“No coach and no player is bigger than Bradley basketball,” head coach Brian Wardle said last year. “And my goal … is to establish culture in the locker room that is team first, self last.”

Returning Bradley University men’s basketball players are a year older and wiser and — hopefully — much better as the 2016-17 season approaches.

The Braves suffered through one of the worst seasons in program history in 2015-16, finishing 5-27 overall, the fewest wins since going 1-13 in 1934-35.

But improvement under second-year head coach Brian Wardle is expected during the new campaign which begins Nov. 11 against Illinois-Springfield at Carver Arena.

“There’s a lot of things we’re still working on, but I do know we’re moving in the right direction,” Wardle said at the recent Missouri Valley Conference basketball media day. “We’re moving upward, we’re going to be a lot more competitive and it’s going to be fun to see how this young group competes this year.”

A preseason poll rates Bradley eighth in the 10-team Missouri Valley, one spot better than last year. Wichita State is league favorite in the survey of league sports information directors, media and coaches.

Wardle took over from Geno Ford, who had a 46-86 record over four losing seasons. The arrival of the new coach led to the departure of six players but also gave the Wardle a free hand to construct a new foundation.

“No coach and no player is bigger than Bradley basketball,” Wardle said last year. “And my goal … is to establish culture in the locker room that is team first, self last.”

Bradley subsequently fielded the nation’s youngest team last year with 10 freshman, a sophomore and one senior.

The Braves took their lumps. They went 2-21 following a season-opening win over Ball State

“(The start) has tested my patience but it’s made me a better coach,” said Wardle, a onetime Chicago-area high school star and more recently a successful coach at Wisconsin-Green Bay. “It’s something that’s going to pay dividends when we start to win games. We’ll always remember this and it’s going to be a good learning season for us.”

The Braves will be young again. Six of last year’s 10 freshman are back along with three juniors. There’s not a senior in sight.

But Bradley returns 90 percent of scoring output, including Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye (a team-high 9.8 points per game) and Luuk van Bree (8.4 points) who each landed on the MVC all-freshman team.

Also back is junior Donte Thomas (9.1 points and a team-high 192 rebounds) who landed a spot on last year’s MVC Most-Improved team.

Wardle went 95-65 (.594) overall in his five seasons at Wisconsin-Green Bay and at one point was the youngest head coach in NCAA Division I.  His Phoenix had back-to-back 24-win seasons and three straight postseason appearances. They also won the 2013-14  2013-14 Horizon League regular-season title.

Wardle’s second-year goals include more wins while also reestablishing a winning culture for a program that has appeared in eight NCAA tournaments, the last a Sweet 16 run in 2006.

“We want to move upward obviously when it comes to the win-loss column (and) really establish our identity more on the floor,” Wardle said. “I love people that watch Bradley this year and say ‘okay I see what Bradley basketball’s going to be about for years to come.’ ”

— Wardle, Braves look for improvement after 2015-16 struggles —