04/13/2008: pjstar.com

BU builds for future through experience
Players such as guard Maniscalco performed when pressed into service



Sunday, April 13, 2008
by dave reynolds
of the journal star

PEORIA - Jim Les got more than a glimpse of life without Daniel Ruffin this year when the senior point guard missed nine full games though injury and suspension and was subpar physically for several others.

While the Braves struggled mightily at first to reinvent themselves without the penetration skills and quickness of Ruffin, they eventually learned to adapt and even win games with their little leader on the sidelines.

Repeatedly, freshman guard Sam Maniscalco, Ruffin's main replacement, would tell anyone who asked that he wasn't trying to be Daniel but just attempting to provide what he could to help the team.

He did that in spades, setting a BU school record for 3-pointers made by a freshman with 55 while averaging 7.7 points and posting an excellent 2.1-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

"I told Sammy after the season he did what I expected of him, which is a great compliment," BU coach Jim Les said. "I put him in some tough situations, and he came in and contributed."

That experience will greatly benefit next year's Braves, not only in Maniscalco's case, but with the other returning players - Andrew Warren and Theron Wilson, in particular - who helped pick up the slack.

Add the fact that three more guards - 6-foot-3 Dodie Dunson, 6-4 Chris Roberts and 5-11 Eddren McCain - are already signed for next season, and the losses of Ruffin and leading scorer Jeremy Crouch can be overcome.

"That's the great challenge of this job," Les said. "You know you're going to lose great players every year. The challenge as a coach is to replenish your team and get the returning guys to improve."

Such a transition requires fitting new pieces into an ever-changing puzzle. The different skills of the new players on this year's Braves meant adjustments to Les' high-powered offense.

But in the end, Bradley's numbers were remarkably similar to the previous year. The Braves averaged about 74 points and gave up about 71, with dribble-drive penetration and 3-point shooting providing the bulk of the scoring.

"Every year we do some tweaking," Les said. "Coaches that don't change year in and year out are selling their kids short. My goal is to put this basketball team in the best position to have success, not tell a kid, 'We want you to be Daniel Ruffin.' That's a tough task and a tough find."

Given the makeup of the roster, the Braves will be guard-oriented again, even though with the one-foot-deeper 3-point arc (20 feet, 9 inches) in effect, BU may not be in the 340-plus range for 3s again. But Warren, Maniscalco, Tyrone Cole-Scott and the new guards - along with Wilson, Will Egolf and Ryan Thornton - will certainly have the green light when open on the perimeter.

Yet even with the loss of starting center Matt Salley, next year's team will also have more inside options.

David Collins, Rashad Austin and Sam Singh will be back for their senior years and will likely split time at the '5' spot. Wilson and Egolf should man the power forward position.

Redshirt freshman Anthony Thompson seems certain to back up both spots and will likely increase his playing time as he gets stronger and learns the Division I game.

"Both Will and Anthony have size and talent, and you can't teach that," Les said. "Now it becomes taking all that potential and adding a nice offseason of hard work."

The Braves have one scholarship to give and should add another player during the spring signing period that begins next week. Les isn't saying publicly what type of athlete he'd like.

"We want the best player available and are exploring all options," he said.

Will the Braves' talented roster be productive enough to move the team into the top three of the Missouri Valley Conference, a perch that has eluded Les in his six years on the Hilltop?

"Creighton will be good, but a lot of us in the league are in the same boat," he said. "We lost some key elements but return some pretty key elements."

In Bradley's case, how quickly those returning elements and the new ones can meld will go a long way toward determining whether the program can make the leap back up from the CBI to the NCAA.