisible for this game and the Braves really need his rebounding going forward.
Missing in Action: We did not see any minutes from Dietrich Richardson, Matthew Zobrist or Kai Yu. I was a little surprised that Coach Wardle only played eight guys, especially in the first game of the season, but it doesn’t come as a shock. I noted this in the preview that he seems very cautious about most of them and clearly he didn’t feel they were ready yet for this one. Maybe Zobrist is caught in an early season numbers game. Richardson definitely could have taken a few minutes from van der Knapp and Yu might have brought some size inside when the Braves were being so badly outrebounded.
Red Light, Green Light: Speaking of van der Knapp, he really had a rough game. In 22 minutes, he was 0-for-5 from the field. He did have four rebounds, but truly could/should have had more. TVK needs to be/get stronger especially with his length. Wardle seems really patient with TVK unlike other players in the past, but he needs to put up the stop sign a bit on van der Knapp’s shooting. Maybe it will come around, but I’d rather see other guys in the lineup taking those 3-pointers or getting time for Zobrist.
Wheeling and Dealing: I would anticipate Wheeler will be in the section often if he keeps playing like that. He’s really calm and collected for a freshman, can shoot, slash to hoop and doesn’t make too many silly decisions.
Player of the Game
Demarion Burch (13 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 3 turnovers)
I considered going with Wheeler, but I really loved so much about what Burch did in this game. He couldn’t get going to start the game but we didn’t see a letdown on his defense. Then the shots started dropping. He did have three turnovers, but kept in control throughout the game. Most of all, he was really the guy who helped the Braves get out of a funk and back into the game.
Honorable mention: Jaquan Johnson, whose ability to get to the basket is still so impressive and really also took over the game for a stretch.
Up Next
Bradley can travel home and get ready for its home debut Saturday against Central Michigan. The game is at 7 PM.
Exceptional analysis and game high(??)lights.
THANK YOU for all of the time and effort this must have required.
I really look forward to future recaps !