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
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 12
AP	No. 11
Record	26–5 (12–2 MVC)
Head coach	Stan Albeck (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Morris McHone Marty Gillespie
Home arena	Carver Arena
Seasons ← 1986–87 1988–89 →

1987–88 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	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

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 Stan Albeck Assistant coach(es) Morris McHone Marty Gillespie Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

^[4]

Schedule

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

Main article: 1987–88 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP											18	15	17	14	14	12	11
Coaches	Not released										16	20	18	14	17	12	12

Awards and honors

• Hersey Hawkins – Adolph Rupp Trophy, AP Player of the Year, Oscar Robertson Trophy, Sporting News Player of the Year, UPI Player of the Year,^[11] Consensus First-team All-American, MVC Player of the Year
• Stan Albeck – MVC Coach of the Year

Team players in the 1988 NBA draft

Main article: 1988 NBA draft

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

^[12]