Brian Wardle (basketball)

Brian Wardle (born October 9, 1979) is an American college basketball coach and the current men's basketball coach at Bradley University.

Brian Wardle
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamBradley
ConferenceMVC
Record81–86 (.485)
Biographical details
Born (1979-10-09) October 9, 1979
Clarendon Hills, Illinois
Playing career
1997–2001Marquette
2001–2002Fayetteville Patriots
2002–2003Rockford Lightning
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2003–2005Marquette (asst.)
2005–2010Green Bay (asst.)
2010–2015Green Bay
2015–presentBradley
Head coaching record
Overall176–151 (.538)
TournamentsNCAA: 0–1
NIT: 0–2
CIT: 0–1
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Horizon League regular season championship (2014)
Missouri Valley Tournament championship (2019, 2020)
Awards
Horizon League Coach of the Year (2014)
Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award (2014)
First-team All-Conference USA (2001)

Biography

Born in Clarendon Hills, Illinois, Wardle played for Marquette from 1997–2001, ending his career as the third-leading scorer in school history.[1] As a senior, he averaged 18.8 points per game. After college, Wardle played in the NBA Developmental League and the Continental Basketball Association.[2]

He was an assistant at Marquette from 2003–2005 and UW-Green Bay from 2005–2010. After the 2009-2010 season, Wardle was named head coach at UW-Green Bay.[3] Upon his hiring, Wardle became the youngest head coach in NCAA Division I basketball.[3] There were allegations he verbally mistreated players in 2013, so the university had him work with an advisor to help motivate his team. In 2014, Wardle was named the Horizon League Coach of the Year. In 2015, he left to take the coaching job at Bradley, which posted a 9-24 record the season before his arrival and a 5-27 record after the year in which he arrived. He had a 95-65 record at Green Bay but failed to make the NCAA Tournament.[2]

On March 10, 2019, Wardle led the Braves to the NCAA Tournament by winning The Missouri Valley’s “Arch Madness” Tournament. The Braves defeated Northern Iowa 57-54. This is the first conference tournament championship for Bradley since 1988, and the first trip to the NCAA Tournament for Bradley since 2006. Bradley played two seeded Michigan State on March 21, 2019. Wardle was asked to keep wearing a red pair of shoes his wife had bought him. Wardle, claiming he wasn't superstitious, "everyone else is," wore his red shoes. Bradley was 8-0 when Wardle wore these shoes. Bradley led Michigan State at half 35-34, dominating the boards in the first half. Bradley lost the game 76-65.

Prior to Bradley's NCAA Tournament game against Michigan State, Wardle was involved in a controversy that gained national attention. A Bradley Athletics official revoked media access to a local beat reporter due to not "promoting the Bradley brand." Wardle later apologized and the reporter's access to the team was restored.[4]

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Green Bay (Horizon League) (2010–2015)
2010–11 Green Bay 14–188–107th
2011–12 Green Bay 15–1510–8T–6th
2012–13 Green Bay 18–1610–6T–3rdCIT First Round
2013–14 Green Bay 24–714–21stNIT First Round
2014–15 Green Bay 24–912–42ndNIT First Round
Green Bay: 95–65 (.594)54–30 (.643)
Bradley (Missouri Valley Conference) (2015–present)
2015–16 Bradley 5–273–159th
2016–17 Bradley 13–207–11T–6th
2017–18 Bradley 20–139–95th
2018–19 Bradley 20–159–9T–5thNCAA First Round
2019–20 Bradley 23–1111–7T–3rdNCAA cancelled
2020–21 Bradley 8–42–1
Bradley: 89–90 (.497)41–52 (.441)
Total:184–155 (.543)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References
  1. "Action 2 New – 10 O'Clock newscast (sports)". Green Bay, Wisconsin. November 17, 2010. 27 minutes in. WBAY-TV. Missing or empty |series= (help)
  2. Valentin, Rob (April 13, 2015). "Brian Wardle hopes to carry success to Bradley from UW-Green Bay". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  3. "Wardle Named Green Bay Head Basketball Coach". UWGB Athletics. April 15, 2010. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
  4. "A reporter wouldn't hype Bradley University's "brand," so it pulled his basketball credential".


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.