It was an eventful finals break for the Bradley Braves men?s basketball team, with the dismissal last week of senior small forward JoJo McGlaston for consistent violation of team standards.
The Braves will play their first game post-JoJo Wednesday against Little Rock at Carver Arena.
And 6-foot-8 freshman Ryan Stipanovich looks to be the biggest recipient of McGlaston?s minutes, which numbered nearly 21 per game.
?I?ve been playing more 4 (power forward) the first half of the season,? said Stipanovich, who is averaging 3.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per game. ?With Jo gone, I need to step up and play the perimeter more. It?s definitely a step up in my role.?
Since Bradley?s offense features four players on the perimeter ? and Stipanovich has proven to be an accomplished 3-point shooter so far (7-for-11) ? the change won?t be great when BU has the ball. The other end of the court, though, is a different story.
?It?s a little different, but nothing I can?t handle,? Stipanovich said. ?Defending the speed of the guards is the biggest thing I have to work on and improve on. I?ve gotten better at it.?
Bradley coach Brian Wardle has been pleased with Stipanovich?s position adjustment.
?He?s done a great job already,? Wardle said. ?We?ll play bigger when he?s in the game. For him, it?s a tremendous opportunity to guard the perimeter. There aren?t many 6-8 3s out there. If he can stay on his toes and keep his rear end down, his size will bother the guards. He?s worked hard at it.?
After playing their first nine games in just 23 days, the 7-2 Braves have taken the opportunity of the break not only to study, but to rest and heal minor ailments.
?Those were physical games, and we had multiple guys banged up,? Stipanovich said. ?I think we?re all healthy now and ready to go. The break definitely helps us physically and mentally as well.?
Wardle said his team has had a good week of practices working on problem areas, mostly offensively.
?We?ve worked on constant ball movement, flowing better, post scoring, have shot a lot of free throws and worked on scoring more in transition,? he said.
Wardle didn?t mention defense because it?s been a real strength aside from the Braves? last game, a 75-52 loss at San Diego State.
Bradley ranks among the nation?s top eight teams in 3-point shooting defense (third at 24.9), field-goal defense (sixth at 36.4) and scoring defense (eighth at 59.9).
Little Rock averages 63.2 points with percentages of 40.8 from the field, 25.0 from 3-point range and 63.3 from the line.
It?s been a rough go so far for Little Rock (2-7), which lost its first five games. The Trojans are led by 6-4 sophomore guard Andre Jones (11.3 ppg), 6-1 freshman guard Jaizec Lottie (3.1 apg) and 6-9 junior forward Oliver Black (8.0 rpg). They?re coming off a 69-54 loss at Central Arkansas.
?They?re fast and aggressive,? Wardle said. ?They attack you in transition quickly and shoot quick shots. They love to gamble and pressure you defensively. The No. 1 key will be to take care of the basketball and make them play over us.?
Freshman Elijah Childs will start in the post instead of Koch Bar, because of his better performance at San Diego State. Childs also matches up better against a smaller, quicker team.
Childs ranks first in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage, collecting 19 percent of the available offensive rebounds when he?s on the court.
?We?ll see how it works this game, but everyone knows Koch Bar will play a lot for us,? Wardle said. ?If Eli can keep doing what he does in practice, he can help us.?
The Braves will play their first game post-JoJo Wednesday against Little Rock at Carver Arena.
And 6-foot-8 freshman Ryan Stipanovich looks to be the biggest recipient of McGlaston?s minutes, which numbered nearly 21 per game.
?I?ve been playing more 4 (power forward) the first half of the season,? said Stipanovich, who is averaging 3.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per game. ?With Jo gone, I need to step up and play the perimeter more. It?s definitely a step up in my role.?
Since Bradley?s offense features four players on the perimeter ? and Stipanovich has proven to be an accomplished 3-point shooter so far (7-for-11) ? the change won?t be great when BU has the ball. The other end of the court, though, is a different story.
?It?s a little different, but nothing I can?t handle,? Stipanovich said. ?Defending the speed of the guards is the biggest thing I have to work on and improve on. I?ve gotten better at it.?
Bradley coach Brian Wardle has been pleased with Stipanovich?s position adjustment.
?He?s done a great job already,? Wardle said. ?We?ll play bigger when he?s in the game. For him, it?s a tremendous opportunity to guard the perimeter. There aren?t many 6-8 3s out there. If he can stay on his toes and keep his rear end down, his size will bother the guards. He?s worked hard at it.?
After playing their first nine games in just 23 days, the 7-2 Braves have taken the opportunity of the break not only to study, but to rest and heal minor ailments.
?Those were physical games, and we had multiple guys banged up,? Stipanovich said. ?I think we?re all healthy now and ready to go. The break definitely helps us physically and mentally as well.?
Wardle said his team has had a good week of practices working on problem areas, mostly offensively.
?We?ve worked on constant ball movement, flowing better, post scoring, have shot a lot of free throws and worked on scoring more in transition,? he said.
Wardle didn?t mention defense because it?s been a real strength aside from the Braves? last game, a 75-52 loss at San Diego State.
Bradley ranks among the nation?s top eight teams in 3-point shooting defense (third at 24.9), field-goal defense (sixth at 36.4) and scoring defense (eighth at 59.9).
Little Rock averages 63.2 points with percentages of 40.8 from the field, 25.0 from 3-point range and 63.3 from the line.
It?s been a rough go so far for Little Rock (2-7), which lost its first five games. The Trojans are led by 6-4 sophomore guard Andre Jones (11.3 ppg), 6-1 freshman guard Jaizec Lottie (3.1 apg) and 6-9 junior forward Oliver Black (8.0 rpg). They?re coming off a 69-54 loss at Central Arkansas.
?They?re fast and aggressive,? Wardle said. ?They attack you in transition quickly and shoot quick shots. They love to gamble and pressure you defensively. The No. 1 key will be to take care of the basketball and make them play over us.?
Freshman Elijah Childs will start in the post instead of Koch Bar, because of his better performance at San Diego State. Childs also matches up better against a smaller, quicker team.
Childs ranks first in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage, collecting 19 percent of the available offensive rebounds when he?s on the court.
?We?ll see how it works this game, but everyone knows Koch Bar will play a lot for us,? Wardle said. ?If Eli can keep doing what he does in practice, he can help us.?
