Back to the Illinois State Redbirds Newsfeed

First BU practice: ‘Everything just went up a level’

PEORIA – The first day of college basketball practice is not what it used to be. The shock of that first grueling training session and the tough workouts that followed have given way in recent years to a more gradual indoctrination toward the rigorous times that lie ahead.

Still, the newcomers quickly realize there is a clear delineation between the shorter summer workouts that don’t always involve the coaches and that first “real” preseason practice.

For Bradley, it came on Monday afternoon.

“More intense, more detailed, more competitive,” said freshman forward Stephan Gabriel. “Everything just went up a level.