Tag: bradley

Report: OKC Thunder sign Bradley’s Malevy Leons to Exhibit-10 deal

Report: OKC Thunder sign Bradley’s Malevy Leons to Exhibit-10 deal.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed Bradley’s Malevy Leons to an Exhibit-10 deal, per Jon Chepkevich. He went undrafted in the 2024 NBA draft.

The 24-year-old spent a year in JUCO before transferring to Bradley, where he played three seasons from 2021-24. He was a starter during his entire tenure at the MVC school.

In 35 games last season, Leons averaged 13.8 points on 48.8% shooting, 7.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists. He shot 34.1% from 3 on 3.6 attempts. He also tallied 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals. At 6-foot-9, 210 pounds, he has solid size for a forward.

This gives the Thunder a chance to add Leons to their G League OKC Blue squad if he impresses enough in the summer league. He will receive a heavy dosage of minutes. Leons had a predraft workout with the Thunder.

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Bradley’s Malevy Leons had predraft workout with Thunder

Bradley’s Malevy Leons had predraft workout with Thunder.

The calendar has flipped to June, which means NBA teams are intensifying their predraft process and hosting players for workouts and visits. The 2024 NBA draft will take place from June 26-27.

The Oklahoma City Thunder enter this year’s class with a sole draft pick of the No. 12 selection. OKC was gifted the free lottery pick via the Houston Rockets.

The Thunder will host several meetings with draft prospects in the coming weeks. This includes players outside the lottery range as OKC will likely seek to add undrafted free agents or even buy back into the second round if it likes someone enough.

One possibility is Bradley forward Malevy Leons. It was posted on social media he met with the Thunder for a predraft workout.

The 24-year-old spent a year in JUCO before transferring to Bradley, where he played three seasons from 2021-24. He was a starter during his entire tenure at the MVC school.

In 35 games last season, Leons averaged 13.8 points on 48.8% shooting, 7.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists. He shot 34.1% from 3 on 3.6 attempts. He also tallied 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals. At 6-foot-9, 210 pounds, he has solid size for a forward.

Leons is a potential undrafted free agent target. He has a shot to join the Thunder’s summer league squad and possibly be added to the G League’s OKC Blue for next season if he impresses enough.

A full list of 2024 NBA draft prospects that have worked out or visited the Thunder in the predraft process can be viewed here.

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2024 shooting guard recruit Cole Certa commits to Notre Dame

This latest commitment is for the future, not this coming season.

Lately, the focus for Notre Dame has been on filling out the upcoming season’s roster. This week has seen just that with three players who were set to play at Penn State joining [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] instead. That doesn’t mean the Irish aren’t looking at the 2024-25 season though. They now can do that after shooting guard recruit [autotag]Cole Certa[/autotag] announced his commitment to the program:

Certa, currently at Bloomington Central Catholic in Illinois, had nearly every prominent program in his home state after him. Illinois, Northwestern, Loyola Chicago, Bradley and Illinois State all made offers. He also received offers from Butler, Nebraska, Toledo and Penn State while Shrewsberry was there. The Irish were the last program to offer him, and that came after Shrewsberry went to the Irish. As it turned out, the best had been saved for last.

247Sports had Certa as the highest-rated uncommitted 2024 recruit in Illinois. That no longer is the case as Certa has made his decision. It also will be interesting to see if during his collegiate career, there will be a prominent game against North Carolina involving him and Tar Heels commit James Brown, the highest-rated Illinois recruit in that class. It sure is fun to think about.

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5 Broncos who pose biggest threat to Chargers

Here are the Broncos’ five top players who could be the difference-makers when they play the Chargers.

The Los Angeles Chargers take on the Denver Broncos this Monday at 5:15 p.m. PT.

Here are a few Broncos players who the Bolts must hone in on to increase their chances of coming out victorious in Week 6.

EDGE Bradley Chubb & Baron Browning

The Broncos have the NFL’s top passing defense, and a big reason is their ability to disrupt opposing quarterbacks at a high rate. After undergoing ankle surgery that kept him out for two months last season, Chubb is back like he didn’t lose a step. He leads the group with 5.5 sacks, which is the second-most in the league. In addition to that, he has 19 pressures. Randy Gregory, who was signed to play opposite Chubb, will not play this weekend after having arthroscopic knee surgery. Had he played, Gregory would’ve been quite the load, as evident from his 19 pressures and 11 hurries. Nevertheless, Denver has rookie Baron Browning playing in his place. And Browning has done a fine job filling his shoes, as he has 14 pressures and two sacks.

CB Patrick Surtain II

Surtain is quickly working his way into the top-5 cornerback category. The second-year player has the highest coverage grade among corners (88.1), per Pro Football Focus. Lining up across from opposing team’s No. 1 wide receivers, Surtain uses his size, length, speed and explosiveness to give them fits. He has allowed just 19 catches on 31 targets for 143 yards (7.5 yards per reception) while breaking up four passes.

WR Courtland Sutton & Jerry Jeudy

With how underwhelming Russell Wilson has been, you would think that there isn’t a pass-catcher that’s been productive this season, but Sutton’s play says otherwise. Sutton is tied for sixth-most receiving yards in the NFL with 417. An explosive player, Sutton has six of his 29 receptions that have gone for over 20 yards. The Broncos’ slot wide receiver Jerry Jeudy is also not to be taken lightly. While he’s dealt with drops, Jeudy has the speed to take the top off the defense or make something small turn into a big gain. He is averaging 16.9 yards per reception.

LSU women’s basketball cruises to their eight straight win

LSU women’s basketball match last season’s win total just 10 games into the season.

The LSU women’s basketball team won their eighth straight game by beating Bradley 77-51. The Tigers used hot shooting and defense to jump out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter.

Also, in the first half, LSU went on a 30-0 run and took a 47-12 lead at halftime. However, Bradley kept playing hard and did manage to outscore LSU in the second half 35-30. Coach Kim Mulkey said it should have been a 40-point win, but the second unit turned the ball over and took bad shots.

Alexis Morris led the Tigers in scoring 17 points and added five assists. Faustine Aifuwa had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. It was Aifuwa 19th double-double of the season. Jalin Cherry pitched in with 12 points and four steals, and Ryan Payne added 10 points.

The Tigers shot 44.% from the field while holding Bradley to 32.8% shooting. LSU forced Bradley into 27 turnovers, which led to easy baskets.

“That’s a milestone,” said Head Coach Kim Mulkey. “I also will tell them next game that they have an opportunity to win more games than they did last year.”

“(Our guards) can push the ball up the floor as good as anybody. They can defend on-ball as good as anybody. You just tell them, get the rebound and let’s go.”

LSU will play Clemson on Monday in the West Palm Beach Classic. Following that game, Mulkey will see a familiar foe in the Texas Tech Lady Raiders. The LSU women’s head coach is 41-8 against Tech in her Baylor coaching career.

Texas Longhorns Women’s Basketball: Opponent preview of Bradley

NCAA Tournament preview of the Texas Longhorns and the Bradley Braves.

The Texas Longhorns opening matchup of the 2021 NCAA Tournament is the No. 11 Bradley Braves, who are appearing in the tournament for the first time after winning their first Missouri Valley Championship.

Texas is fresh off losing to the Baylor Bears in the Big 12 tournament semifinals and they concluded the regular season with an 18-9 record. The Longhorns also have one of the top players in the country in first-team All-Big 12 junior forward Charli Collier, who has averaged 20.1 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. She’s been a dominant force for Texas all season long.

What about Bradley? What are they best at? Where can Texas take advantage? This is Braves head coach Andrea Gorski’s fifth season with the program and she has propelled them to more success than they’ve ever known.

For each opponent that Texas faces, Longhorns Wire will preview their opponents strengths and weaknesses. Let’s kick things off with Bradley.

First, what they do best

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

MWC Final: Valparaiso vs. Bradley odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Saturday’s Valparaiso vs. Bradley college basketball matchup, with college basketball betting odds, picks and best bets.

The Valparaiso Crusaders (19-15) meet the Bradley Braves (22-11) in the Missouri Valley Conference title game Sunday at 2:05 p.m. ET at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. We analyze the Valparaiso-Bradley odds and betting lines, while providing college basketball betting tips and advice on this matchup.

Valparaiso vs. Bradley: Three things you need to know

1. The 7-seed Crusaders of Valpo have been Cinderella in the conference tourney colloquially referred to as ‘Arch Madness’. Valpo topped Evansville 58-55 on Thursday, stunned Loyola-Chicago 74-73 in OT Friday, then dumped Missouri State 89-82 Saturday in a 6-7 game to punch their ticket to the final.

2. The 4-seed Braves of Bradley are less of a surprise to be in the title game. They snuck by Southern Illinois 64-59 in the quarters Friday before racking up a 10-point win over another upstart, Drake, by a 76-66 score.

3. Bradley and Valpo split their regular-season series, with the Braves winning 80-69 Jan. 29 and the Crusaders winning 90-78 Feb. 22. Both games saw the home team win and the Over hit.

Get some action on this game or others by placing a bet at BetMGM!

Valparaiso vs. Bradley: Odds, betting lines and picks

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Prediction

Bradley 79, Valparaiso 76

Moneyline (ML)

Valparaiso is the underdog in this one at +135. While I expect a tight game, I like BRADLEY -162 to hold the Crusaders off in this one.

New to sports betting? A $10 successful bet on Bradley to win outright returns a profit of $6.17.

Against the Spread (ATS)

Valparaiso (+2.5, +100) hasn’t been terribly steady all season, but the Crusaders are playing their best basketball of the season and have been cover kings lately. The Crusaders finished the regular season 6-1 ATS in their final seven games — including that straight-up win over Bradley (-2.5, -121 for Sunday’s game) Feb. 22 — and they’re 3-0 SU/2-1 ATS in the MVC tourney so far.

The Braves might sneak away with a ticket to the dance, but the Crusaders will make them work for it. A slight lean here for BRADLEY -2.5 (-121).

Over/Under (O/U)

The Over in the two regular-season meetings between Valpo and Bradley, and taking OVER 132.5 (-110) is a good play Sunday. The Over has hit in the past two for the Crusaders, including an 89-point performance by their offense against Missouri State in Saturday’s semis. Bradley hit the over in their final five of the regular season, while going 1-1 with the total in the tourney so far.

Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @JoeWilliamsVI and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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