Eating up BU talk at spaghetti dinner

About 500 Bradley basketball fans donned their red sweaters and their cheerful countenance Tuesday night for the annual spaghetti supper at the Itoo Hall.

These were the diehards, the devotees itching for another hoops season of exhorting their Braves to their yearly goals of a Missouri Valley Conference championship and an NCAA tournament bid.

They filled the Farmington Road banquet hall for some hopeful signs that this would be the year their team would return to the top of the Valley for the first time in 14 years and back to the NCAAs after a four-year hiatus. And they didn’t leave disappointed.

“I’m not going to make any predictions because that’s kind of silly,” junior guard Andrew Warren told the throng. “But one thing I will promise you is, night in and night out, you wonderful fans are going to see a team that’s mentally tough and will fight hard.”

That drew loud applause as did this ensuing comment from Warren, the team’s top returning scorer from 2007-08 who missed last season with a broken foot.

“I know we’ve had a lot of injuries, but I have a good feeling this is the year we’re going to make it through without any major injuries,” he said. “So get all those doubts out of your heads. Everybody’s healthy. No more questions about how we’re feeling.”

That would be a welcome relief for these folks, who have endured too many injuries to key players the past decade. Last year’s Braves finished 21-15 despite the losses of Warren and starting center Will  Egolf.

“I’m here to tell you, knock on wood, they’re both healthy and working hard,” said BU coach Jim Les. “I’ll compliment both of ’em on their diligence to get healthy. We’re expecting these two to be healthy and give us a big lift.”

Warren brought an added bonus to the evening with a series of dead-on impersonations of teammates and coaches. Sam Maniscalco, Dodie Dunson and Chuck and Eric Buescher were the targets, to the crowd’s delight.

The 16-man men’s team and the 14-member women’s squad —both coming off 21-win seasons — were introduced to the throng following dinner.

The women were harder hit by graduation, returning just two seniors and two juniors.

“We’re coming off a great season,” said 10-year BU coach Paula Buscher. “We’re not trying to relive that season.  The determination and competitiveness we have this season are going to help us build on that season this year.”

The men lose only all-conference forward Theron Wilson among their top six scorers from last year.

The veteran group posted a 4-1 record during its Brazil series in August. But they’ve been knocked down a peg or two so far during preseason conditioning.

“When we came back from Brazil, we thought we were the schizz, in their terms,” Les said. “They thought they had arrived. So we as coaches had to bring ’em back to reality. This has been one of the toughest preseason campaigns we’ve had since I’ve been here, not only physically but mentally.

“We’ve done some 5:30 a.m. workouts. We’ve touched every stair in the Civic Center. We’ve been in the pool at 6 a.m. We’ve had a dose of toughness. In my opinion, the only thing separating these guys and the goals we have for them to be a special team is their mental approach and mental toughness.”

That approach will be ratcheted up another notch next Friday when the Braves launch their official practice season. One month after that on Nov. 13 comes the regular-season opener at Brigham Young followed two days later by the home opener at Carver Arena.

Braves briefs: The inaugural Bids for the Braves Athletic Benefit is less than two weeks away and the auction program is now available for viewing online at bradleybraves.com. The event will be held Sat., Oct. 17 at the Par-A-Dice Hotel and Casino Ballroom. The benefit combines the Bids for the Braves Auction and Bradley Basketball Preseason Gala. Tickets are $90 and are available for purchase through the Braves Club Office (309-677-2667) at Shea Stadium.

Dave Reynolds can be reached at 686-3210 or at dreynolds@pjstar.com.