PEORIA, Ill. – One of the first people Bradly University men’s basketball coach Brian Wardle heard from when he got the job in 2015, was legendary Braves coach Dick Versace.
“He loved his years in Peoria. He loved his years at Bradley,” said Wardle. “He, obviously, had some tremendous teams, and did a wonderful job here.”
Wardle says he simply loved to talk basketball with Versace any time they were together.
As both a TV and WMBD Radio sportscaster and Bradley University employee, Dave Snell has spent a lot of time with legendary former Braves coach Dick Versace over the years.
“He was Barnum and Bailey all in one,” said Snell. “He played Indiana State when they were unbeaten, and used the “Birdcage,” and guarded Larry Bird with two people. And, he did it to get national attention.”
Versace died Friday in Chicago at the age of 81. Wardle says Versace had not been in good health as of late.
Snell says Versace took the players he had and made them stars, picking legends like Hersey Hawkins and Jim Les among others over the years.
Versace died Friday at the age of 81, with Snell and others saying he had not been in good health recently.
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