Ahmet Jonovic
By Ethan Carbone
Sophomore center Ahmet Jonovic towers over almost every player in the country. At a staggering height of 7-foot-1, he will be the tallest athlete at Bradley this year.
Height is something that Bradley lacked last season, as big man Rienk Mast only stood at 6-foot-9. On the other hand, Jonovic has the body type of your prototypical Big Ten big man. His development as a sophomore will be perhaps the most interesting thing to follow throughout the year.
Demarion Burch
By Umar Syed
Everyone knows Spiderman is from New York, but what if I told you that Bradley has their own Spiderman on the basketball team from Milwaukee, Wisconsin? Meet freshman Demarion Burch.
Burch is a 6-foot-4 guard who is an elusive scorer and can certainly hold his own on the offensive and defensive end. As a junior in high school, Burch averaged 29.7 points and 4.8 assists per game, followed by 27.3 points and 4.9 assists per game his senior year. Burch also scored a career-high 51 points in one game during his junior year while scoring 44 points in a single game a year later.
As you can see, Burch will be a big scoring weapon for the Braves this year. So, if you want to see a ball player who is electric, a powerful driver in the lane and can hit the Steph Curry-like shot, then you should pay attention to Burch.
Claire McDougall
By Mason Klemm
On a team that didn’t have a lot to cheer for last year, the addition of Washington high school alumna Claire McDougall is sure to rile up Bradley fans and help women’s basketball become competitive again in the MVC.
The accolades speak for themselves. McDougall was a Mid-Illini First-Team All-Conference selection as well as an All-State and All-Area pick. She led the Panthers to regional and conference championships during her time there, and she looks to bring that success to the Hilltop.
Emarion Ellis
By Rodrigo Perez
One of Bradley’s three transfers this season, Emarion Ellis comes to the Hilltop from Marquette with quite an interesting story. The Davenport, Iowa native was once the top-rated player in Iowa for the class of 2021, according to 247sports.
At Marquette, the redshirt sophomore played in 14 games, averaging 2.1 points per game in roughly 85 minutes of action. Soon after the start of his sophomore season, Ellis suffered a knee injury that rendered him out for the season.
Now fully recovered at Bradley, the former Marquette guard will be hungrier than ever to make up for the lost time. He’s got something to prove, which makes him one of the most exciting players to look out for.
Duke Deen
By Latif Love
This year, Bradley fans should be most excited to watch Duke Deen’s second year.
In year one, Deen averaged nearly 10 points and three assists on 36% shooting from three. He was most effective in operating the pick-and-roll as a scorer and distributor. Despite often being the smallest player on the floor, Deen is scrappy on the defensive end.
Braves fans should look for a jump in production from Deen as head coach Brian Wardle leans more toward guard play this season.
