A culture of winning is a common theme among the three latest additions to the Bradley Basketball coaching staff announced by first-year Braves head coach Brian Wardle. The Bradley Basketball staff moved three steps closer to completion Monday with the announcement that Drew Adams, Jimmie Foster and Rick Karius all have joined Wardle’s first staff with the Braves.
“What’s important for this program to grow is to bring in coaches that know how to win with high integrity, who have a passion for the game of basketball and the drive to be head coaches in the future,” said Wardle. “Drew, Jimmie and Rick all have different personalities, as well as strengths and weaknesses, which will provide a good balance and create a healthy environment for our student-athletes.”
Adams and Foster fill two of the three assistant coach positions, while Karius assumes the Director of Operations role. Adams joins the Bradley staff after serving the previous four years at New Mexico, while Foster and Karius both worked for Wardle at Green Bay.
Adams initially joined the New Mexico staff in 2011-12 as the Director of Operations for Steve Alford. He was promoted to assistant coach in 2012-13, then remained on the Lobos staff with Craig Neal the last two seasons. In his four years with the Lobos, Adams helped New Mexico to a 99-36 (.733) overall record, including a 45-21 (.682) tally in Mountain West Conference play with at least a share of two regular-season league titles, three MWC postseason tournament crowns and three top-7 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
Adams, who played for Alford during the 2006-07 season at Iowa, began his coaching career as a student assistant at Tennessee, helping the Volunteers to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and the program’s first No. 1 national ranking. After graduating from Tennessee in 2009, Adams spent two years on Tom Crean’s staff at Indiana, first as Coordinator of Basketball Systems in 2009-10 before being promoted to Director of Operations for the 2010-11 season.
Foster was an assistant coach on Wardle’s Green Bay staff the last five years, following previous assistant coaching stints at North Dakota (2009-10) and Kirkwood Community College (2007-09). In his five years at Green Bay, Foster helped the Phoenix to a 95-65 (.594) overall record, culminating with consecutive 24-win seasons in 2013-14 and 2014-15, as well as the 2014 Horizon League championship and back-to-back appearances in the NIT.
Working with the post players throughout his tenure at Green Bay, Foster is credited with helping develop 7-foot-1 center Alec Brown into the 2014 Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year and a second-round selection by the Phoenix Suns in the 2014 NBA Draft.
In addition to four years as an assistant coach at Southwest Minnesota State (2009-10), UW-Superior (2010-11) and his alma mater UW-La Crosse (2011-13), Karius spent the last two years on Wardle’s staff at Green Bay. He joined the Phoenix as video coordinator during the 2013-14 season and served as Director of Basketball Operations this past season, helping Green Bay roll to a 48-16 (.750) record in his two years on the staff.
The announcement of the trio of staff members at Bradley leaves one assistant coach vacancy for the Braves
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