Bradley picks a pair of redshirts

On the eve of their season opener at Brigham Young, the Bradley Braves partially answered their great depth question Wednesday by announcing that first-year freshmen Jordan Prosser and Jake Eastman are going to redshirt this year.

“We believe both Jake and Jordan have bright futures in our program,” BU coach Jim Les said. “With the depth we have at both of their positions, though, we have the luxury to allow them an extra year to develop and make an even greater impact down the road.”

Prosser, a 6-foot-8 forward-center from Eureka and Eastman, a 6-4 guard from Richmond, Va., are just the second and third first-year freshmen to redshirt under Les.

Anthony Thompson sat out his first season two years ago.

The decision struck each player a little differently. Eastman, a 6-foot-4 guard from Richmond, Va.,  was told of the redshirt possibility before he even committed to Bradley.

“They talked to me about it on my visit because of the number of guards who were here,” he said. “When they came to me, it was an easy decision. It’s more positive than negative.

“There’s no point wasting a year just playing a minute or two here and there. I’ll have a year to get used to the system and get adjusted to the game. I’ll be much better my fifth year than my first year. ”

Prosser was caught a bit off guard by the idea.

“It kind of surprised me at first because I didn’t think I’d have to redshirt my  first year,” Prosser said. “I don’t think coaches knew how far along Will (Egolf) would be in the preseason.”

Egolf is returning from a medical redshirt year caused by a torn ACL in his knee.

“There are good things and bad things about it,” Prosser said. “You have another year of school so you can kind of relax more with classes. I’ll have extra workouts and still get to travel with the team.

“Coach thinks an extra year will make me stronger and quicker and that I’ll be able to help out a lot more down the road. A lot of really good players redshirt as freshmen like (ex-Braves) Daniel Ruffin and Marcellus Sommerville. It can only help.”

Les said the coaching staff also talked about redshirting freshman Dyricus Simms-Edwards, but decided against it.

“The strides Dyricus has made have really solidified him as far as earning minutes in the rotation,” Les said. “He’s shown a lot of toughness and a good understanding of the game. We went back and forth on it, but decided we were only going to redshirt one guard.”

Les noted redshirting two players was a good sign for the program.

“You look at the better programs in the country and they’re winning with fifth-year seniors,” he said. “We only do this with guys we think will really help the program and we feel that way about both Jordan and Jake. It shows the program is stabilizing and we have the depth of talent to do this.”

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