Cody Roskens Men's Basketball 4/15/2024 11:41:00 AM
PEORIA, IL - Bradley Men's Basketball has signed five student-athletes for the upcoming 2024-25 men's college basketball season.
Bradley Men's Basketball is coming off a third place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference and a trip to the second round of the NIT in 2023-24. As of April 17th, the Braves have landed commitments from five student-athletes including two incoming freshman from the high school ranks,ajunior college transfer, one Division-2 transfer, and one transfer from another Division-1 institution.
Jaquan Johnson | Hometown - Milwaukee, WI | High School - Pius XI
Jaquan Johnson continues the strong recruiting pipeline from Peoria to Milwaukee and will be become the third student-athlete on the men's basketball roster to claim Milwaukee as his hometown (Demarion Burch & Darius Hannah). Johnson, a 5'10" two-sport athlete in football and basketball at Pius XI verbally committed back in November of 2023. Johnson lead the way for Pius XI on their way to the WIAA Tournament Regional Final and was given the nickname of "Bully" by his AAU coach for his aggressive style of play. According to wissports.net they described Johnson as "An ultra-quick and aggressive guard that can create for himself and for others."
"Quan (Jaquan) is strong, quick, and has great vision and feel on the court. He is electric and fast with the ball and our fans will love watching him play. I love that he produced at a high level for all his teams while getting a lot of attention from the defenses." - Brian Wardle
Timoty Van Der Knaap | Hometown - Verona, Italy | Academy - Orange1
The Bradley men's basketball program has previously had an international player from 15 different countries,which are represented by the flags that hang in the rafters of the program's practice gym. This season Bradley will add a another as Timoty Van Der Knaap will be the first international player from Italy to wear a Bradley MBB uniform. Van Der Knaap is a long and lengthy wing that played for Tortona in the Italy's NextGen league where he played 24+ minutes per game in all but one contest. Pro-Insight scout Jason Filippi described him as a player with good versatility and a polished all-around game. Van Der Knaap also played in the European U-18 Championships averaging 18 minutes per game in seven contests.
"Timo (Timoty) came highly recommended from our contacts over in Europe. He is a long wing that can do a little bit of everything on the court. He can handle the ball and play make, shoots the 3, posts up, and defensively can guard multiplepositions." - Brian Wardle
Connor Dillon | Hometown - Peoria, IL | Previous School - Winona State
The former Peoria Notre Dame standout makes his return to Peoria for his final season of college basketball. Dillon, a 6'2" guard, played his first four seasons of college basketball at Division-2 Winona State University in Minnesota. Dillon appeared and started in all 31 games for Winona State during the 2023-24 season and averaged 21.6 PPG, 3.8 RPG, and 2.9 APG. In his last two seasons at WSU, Dillon was named as an all-conference pick in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference earning 2nd team honors in 2022-23 & 1st team honors in 2023-24.
"Connor is an extremely productive scoring guard... I love his swagger and toughness on the court, he is not afraid of the big moments. He played under a very good coach at Winona State and improved each year. It will be great to see him play in front of his home town fans for his last year." - Brian Wardle
Zek Montgomery | Hometown -Louisville, KY | Previous School - Rhode Island
He's back! An importantpiece to Bradley's Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship in 2022-23, Zek Montgomery returns to the hilltop after one season away as apart of the University of Rhode Island's MBB team. In 2023-24, Montgomery appeared in 31 games for the Rams andmade 16 startswhile averaging 9.6 PPG and 4.1 RPG. In 2022-23 with the Braves, Montgomery was named to the 2022-23 MVC Most-Improved Team and appeared in 29 games with 25 starts while averaging 8.1 PPG and 3.4 RPG.
"I am very excited to have Zek back in the program. He is a strong and smooth guard that can score and play make. We had a lot of success with the ball in his hands during his first two years and you will definitelysee that again. Zek is back to win big with his teammates that he began his career with." - Brian Wardle
Corey Thomas | Hometown - Buford, GA | Previous School - Cowley College
The 6'10" Corey Thomas will join the Braves for his third year of college basketball after spending two seasons at Cowley College in Arkansas City, Kansas. While with the Tigers, Thomas helped Cowley to a 28-6 record and a spot in the second round of the NJCAAmen's basketball tournament. In 2023-24, Thomas averaged 12.2 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 1.9 APG, and 1.8 BPGwhile shooting 69.2% from the floor and nearly 37% from three which was good enough for him to be named as a All-KJCAA first team selection. Thomas ranked 17th nationally in rebounds per game and 30th nationally in blocks. He was coached by Donnie Jackson, the former head coach of Northern Oklahoma College where the Braves previously recruited G Luqman Lundy. Basketball also runs in the Thomas family as his sister Christi Thomas played both in college (University of Georgia) and the WNBA (Chicago Sky).
"Corey is a skilled forward that has been coached at a high level and has won. I love his motor for a 6'10 player and he never gives up on plays. He has a strong feel for the game and can score in multiple ways. As he adds strength you will see his game grow and it will be fun to watch." - Brian Wardle
This story will continue to be updated.
Print Friendly Version
