There’s usually three stages to playing college basketball as a freshman.
Stage one is getting in the game. This is hard enough on its own, but the real challenge comes with stage two: staying in the game. You can’t make too many mistakes or you’ll be passed over for a more experienced player.
Not every freshman reaches stage three, but it happened to Bradley’s Almar Atlason and Demarion Burch. Stage three is when you excel in the game, earning yourself an increased role and an uptick in minutes.
It’s not every day that a team like Bradley, coming off an MVC regular season championship and an NIT berth, relies on a couple of freshmen to carry the load. However, that’s exactly what they’ve done.
“You get what you deserve,” head coach Brian Wardle said. “I’m loyal to my vets always, they know that, but if a guy is getting outplayed and another player is playing better, they’re gonna get that opportunity.”
Atlason and Burch got that chance in the Braves’ first games of the season and never looked back, ending the year in sixth and seventh among average minutes played. The two do whatever is asked of them, playing in the rotation with veterans like graduate forward Malevy Leons, junior guard Connor Hickman and senior guard Duke Deen.
“They just play with a lot of heart,” Deen said. “They listen, they don’t talk back. Whatever Hick[man], me or Mal[evy] say to them, they take heed to it and they just want to compete with us.”
Their potential has been there from the start. In just his third game at the collegiate level, Atlason hit six threes against Tarleton State, setting the Bradley freshman record for treys in a single game. He needs just seven more to move into the program’s top five in a single season among freshmen, and his 41.5% mark from downtown is currently the best freshman mark in school history.
Burch may not light things up from three, but as one of the first options off the bench, he’s provided a much-needed jolt for the Braves. His explosive nature and ability to drive downhill is something the team did not have a lot of before he came in, and the coaching staff has given him chances to play point guard and work off ball screens while still making plays.
With their wide range of talents on display, their head coach has been impressed.
“Burch and Almar understand that as freshmen, they’re coming into a championship program and playing with some really, really good players,” Wardle said. “As freshmen, you just want to learn and grow week by week and they have done that. Neither of them care if they start, but I think they’re just excited that they’re in the rotation and playing a lot and getting a good opportunity.”
There have been moments where things did not look so great for the two. Inconsistencies have plagued the Braves this year, leading to slow starts and close finishes. Burch and Atlason in particular have had games where they didn’t play much, whether it’s because Atlason got into foul trouble or Burch’s driving got a little too chaotic.
However, that’s just all a part of being a freshman.
“For us, as a staff, we just gotta stick with them because the more they play, the better they get in each game,” Wardle said. “That’s the thing as a coach to be patient with freshmen and I’ve always done that with my freshmen.”
Now, heading into their first Arch Madness, Wardle hopes the duo is ready for what’s to come.
“You always tell your freshmen once February hits, you’re not a freshman anymore,” Wardle said. “You have a lot of experience under your belt, you gotta start acting and feeling like you’re a sophomore and playing like that.”
“He’s an explosive shooter”
Atlason came to Bradley from Iceland, where he played on the country’s under-18 FIBA team and led them to the semifinals of the European Championships, averaging 17.9 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. He took that performance to Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas, one of the nation’s most premier prep programs for high school players, where he played with guys like the NBA G League Ignite’s Matas Buzelis.
Playing international ball taught Atlason “grown man strength,” as he calls it, and dealing with the athleticism of a league like the one he played in at Sunrise prepared him to suit up for Division I. When he first took the floor back in November, he was ready to go.
“It was fun,” Atlason said. “I think I got a good preparation last year in my high school, but it’s different. It’s a different speed, dudes are bigger, they’re older, stronger. But I think the transition was good and it was a lot of fun.”
Scoring 18 points in that game against Tarleton State in November, the Braves and their fans knew they had someone special in their midst. He’s hit at least one three in 17 games this season and at least two in 14 games, showcasing his skills on the perimeter.
“He’s an explosive shooter,” Wardle said. “They’re explosive in different ways but both of them can really have big games – and when I say big, eight to 12 points is a big game for freshmen in our league. There’s not a lot of freshmen doing that and playing the role that they are playing.”
Atlason’s shot-making ability led to a starting spot as early as the team’s third conference game, an 86-50 win against Valpo. That set off a string of seven straight MVC wins for the Braves, in no small part because of the way Atlason gelled with the rest of the veterans in the starting lineup.
In all, Atlason started 15 of the final 18 games of the regular season, playing the role of a four or five who can space the floor with Deen and Hickman and cause problems for opposing big men on defense.
“A lot of the fifth starter has been around the other four guys [and] what’s best with the lineups we’re seeing,” Wardle said. “It’s based on the upperclassmen, and you just explain to the other guys ‘hey, we need you to just buy into your role, your role is extremely important.’”
He’ll be the first to tell you that he needed to improve his defense the most coming in, something his coaches continue to get on him about. Like most Europeans, it wasn’t much of a focus in his development, but being at Bradley has taught him the ins and outs of defending at a high level.
“I think defensively I’ve definitely grown the most,” Atlason said. “I think I’ve become someone that can help a lot on defense and can be a factor. Not something that I was necessarily in the beginning, but definitely an area I want to improve more on and have to improve more on.”
Atlason took everything in stride as he traversed through his first year, learning from the veterans to be prepared for anything the game throws at him. This preparation paid off, as it led to a placement on the Valley’s All-Freshman team.
“Something that I’ve learned from the older guys – Mal[evy], Hick[man] and Duke, especially – just always [being] ready,” Atlason said. “They come in every day, ready to go. That’s something that I need to be: always ready to go. And that preparation will lead to better performances in games.”
“Whenever we need a bucket, we just give him the ball”
Burch was another product of the Bradley-Milwaukee pipeline, joining senior forward Darius Hannah and associate head coach Jimmie Foster as the city’s natives that make the 3.5-hour drive to Peoria. It was actually Foster who enticed Burch to come to Bradley, a place his parents could watch him play.
Like all freshmen, he faced challenges that came with playing in college. Burch averaged 27.3 points per game as a senior at Milwaukee Hamilton High School, but coming in as an undersized, self-proclaimed low-IQ guard, he knew that he had to improve.
“I knew everything was going to be a challenge when I first came, and I just had to take that [on] the chin and just work hard,” Burch said.
His first game action against Utah State was a three-point, three-rebound performance in 11 minutes of action. It wasn’t the most awe-inspiring game, but his crossover and layup in traffic for his first career field goal gave the Braves a glimpse into what they could expect from the freshman, and it helped him get rid of some nerves as well.
“When I finally just got out there and started to play, the nerves went away,” Burch said. “I started to feel very confident and my teammates just held it down for me. They kept giving me motivational speeches in the games, telling me what to do and not to do.”
Those teammates have helped guide him throughout the season. Burch says Hannah, Deen, Hickman and Leons have taught him lessons about confidence and work ethic, even when it comes to school work.
“It’s going to always take extra work, no matter what,” Deen said. “If it’s extra film, extra time in the gym, practice is just not enough.”
Burch has showcased his ability to get to the rim and finish, even with defenders hanging all over him. This has proven key for a Bradley team that often relies on the three ball to score, giving them a nice balance when Burch is on his game.
“When he gets going he can score in bunches and he can make a lot of plays,” Wardle said. “That’s fun to have coming off the bench.”
Burch’s contributions also had to expand when two guards left the program during the season. With the departure of Trey Pettigrew and Emarion Ellis, Burch knew he couldn’t afford to play like a freshman anymore and understood how to pick up their slack.
“I think Burch was kind of playing his way into the rotation already and that might have led to two guards leaving, quite honestly,” Wardle said. “Burch established himself in the summer and fall as a dynamic player and a guy that’s willing to work and willing to learn and he wants to be coached.”
“He just plays with a ton of energy,” Deen said. “Whenever we need a bucket, we just give him the ball [and] he’s going to score. No matter how ugly it looks, he’s going to put the ball in the hole no matter what.”
Both Burch and Atlason have taken prominent roles on the team, an often unfamiliar scene for freshmen in the MVC. Wardle is excited to see how far this experience can take them.
“We kind of knew in the first couple months [that] these guys are gonna be good,” Wardle said. “And I think they’re gonna be very good. If they put the work in this offseason, you’re gonna see their role grow and get bigger next year and the following year and hopefully see them progress because they are guys that love the game and love to work.”
Preparing for Arch
The challenges of playing at Arch Madness are well-known. Three, sometimes four, games in a row can take a toll on players – especially if they’ve never experienced it before.
Burch and Atlason are hoping that doesn’t happen to them.
“It’s gonna be a challenge,” Burch said. “Everybody’s starting fresh, so it doesn’t matter about the record or nothing like that. We just gotta be ready and take on the challenge of any team because anybody could lose in that moment.”
“It’s the highest level the league will be,” Atlason added. “Everyone competing, everyone playing really hard. It’s obviously the end of the year and the ultimate tournament so a lot of physicality, people playing really hard. That’s what we’re expecting [and] that’s what I’m expecting.”
Neither of them knew much about the tournament before being recruited to Bradley, but they both know they need to be ready for the moment once their first game on Friday rolls around. Deen knows what he needs out of them too.
“We need Al[mar] to hit some threes, play good defense,” Deen said. “We just need O [Burch] to bring that fire and intensity and passion, and we know he’s gonna get a bucket so if O can stay solid on the defensive end, it’ll be lights out.”
Deen also notices the changes the two have undergone as they get ready for a tournament experience they’ve never had before.
“They’ve both matured off the court and on the court. I mean you can just see the growth, day by day,” Deen said. “Even with just coming into the gym bringing a lot of energy, knowing where to be, holding each other accountable, holding us accountable when we mess up. They just grew a lot.”
Wardle plans to keep the freshmen in rotation in St. Louis and can’t wait to see what they produce.
“The players like playing with O and Al, they like them,” Wardle said. “Those two guys have come a long way and I’m excited for them because hopefully down the stretch we can keep having some big games.”
