1987–88 Bradley Braves men's basketball team

The 1987–88 Bradley Braves men's basketball team represented Bradley University during the 1987–88 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Braves were members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) and played their home games at Carver Arena. They won the MVC regular season championship as well as the conference tournament.[2] Bradley finished the season 26–5, and qualified for the NCAA tournament. They were led by second-year head coach, and MVC Coach of the Year, Stan Albeck, and Consensus First-team All-American Hersey Hawkins, who led the nation in scoring by averaging 36.3 points per game.[3] Hawkins collected multiple national player of the year awards, and remains the career scoring leader in Missouri Valley Conference history.

1987–88 Bradley Braves men's basketball
MVC tournament champions
MVC Regular Season Champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 12
APNo. 11
Record26–5 (12–2 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaCarver Arena
Seasons
1988–89 →
1987–88 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 11 Bradley 12 2   .857 26 5   .839
Wichita State 11 3   .786 20 10   .667
Illinois State 9 5   .643 18 13   .581
Southern Illinois 6 8   .429 12 16   .429
Creighton 6 8   .429 16 16   .500
Drake 5 9   .357 14 14   .500
Tulsa 4 10   .286 8 20   .286
Indiana State 3 11   .214 7 21   .250
1988 MVC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Roster

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1987–88 Bradley Braves men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 12 Anthony Manuel 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Crane Chicago, IL
G 14 Scott Beccue 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 157 lb (71 kg) Jr Pekin Pekin, IL
F 21 Jerry Thomas 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Collins Chicago, IL
G/F 23 Paul Wilson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Lorain Catholic Lorain, OH
F/C 24 Donald Powell 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Nowata Nowata, OK
G/F 25 Jay Schell 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI
F 32 Greg Jones 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Sr Robeson Chicago, IL
G 33 Hersey Hawkins 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Westinghouse Chicago, IL
F 34 Steve Bayless 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 212 lb (96 kg) Fr Chillicothe Chillicothe, OH
G/F 40 Trevor Trimpe 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Havana Havana, IL
G 41 Mike Cash 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Lowell Lowell, IN
G 44 Len Bertolini 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 192 lb (87 kg) Sr St. Patrick's Chicago, IL
F 52 Bruce Mordini 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Highland Park Highland Park, IL
C 53 Luke Jackson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Calvary Academy Springfield, IL
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

[4]

Schedule

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
Dec 4, 1987*
New Orleans W 111–94  1–0
 42  Hawkins                Carver Arena (9,587)
Peoria, IL
Dec 9, 1987*
Colorado W 94–78  2–0
 44  Hawkins                Carver Arena (9,091)
Peoria, IL
Dec 13, 1987*
vs. Northern Illinois W 84–78  3–0
 39  Hawkins                Rockford MetroCentre (2,451)
Rockford, IL
Dec 17, 1987*
at No. 19 Memphis State L 108–113 OT[5] 3–1
 38  Hawkins                Mid-South Coliseum (11,200)
Memphis, TN
Dec 19, 1987*
UC Irvine W 139–119[6]  4–1
 51  Hawkins          21  Manuel  Carver Arena (8,911)
Peoria, IL
Dec 22, 1987*
Evansville W 93–80[7]  5–1
 32  Hawkins                Carver Arena (9,879)
Peoria, IL
Dec 30, 1987*
at Dayton W 97–80  6–1
 36  Hawkins                University of Dayton Arena (12,674)
Dayton, OH
Jan 2, 1988*
at Loyola (IL) W 99–82  7–1
 37  Manuel                Alumni Gym (4,779)
Chicago, IL
Jan 4, 1988
8:05 pm, WEEK
Illinois State
I-74 Rivalry
L 74–85  7–2
(0–1)
                     Carver Arena (10,670)
Peoria, IL
Jan 6, 1988*
at UNC Charlotte W 98–82  8–2
 49  Hawkins                Charlotte Coliseum (10,012)
Charlotte, NC
Jan 9, 1988
Wichita State W 88–70  9–2
(1–1)
 31  Hawkins                Carver Arena (10,470)
Peoria, IL
Jan 16, 1988
at Indiana State W 79–68[8][9]  10–2
(2–1)
                     Hulman Center (7,077)
Terre Haute, IN
Jan 21, 1988
Southern Illinois W 99–93  11–2
(3–1)
 42  Hawkins                Carver Arena (10,480)
Peoria, IL
Jan 28, 1988*
West Virginia W 96–65  12–2
 34  Hawkins          18  Manuel  Carver Arena (10,045)
Peoria, IL
Jan 30, 1988
at Tulsa W 65–62  13–2
(4–1)
                     Tulsa Convention Center (7,981)
Tulsa, OK
Feb 2, 1988
No. 18 at Wichita State L 92–116  13–3
(4–2)
 37  Hawkins                Levitt Arena (10,525)
Wichita, KS
Feb 6, 1988
No. 18 at Drake W 85–67  14–3
(5–2)
 32  Hawkins                Veterans Memorial Auditorium (10,689)
Des Moines, IA
Feb 8, 1988*
No. 18 Saint Louis W 83–67  15–3
                     Carver Arena (9,710)
Peoria, IL
Feb 10, 1988*
No. 15 at DePaul L 80–86  15–4
                     Rosemont Horizon (15,610)
Rosemont, IL
Feb 13, 1988
No. 15 Creighton W 98–68  16–4
(6–2)
                     Carver Arena (10,490)
Peoria, IL
Feb 15, 1988
No. 15 Drake W 85–83  17–4
(7–2)
 38  Hawkins          16  Manuel  Carver Arena (10,438)
Peoria, IL
Feb 18, 1988
No. 17 at Creighton W 83–67  18–4
(8–2)
 35  Hawkins                Omaha Civic Auditorium (5,728)
Omaha, NE
Feb 20, 1988
2:30 pm, WHOI
No. 17 at Illinois State
I-74 Rivalry
W 78–71 OT 19–4
(9–2)
 34  Hawkins                Horton Field House (7,745)
Normal, IL
Feb 22, 1988*
No. 17 at Detroit Mercy W 122–107  20–4
 63  Hawkins                Calihan Hall (4,021)
Detroit, MI
Feb 25, 1988
No. 14 Tulsa W 67–62  21–4
(10–2)
 43  Hawkins                Carver Arena (10,470)
Peoria, IL
Feb 27, 1988
No. 14 Indiana State W 95–74  22–4
(11–2)
 36  Hawkins          18  Manuel  Carver Arena (10,490)
Peoria, IL
Mar 1, 1988
No. 14 at Southern Illinois W 113–102  23–4
(12–2)
 39  Hawkins                SIU Arena (8,716)
Carbondale, IL
MVC tournament
Mar 5, 1988*
No. 14 Indiana State
MVC Tournament Quarterfinal
W 93–74  24–4
 41  Hawkins                Carver Arena (9,737)
Peoria, IL
Mar 6, 1988*
No. 14 Creighton
MVC Tournament Semifinal
W 101–77  25–4
 38  Hawkins                Carver Arena (9,225)
Peoria, IL
Mar 7, 1988*
No. 14 Illinois State
MVC tournament championship
W 89–59  26–4
                     Carver Arena (10,570)
Peoria, IL
NCAA tournament
Mar 17, 1988*
(9 SE) No. 11 vs. (8 SE) Auburn
NCAA tournament first round
L 86–90[10]  26–5
 44  Hawkins                Omni Coliseum 
Atlanta, GA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
SE=Southeast.
All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415Final
AP18151714141211
CoachesNot released16201814171212

Awards and honors

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Team players in the 1988 NBA draft

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Round Pick Player NBA Club
1 6 Hersey Hawkins Los Angeles Clippers

[12]

References

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  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1987-88 Missouri Valley Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "Hawkins fires Bradley to MVC tourney title". The Salina Journal. AP. March 9, 1988. p. 18. Retrieved May 15, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Drum, Keith (March 21, 1988). "Bradley University guard Hersey Hawkins, who became only the..." UPI. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  4. ^ "1987–88 Bradley Braves Roster and Stats". Sports Reference.
  5. ^ "WOUNDED MEMPHIS ST. TOPPLES BRADLEY ON PRAYER, 3-POINTERS". The Chicago Tribune. December 18, 1987. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  6. ^ "Hawkins Throws Book at Irvine With 51 Points in 139-119 Bradley Win". Los Angeles Times. December 20, 1987. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  7. ^ "Hersey Hawkins Was a Diamond in Pivot". Los Angeles Times. December 26, 1987. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  8. ^ Wolff, Alexander (January 25, 1988). "SCORING IN HIGHEST STYLE". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  9. ^ "ON AND OFF COURT, BRADLEY`S HAWKINS IS ON TARGET". Chicago Tribune. January 17, 1988. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  10. ^ "AUBURN TIPS BRADLEY DESPITE HAWKINS` 44". Chicago Tribune. March 18, 1988. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  11. ^ "Bradley University guard Hersey Hawkins, who became only the..." UPI Archives. March 21, 1988. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  12. ^ "1988 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 26, 2019.