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TBT: Bradley alums of Always a Brave making another tourney run

07/24/2016, 12:00am EDT
By Josh Verlin

Marcellus Somerville (above) and Always a Brave are in TBT's semifinals. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Just a little more than 10 years after they became one of the feel-good stories of March Madness the Bradley Braves are making another run in a big-time tournament.

In 2006, the Braves upset some of the top programs in the country to make an appearance in the Sweet 16, shining the spotlight once again on a school and program that had once been one of the best in the country.

This time around, playing under the moniker Always a Brave, a of Bradley alumni have found themselves in the semifinals of The Basketball Tournament after an 89-81 win over Golden Eagles Alumni on Saturday night.

“The Sweet 16 was very enjoyable, it was the first time our school had done it in a long time; now we’re professionals, so it means a lot, because we’re doing it at an older age,” said Marcellus Somerville, the team captain and its leading scorer in 2005-06, his senior year. “The chemistry is still there, even though it looks kind of scattered out there, especially when we look at each other and we’re arguing a little bit, but it’s very enjoyable to be out there with the guys.”

That Sweet 16 run is the only NCAA appearance by the Braves in the last 20 years and just the fifth in the last five decades, marking the modern-day high-water mark for a program that was one of the best in the country from the late 1940s to mid-1960s.

It was a tremendous run, as Bradley -- seeded No. 13 in the Oakland regional -- topped No. 4 seed Kansas (AP No. 12) as well as No. 5 seed Pittsburgh (AP No. 16) before losing to top seed Memphis (AP No. 4) in the regional semifinal.

Though making it two games further in The Tournament doesn’t quite yet feel like the accomplishment this group pulled off in 2006, it’s not far off, either.

“I’m going to be honest, if we win it, it’s going to be on the same level,” said Daniel Ruffin, the team’s starting point guard that year. “Because that was a big thing we did for our school at that time, and right now we’re professionals, and we’re underestimated every game we go into, knowing no one expects us to go to the next round but us. So if we get the opportunity to win it, I think it’ll be on the same level as making it to the Sweet 16 in 2006.”

This tournament has already seen its fair share of magic for the No. 9 seed Bradley alums, who overcame a five-point deficit in the final 10 seconds of their second-round win over the Jackson (Tenn.) Underdogs and then topped the NBA veteran backcourt of Mike Bibby and Jason Williams in the quarterfinals on Friday night.


Daniel Ruffin (above) is one of six players from the Sweet 16 run in 2006. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Back from that team are Sommerville, Patrick O’Bryant and Tony Bennett, the team’s top three scorers, plus Ruffin and reserves Will Franklin and Jeremy Crouch; the other members of Always a Brave were also Bradley alums, but arrived at the school in the following seasons.

They’re being coached by Chuck Buescher, an assistant on that ‘05-’06 squad, who retired from college basketball coaching the following season.

Being back on the sidelines has been reinvigorating for the 71-year-old.

“Great to see them again, to be with them; wakes me up, shows me how tough and competitive they are,” he said. “The thing that’s stuck out to me was how competitive they are. It’s kind of amazing to me how much they complain to each other, but how closely united they are. They play hard, very competitive and really together. And that’s 10 years later, that’s what it’s driven this team, that’s what I’m proud of.”

Somerville is still the driving force for this version of the best Bradley team of the last few decades, which he showed with a 25-point, six-rebound outing in the win over a team full of Marquette grads.

He had 18 of those in the final 11 minutes, including 13 during the closing stretch that saw the Bradley alumni finally slam the door shot after a game that featured 15 lead changes and eight ties.

“I think our defense took a toll on them and they started playing a little more individual ball than team ball, and they lost track of their shooters doing that,” he said. “That’s what allowed us to go ahead.”

Ruffin, the point guard, has finished his professional career but didn’t look like it, scoring 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, with seven assists and just one turnover. O’Bryant (13 points) and Franklin (11) also finished in double figures.

They’ll next play on Saturday in the semifinals at Fordham’s Rose Hill Gymnasium, going up against a Team Colorado squad full of Buffalo alums; Overseas Elite and City of Gods, last year’s champion and a semifinalist, respectively, are also in the tournament’s final four.

But regardless of whether or not they win the $2 million prize that comes with a TBT championship, the members of Always a Brave are just grateful for the chance to take the court together one more time.

“It was the opportunity of getting back together,” Ruffin said. “It wasn’t really about making the money or anything like that, it gave us an opportunity to get our family back on campus again. It was a family reunion, so we took this opportunity to bring everybody back.”


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