'I'm home': Bradley Braves man in the middle has found a basketball family

PEORIA — Darius Hannah just keeps growing.

From a 6-foot-9 frame now bigger at 205 pounds, to a key role as a starting center for the Bradley Braves.

And as a player with a story to tell about his journey from a tough inner-city neighborhood to a place in a college program on Peoria's hilltop.

"I was supposed to have a big role this year," the junior from Milwaukee said. "But when (incumbent center) Rienk Mast got hurt, that role suddenly became huge.

"I had to open my eyes and get locked in, take in every detail. That first game, starting, it felt good. It's ongoing work, Rienk is there, all my teammates are there, and I don't want to let them down."

More:Bradley all-MVC center talks about his knee injury as the Braves rework starting lineup

A father's legacy

Darius Hannah is just 20. He grew up in the north neighborhoods of Milwaukee.

"It was challenging growing up on Milwaukee's north side," Hannah said. "It wasn't good stuff there. I was blessed to have parents who kept me out of that stuff. I saw choices between right and wrong every day.

"They just would not let me make the wrong decisions."

His parents, Jelani Hannah and Zakiyyah Evans, guided him toward basketball and applied their own life lessons earned on and off the court.

"My dad grew up in the streets in Toledo, Ohio," Hannah said. "He played sports and he had a pretty rough environment around him. My dad's godparents watched over him. My grandfather was an Army veteran.

"They all wanted more for me. My dad made the mistakes, learned from them, and made sure I didn't live that way."

And so the Hannah brothers, Darius, 20, Desmond, 18 and Davion, 16, have grown up on basketball.

The Warning Basketball League

Hannah was always the youngest kid in his class, always the biggest, and always around basketball.

As an elite city player, that meant days and nights on park courts and in the Warning Basketball League.

The WBL is the oldest basketball league in Milwaukee and the third-oldest inner-city league in the nation. It was founded in 1975, with teams from grade school age to adults in each neighborhood.

Bradley associate head coach Jimmie Foster played in it.

"It's a big playground tournament back in Milwaukee," Foster said. "The who's who's come back from college and play in it. It's a big-time league that top guys in the state play in. A good test for anyone.

"He grew up in a tough background. His parents did a great job raising him. He's a leader in his family, he represents Bradley and his family proudly."

Hannah passed that test, playing in the Warning league and at his favorite place, Lincoln Park.

"Warning was founded to stop violence, a youth outlet, and I started playing in it when I was 10," he said. "I was at Beam Academy (Business and Economics Academy of Milwaukee) and started playing with the team there."

By the time he reached high school with the Milwaukee Academy of Science, Hannah was a rising prospect.Then he tore his ACL and everything slowed down.

The recruitment of Darius Hannah

Bradley coach Brian Wardle saw Hannah when he was a sophomore in high school. The program really liked him, and an ACL knee injury did not change that interest level.

"He was injured and we stayed with him, stayed by his side," Wardle said. "Just a tremendous young man. He's devoted to the team and to the game, and he stayed here all offseason, working out, eating right, changed his body and prepared mentally for a bigger role."

More:Just 18, freshman forward Darius Hannah could have a big future with Bradley basketball

Hannah averaged 17.6 points and 11.3 rebounds as a high school senior, coming off a junior season missed because of that ACL injury. He had offers from Milwaukee and Liberty. And he had Bradley, there from the beginning of his recruiting journey.

"I'd heard about him, saw him in an AAU tournament and all my connections back home said he was a guy we needed to look at," Foster said. "Then he tore his ACL right when we were getting ready to go see him.

"In the recruiting process, me and his dad had many conversations about how to get him better. He's done those things here. He's always been around good players here and he knew what to expect. He didn't go home in May. He stayed on campus, worked out, had eight-hour days.

"Coming in, we knew he would be a little bit delayed (because of youth and injury) but we knew his development to college basketball and his upside would be tremendous. A lot of schools don't want to give guys time."

More:'One final ride': Bradley super senior ready to open his final college basketball season

Hannah feels grateful the Braves stayed with him in the process. He's right where he should be.

"Bradley was my second school that offered," he said. "I tore my ACL in AAU summer league, but after surgery Bradley was always there for me. They treated me like family.

"I'm here because I felt I could trust the program. Meeting with Jimmie Foster and Brian Wardle, it just always felt right I'm home."

The next man up can fly

Hannah, in his first three games as Bradley's starting center, has averaged 10.3 points on about 20 minutes per game, averages four rebounds and has a team-best six steals and a handful of highlight dunks.

Those athletic moves above the rim are his signature with his teammates, who in preseason declared him their dunk champion. As a freshman in 2020-21, his dunk against Oakland ended up as the No. 3 pick on ESPN's play list for the night.

"As a kid, I idolized Kevin Durant for a long time," Hannah said. "In high school and college, it's Ben Simmons. I hope he gets it together because I like watching him play."

What NBA player would he love to face in a dunking contest?

"Zach LaVine would be one for sure," said Hannah, of the Chicago Bulls two-time NBA Dunk Contest winner. "But for me, I'd love to face (Memphis) Ja Morant."

How well Hannah plays in Mast's absence will be a huge impact on Bradley's season. And the possibilities of how that lineup will look when both Mast and Hannah are available are exciting.

"This is a huge time for Darius," said Bradley fifth-year forward Ja'Shon Henry, who has watched Hannah grow as a player and a teammate. "He's awesome in practices and games. It's a whole new role for him and he's stepped up."

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: College basketball: Darius Hannah of Bradley growing into large role