An absent icon, 2 redshirts and a tall task: What to watch with Bradley at Utah State
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PEORIA — The Bradley Braves move on to their 2022-23 season road opener Friday at Utah State.
But for the first time ever, the iconic voice of the Braves, Dave Snell, won't be moving on with them.
"I tripped on a curb and broke my kneecap," Snell said recently. "I won't be able to travel to the Utah State game. But we're going to do it (by remote) from here, and it's going to be fun."
Snell will do play-by-play amid the BU watch party at Bullpen Sports Bar & Grill in Landmark Recreation Center.
He is in his 44th season broadcasting the Braves, the seventh-longest streak in the NCAA. He's done 1,342 consecutive games, and this will be the first one he misses in person.
"Dave Snell is in our locker room, quoted on our wall," Bradley coach Brian Wardle said. "You think of Bradley Braves, you think of Dave Snell.
"His injury is tough. It's going to be weird being on the road without him. He means a lot … He will be missed and we're going to try to win some games on the road until he gets healthy. We definitely need him on that plane, the players love him."
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Handing out redshirts
Bradley officially red-shirted two players this week.
Max Ekono, a 6-foot-7 guard from Bouffémont, France, who played at Scotland Prep, is now a redshirt sophomore.
The other is invited walk-on Sulaiman Agiste. The 6-foot-8 freshman forward played at Michele Clark Academic Prep High School in Chicago.
On point at guard
Bradley's new point guards, Duke Deen and Pop Weathers, didn't fill the stat sheet in the season opener Monday, a rout over Wisconsin-Parkside at Carver Arena.
But they did play well, and were better than their numbers showed.
Deen had five points in 22 minutes, 25 seconds, and was 2-of-6 shooting (1-of-4 from 3-point range) with three assists and three rebounds.
Weathers had six points and three assists in 22:33, including 2-of-3 shooting from the field.
The point guard position had just one turnover (Deen), a significant improvement from last season.
"They are just going to keep getting better, I'm not worried about Duke and Pop," Wardle said. "They will find a way in the flow of the offense, figure out where to score."
Takeaways from the season opener
The Braves let Wisconsin-Parkside hang around for a while, then buried them with a 54-26 sprint over 19 minutes, 13 seconds Monday.
"Defensively, we need to keep fronting the post, be tougher inside," Wardle said after the game. "We'll keep getting better as a unit there. Offensively, it's about getting to the paint, the foul line, making our free throws (14 of 20). I was proud of that, we need to do it consistently this year."
"We'll see what we do here on the road."
On to Utah State
The Aggies will be a different kind of challenge for Bradley.
The analytics site, KenPom, says Utah State is the 21st-oldest team in the nation, loaded with experience.
And they are big, ranking 43rd in the nation in height with a team average at 78.1 inches. BU is at 77.4, around 117th.
The Aggies lineup has six players who are 6-foot-8 or taller, including 7-1 Trevor Dorius, 7-0 Isaac Johnson and 6-11 Szymon Zapala.
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They also have 6-foot-9 forward Taylor Funk, a fifth-year player who transferred from Saint Joseph's over the summer. He dropped 20 points and nine rebounds against Bradley last season in a game the Braves won, 77-73.
The Aggies' 78.1-inch team height puts them 43rd tallest in the nation. BU, at 77.4, is around No. 117.
"Utah State is a really good team, but we'll prepare like we always do," Bradley fifth-year forward Ja'Shon Henry said. "We'll see what they do on the offensive side and defensive side of the ball and figure out what we can attack."
Bradley at Utah State
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Where: Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, Logan, Utah
Watch: Mountain West Network.
Listen: WMBD-AM 1470, FM 100.3
Records: Bradley, 1-0. Utah State, 1-0.
In '21-22: Bradley 17-14 (11-7). Utah State 18-16 (8-10), played in NIT.
KenPom preseason ranking: Bradley, No. 128. Utah State, No. 62.
Coaches: Bradley, Brian Wardle (8th season). Utah State, Ryan Odom (2nd season).
All-time series: Bradley, 2-1.
Bravely Speaking: Bradley has not played Utah State since 1964. … BU is 0-11 all-time against Mountain West Conference teams. … The Braves are 1-6 in road openers (some of which are neutral site tournament games) under head coach Brian Wardle. Their win was against Toledo, a 61-59 decision in the Xavier Invitational at Cincinnati in 2020-21. … The Braves are 27-13 in November over the last six seasons. ... Utah State started 7-foot-1, 240-pound Trevin Dorius at center in its opener, a possible matchup for 6-9, 200-pound quick and athletic Bradley center Darius Hannah.
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. Reach him at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: College basketball: Dave Snell out, redshirts, Bradley vs. Utah State
