Bradley freshman guard Darian Norris has requested and been granted his release and plans to transfer to a school that will allow him more opportunity to play point guard, BU coach Jim Les announced Wednesday night.
“We appreciate the contributions Darian has made to our program and we wish him well in the future,” Les said in a statement.
When asked about Norris earlier in the day by the Journal Star for an upcoming season wrapup, Les did not mention an impending transfer.
“Darian really gave us some key contributions,” Les said earlier Wednesday. “He probably was used to playing more with the ball in his hands. But we felt his best strength was out on the wing being a shooter and knocking down shots. He really was an underrated defender and really appreciated his defense as time went on, getting his hands on balls and making steals.”
Norris was not made available for comment by Bradley.
A 5-foot-11 guard from Las Vegas, Norris played in 35 of Bradley’s 36 games this season, including five starting assignments.
He helped the Braves (21-15) to a runner-up finish in the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Tournament by averaging 3.5 points and 0.5 assists in 12.2 minutes per game.
The loss leaves Bradley with two open scholarships for next season. The month-long spring signing period begins April 15.
That’s the next step after the second-longest playing season — 140 days, six shorter than last year — in Bradley basketball history.
The next step after the Braves’ 66-62 loss to Old Dominion in CIT title game on Tuesday night.
“We took full advantage of our opportunity and got three really good wins,” BU senior Sam Singh said. “We just came up short in the last one.”
The Braves continue their weight room work along with individual and limited team workouts until the week before final exams in May.
“We fell a little bit short of our goal,” Les said. “But that will give me some ammunition for this spring and summer, I guess. The tournament was a valuable experience. We’re disappointed about (Tuesday), but excited about the future.”
The CIT not only provided the young team with seasoning, but it presumably was a money maker for the Bradley athletic department.
Athletics director Ken Kavanagh said he won’t have the final numbers for a week or so but estimated the four-game venture at Carver Arena will turn out further in the black than last year’s second-place showing in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational.
The CIT charged home teams $28,500 per game, paid for game officials and team travel and allowed home teams to keep all gate receipts. The CBI fee was $60,000 per game.
“When it’s all said and done, we’ll be able to cover our overhead better and feel we equalled or bettered last year because the guarantee was far less,” Kavanagh said. “We did make some adjustments on the fly after the first round that took away from some of our income when we provided upper-bowl discounts for families and (free tickets) for (BU) students.”
As a nod to the bleak economy, Kavanagh said the school already has decided to keep ticket prices the same for next season.
Kavanagh and some of the BU assistant coaches are headed to Detroit for the Final Four. But for Les, it’s a time to regroup, zero in on recruits and consider next year’s schedule.
Les confirmed that BU is recruiting guards Dyricus Simms-Edwards of Washington and Cully Payne of Schaumburg. A pair of 6-foot-8 bigs — Jordan Prosser of Eureka and Milos Knezevic of Las Vegas — signed with Bradley in the fall.
Much work lies ahead in filling out the nonconference schedule as 4-5 games remain to be procured.
Here’s what’s currently contracted: Nov. 13 at Brigham Young; Nov. 22 and 24 home games as prelude to the Las Vegas tournament; Nov. 27-28 at Las Vegas against two among a field of Oklahoma State, Utah and Illinois; a December home date against Loyola; and Dec. 20 at Iowa State.
In the meantime, a stable of returnees will have a load of experiences from which to build.
“The great thing about playing basketball is you’ve always got a new season ahead of you,” guard Sam Maniscalco said. “We can wipe the slate clean, get back at it and hope for the best next year.”
Dave Reynolds can be reached at 686-3210 or dreynolds@pjstar.com.
