BRADLEY BASKETBALL GAME NOTES
Red-White Scrimmage
Setting The Scene
Date: Friday, Oct. 27, 2006
Tipoff: 6:15 p.m. (CDT) Women/7:30 p.m. Men
Location: Peoria, Ill.
Arena: Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse
Arena Capacity: 5,000
Extracurricular Activities: Both the men's and women's teams plan to play shooting games with selected fans after their respective scrimmages. The Bradley University Homecoming Court also will be introduced between the scrimmages.
The Game
Bradley will make its 2006-07 public debut Friday by hosting its annual Red-White Scrimmage at Robertson Fieldhouse. This year's preseason schedule will go quickly as the Braves are preparing to host NCAA Division II national champion Winona State Wednesday night at Robertson Fieldhouse and Northwest Missouri State Nov. 4 at Carver Arena.
The Format
Both the Bradley men's and women's teams will play one 20-minute period Friday night, beginning with the women's scrimmage at 6:15. Both teams also will participate in shooting games with selected fans after their respective scrimmages, while the men also are expecting to end the exhibition with a slam dunk contest. The players also will be available for autographs after the evening's activities.
The Coaches
Bradley Men: Jim Les (Bradley ?86) is beginning his fifth season as the head coach of the Bradley men's basketball program and he will begin the 2006-07 season with a 62-60 (.508) career record. Voted one of the 15 greatest players in program history as the point guard from 1983 through 1986, Les is one of nine individuals in NCAA Tournament history to lead his school in scoring in a tournament victory, then lead his alma mater to a tournament victory as head coach.
Bradley Women: Paula Buscher (Missouri State ?86) is beginning her seventh season as the head coach at Bradley and her 10th season as a collegiate head coach. A Peoria native, Buscher graduated from Richwoods High School and began her collegiate playing career at Illinois Central College.
The Program
The Bradley men's basketball program is preparing for its 104th season and the Braves rank 26th nationally with 1,473 all-time victories. Bradley has played in 31 postseason tournaments, most recently the 2006 NCAA Tournament, and the team's 20 NIT appearances and four NIT titles are second only to St. John's. Bradley also has produced more NBA players (17) than any other team in the Missouri Valley Conference and two former Braves, Patrick O'Bryant (Golden State) and Anthony Parker (Toronto) are currently playing in the NBA.
Homecoming Weekend
? Friday's Red-White Scrimmage is one of the two marquee attractions during Bradley's annual Homecoming Weekend.
? The reigning Missouri Valley Conference champion Bradley Soccer team will attempt to complete a successful defense of its regular-season league title Saturday at 7 p.m. when the Braves (7-7-3, 3-1-1) host #16 Creighton (11-3-3, 4-0-1) in the regular-season finale for both teams.
? With a win, the Braves will tie Creighton for the 2006 regular-season Valley crown and will earn the No. 1 seed for next week's State Farm MVC Tournament, which will be played Nov. 1, 3, and 5 at Shea Stadium.
Quick Preseason Slate
? Bradley will play its two preseason exhibition games in a span of four days, beginning with Wednesday's challenge from reigning NCAA Division II national champion Winona State.
? Wednesday's exhibition will be the second game of a Bradley Basketball doubleheader at Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse and is slated for 7:35 p.m., following the women's basketball exhibition versus Truman State.
? Following the Winona State game, Bradley will host 2006 NCAA Division II Tournament Sweet 16 qualifier Northwest Missouri State in a 2:05 p.m. contest at Carver Arena.
? The second exhibition game will be the first game in Bradley's 17-game season-ticket package.
Fieldhouse Finale?
? Bradley University announced plans this summer to update its athletics and recreation facilities as part of a 15-year university-wide master plan.
? An important phase of that project will be the demolition of Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse and the construction of a new women's basketball/volleyball competition venue, which also will house a men's basketball practice facility, a new Hall of Fame museum and the athletic department offices.
? Although the start date for the athletics facility project has not yet been determined, it is possible that Wednesday's exhibition versus Winona State will be the last game the Bradley men's basketball plays in the historic Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse.
? The Braves recorded an impressive 400-100 record at Robertson Fieldhouse from 1949 through 1982, before the team moved its home games downtown to Carver Arena.
? In addition to a 501st regular-season game played against Illinois Wesleyan during the 1993-94 season, Bradley annually plays one of its two preseason exhibitions at Robertson Fieldhouse.
Looking for an Opening Sellout
? Bradley officially will open its 104th men's basketball season Nov. 11 by hosting Big East member and in-state rival DePaul at Carver Arena and the athletic department is working to make the opener a rare non-conference sellout.
? The festivities for the opener include the program's first-ever “Redout” and a pregame ceremony honoring Bradley's 2006 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 run.
? Everyone in attendance for the opener will receive a red Bradley Basketball t-shirt (the student section will receive white shirts), as well as a Sweet 16 “rally” towel.
? In addition, the popular entertainment act “Quick Change” will perform at halftime.
Bracing For Personnel Losses
? With the graduation of four seniors and the early departure of 7-foot center Patrick O'Bryant to the NBA, Bradley lost its top four scorers and three of the top four rebounders from last season's breakthrough squad.
? Marcellus Sommerville (15.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg), Patrick O'Bryant (13.4, 8.3), Tony Bennett (10.6, 3.4) and Lawrence Wright (10.1, 5.4) combined to average 49.8 points and 23.9 rebounds per game last season.
? Sommerville led the 2005-06 Braves in scoring and 3-point field goals (59), O'Bryant led in rebounding and blocked shots (72), Bennett led in steals (62) and Wright was one of the top reserve players in the Valley the last two seasons.
Deep Backcourt
? Seven of Bradley's nine returning lettermen are backcourt players.
? Junior point guard Daniel Ruffin averaged 7.7 points per game last season and is the team's top returning scorer.
? Ruffin also led the Valley by averaging 5.2 assists per game last season and was eighth in the league by averaging 1.6 steals per contest.
? The Braves backcourt also boasts the return of seniors Will Franklin and J.J. Tauai.
? Franklin averaged 5.0 points per game and was a member of the Valley's All-Bench Team last season, while the insertion of the defensive-minded Tauai into the starting lineup halfway through the season was the catalyst for the team's hot finish.
? In addition, junior Jeremy Crouch is expected to play a more prominent role in 2006-07.
Frontcourt Holes to Fill
? The graduation of Sommerville and Wright, along with the departure of O'Bryant to the NBA, provides an obvious hole for the Braves to fill in the frontcourt.
? The two most likely candidates to fill the void are senior Zach Andrews and junior college transfer Matt Salley.
? Andrews actually has experience filling in for O'Bryant, averaging 9.8 points and 8.1 rebounds in the eight games O'Bryant was forced to sit out to start the 2005-06 season.
? A transfer from Monroe (N.Y.) College, the 6-foot-7 Salley averaged 13.2 points and 8.8 rebounds last season, earning first-team NJCAA All-Region XV honors, as well as spots on the NJCAA Region XV and national tourney teams.
Big Schedule
? Despite its heavy losses, Bradley has not softened its non-conference schedule in 2006-07.
? The Braves are slated to play four teams from “Big” leagues and could play a fifth, Illinois, in the final round of the Chicago Challenge Invitational.
? Bradley will host DePaul (Big East) Nov. 11, will challenge Rutgers (Big East) at the new Sears Centre Nov. 24, will visit Michigan State (Big 10) Dec. 3 and will take on Iowa State (Big 12) Dec. 16 in the Mediacom Cyclone Capital Classic in Des Moines.
? Bradley has not played four teams from the BCS leagues since 1996-97, when the Braves played regular-season games versus Michigan, Kansas State, Penn State and Oregon State before losing in the second round of the NIT at Connecticut.
? Under new NCAA legislation, Bradley will play 31 regular-season games and the 13 non-conference games will be the most during the regular season since the 1985-86 squad played 14 (13-1) regular-season non-con games.
Homecourt Advantage
? In his first four yearsat the helm of the Bradley program, Jim Les boasts a 43-15 (.741) record at Carver Arena, where the team's record has improved in each of his four seasons.
? While racking up a 13-1 home record last year, Bradley ran its non-conference home winning streak to 17 games, the longest active streak in the Valley and the longest non-MVC winning streak in the 24-year history of the Peoria Civic Center.
? In fact, the 17-game home streak outside the Valley is the longest by the Braves since a 20-game Robertson Fieldhouse ride that began Dec. 9, 1972 versus Western Illinois (73-63) and ended Jan. 21, 1975 against then-independent Creighton (76-82).
Bradley's Non-Con Home Winning Streaks
56 Started 12/29/62 Louisville (71-70)
Ended 12/15/69 Murray State (60-72)
28 Started 2/17/58 #6 Oklahoma State (57-43)
Ended 12/12/61 Butler (77-80)
21 Started 2/28/55 Wichita State (69-67)
Ended 12/14/57 #14 Seattle (76-82)
21 Started 12/19/49 Georgia Tech (84-60)
Ended 3/31/51 Syracuse (75-76)
20 Started 12/9/72 Western Illinois (73-63)
Ended 1/21/75 Creighton (76-82)
17 Started 11/23/03 La.-Monroe (73-65) OT
Ended ---
Consecutive Postseasons
? Coming off last year's run to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, Bradley will be trying to reach consecutive postseason tournaments for the first time since a four-year run from 1994 through 1997 (1 NCAA, 3 NITs).
? Bradley has not played in consecutive NCAA Tournaments since the Braves followed up a 1954 national runner-up finish by reaching the Elite Eight of the 1955 NCAA Tournament.
NCAA Tourney Year The Next Season
2006: 22-11, 3rd Rd ---
1996: 22-8, 1st Rd 1997: 17-13, NIT 2nd Rd
1986: 32-3, 2nd Rd 1987: 17-12
1980: 23-10, 1st Rd 1981: 18-9
1955: 9-20, Elite Eight 1956: 13-13
1954: 19-13, Runner-Up 1955: 9-20, NCAA Elite Eight
1950: 32-5, Runner-Up 1951: 32-6, Nat'l Campus
Tournament Runner-Up
Public Debuts
? With the team's 2006-07 public debut at the Red-White Scrimmage, Bradley fans will get their first look at a quartet of Braves: freshman guards Ryan Phillips and Andrew Warren, junior guard Jeremy Fears and junior forward Matt Salley.
? A first-year transfer from Ohio University, Fears is eligible to play in Friday's intrasquad scrimmage, but will have to sit out the remainder of the 2006-07 season in compliance with NCAA transfer rules.
Ruffin Quick To 300
? Only five players in Missouri Valley Conference history have accumulated at least 600 assists during their Valley careers. Already with 303 career assists, Bradley junior guard Daniel Ruffin joins Illinois State's Jamar Smiley (335), Indiana State's Steve Reed (320) and Illinois State's Todd Starks (312) as the only Valley players to ever dish out more 300 assists by the end of their sophomore seasons.
MVC Career Assists Leaders
Rk. Player, School Years Assists
1. Anthony Manuel, Bradley 1985-89 855
2. Jamar Smiley, Illinois State 1994-98 740
3. Jim Les, Bradley 1984-86 696
4. Steve Reed, Indiana State 1977-81 616
5. Jeremy Stanton, Evansville 1997-01 601
Ruffin On Cousy Watch List
? Bradley junior point guard Daniel Ruffin has been announced as one of 39 players to watch for the 2007 Bob Cousy Award presented by The Hartford to the nation's top point guard.
? Ruffin is the only Missouri Valley Conference player on the preseason watch list and he is one of just 12 players from outside the six “BCS” power football leauges -- ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and Southeastern Conference.
