This new Bradley assistant has been on both sides of fierce rivalry with Illinois State
PEORIA — Bradley coach Brian Wardle and veteran players Ja'Shon Henry and Rienk Mast and Ville Tahvanainen and others know their history when it comes to the annual battles with rival Illinois State.
But they'll have someone who has seen the best rivalry in the Missouri Valley Conference through different eyes when the 2022-23 chapter arrives in Carver Arena on Wednesday.
"It's still fresh, a situation that was unique," Bradley assistant coach Brian Jones said. "It will be a little awkward, but I've approached it as 'How can I help bring the most information to the program possible?'
"Both of these teams bring an edge to their game against each other, and you can throw out records when they play. At ISU, we always looked at Bradley as a tough, physical team. You had to be ready to fight from the first moment on the floor. That's the way it was coaching against coach Wardle, and that's the way it is coaching for him."
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Jones took over as interim head coach four days before Bradley hosted Illinois State in a rematch last winter.
ISU head coach Dan Muller had been fired, pending the end of the season, and initially indicated he would stay on as a lame-duck coach. But after additional consideration he opted to resign, leaving the team in Jones' hands for a Feb. 19 game in Carver Arena.
Jones, the head coach at North Dakota for 13 seasons, spent the last three seasons on the ISU coaching staff. His primary focus as offensive coordinator led the Redbirds scoring offense to a top-three ranking in the MVC the last two years.
The Redbirds went 3-3 in those games against BU while going 13-20, 4-14 and 5-13 overall.
Wardle then hired him to the Braves staff in late September.
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"Stay focused and try to finish, get the core group to the end, that's what Dan wanted to do last year," Jones said. "We dusted ourselves off, on and off the court. The players had every right to question at the end whether (Muller could stay on).
"I've tried to separate myself from ISU, out of respect for (new Redbirds coach) Ryan Pedon," Jones said. "I'm only focused now on what I can do to help our Bradley team succeed."
Bravely Speaking
Bradley forward Christian Davis was in live scrimmages with the team Tuesday and has been cleared to play. He'll return from an ankle injury and be available Wednesday. … Bradley forward Malevy Leons is building a strong case for all-MVC selection and MVC Defensive Player of the Year. He leads the Valley with 36 blocks and is fourth in steals with 34, plus his rebounds are 10th in the league and his scoring average is second-best on BU's team. … Bradley has won six of the last nine meetings after a long stretch where it lost 16 of 18 in the series. … Illinois State junior guard Malachi Poindexter has never missed a free throw in his 42-game college career. He is 32 of 32 this season with the Redbirds. He had no attempts at Virginia the last two seasons, where he played 19 games as a sophomore and 3 as a walk-on freshman. … Bradley guard Ville Tahvanainen's 34 straight free throws made -- which ended last week at Indiana State -- was the 14th-longest free throw run in Missouri Valley Conference history. … Bradley forward Ja'Shon Henry has 924 career points as he pushes to become the 51st player in Bradley history to reach 1,000 career points. … As of Monday night, the Braves were in a five-way tie at 6-4 in the Valley standings, two games off the lead with Drake, Indiana State, Murray State and Missouri State. … Drake's Roman Penn had 18 assists Saturday against Evansville, a school record and most in a Valley game in over 30 years. … Bradley finishes out the week with a 2 p.m. road game against UIC in Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago.
Illinois State at Bradley
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Carver Arena, Peoria
Watch: Bally Sports Midwest.
Listen: WMBD-AM 1470, FM 100.3
Records: Illinois State, 8-13 (3-7), 10th in MVC. Bradley, 13-8 (6-4), 4th in MVC.
All-time series: Bradley, 69-65.
In 2021-22: Bradley L 74-65 on road; Bradley W 72-64 at home.
NET ranking: Illinois State, No. 262. Bradley, No. 76.
KenPom ranking: Illinois State, No. 265. Bradley, No. 85.
MVC preseason poll: Illinois State, No. 10. Bradley, No. 2.
Coaches: Illinois State, Ryan Pedon (1st season). Bradley, Brian Wardle (8th season).
Players to watch: Illinois State Redbirds: 6-0 G Darius Burford 11.7 ppg, 84.5% FT; 6-7 G Seneca Knight 10.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg; 6-8 F Kendall Lewis 9.8 ppg, team-best 6.6 rpg, 17 blocks, team-best 33 steals, has 26.8% of Off rebounds; 6-2 G Malachi Poindexter 9.6 ppg, 41.5% from 3. Bradley Braves: C Rienk Mast 13.8 ppg and 8.5 rpg (2nd in MVC), 51.5% FG (3rd in MVC), an MVC first-team preseason pick; F Malevy Leons 11.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg (10th in MVC) and MVC-best 36 blocks, plus 34 steals (4th in MVC), and 38.7% from 3; F Ja'Shon Henry 9.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.60 off rpg (2nd in MVC); G Duke Deen 10.7 ppg, team-best 60a, 37.0% from 3.
Coaches corner: Bradley coach Brian Wardle, looking at the Braves-Redbirds matchup and the longview of the season: "We have to approach it as it's just the next game, but we know the intensity level is going to be a lot higher. And we have to defend the 3. The 3-point defense is what has beaten us in seven of our eight losses this season."
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 assistant Brian Jones is former coach at Illinois State
