Ex-

Jayhawk Bradford gaining confidence in role with Knights

By David Mitchell, Sports Writer , Sunday, February 24, 2002

Getting cut didn't make Nick Bradford bitter. It might have made him better.  Bradford, the former Kansas swingman, was the last player cut by the Kansas City Knights last year prior to the ABA's inaugural season.

Even though KU coach Roy Williams had an assistant coaching job lined up for Bradford at a small college, the Fayetteville, Ark., native wasn't ready to give up on his dream of playing pro basketball.  "I thought I played well during tryouts," said Bradford, who does want to coach when his playing days are over. "It's something you have to go through as a basketball player. I still felt good about my game. I played well. There were a lot of NBA guys there. It was nothing to be ashamed of."

Bradford's perseverance has paid off. The 23-year-old not only made the Knights' 10-man roster this season, he had worked his way into a starting role for the first-place club and is putting up numbers that dwarf his college statistics.  "Some players are late bloomers," said Knights coach Kevin Pritchard, a former KU guard. "He's improved so much. His upside might be more than anybody realizes."

So how did Bradford, who averaged 5.7 points and 3.5 rebounds a game in his four years at Kansas, blossom into a double-digit scorer in the fledgling pro league?  "I continued to work hard," said Bradford, who has averaged 16.6 points and 8.0 rebounds since cracking the Knights' starting lineup five games ago. "When you get cut, you can't let that stop your progress."

Bradford, who still lives in Lawrence, spent his long offseason playing pickup games with the Jayhawks and participated in a Kansas City summer league, but the turning point for the 6-foot-7, 208-pounder might have been the three weeks he spent in Florida.  Bradford's roommate, KU graduate student and former Jayhawk Terry Nooner, was a high school teammate of Washington Wizard guard Tyronn Lue in Raytown, Mo. Lue invited Bradford to join a group of NBA players to work out with a personal trainer and play pickup games.

"I got lucky this summer," Bradford said. "I got to work out with a lot of NBA guys. It was a good opportunity. It helped my confidence. You don't want to embarrass yourself. You want to compete well. I found out I could defend anybody, and I was shooting well."  In his second year out of school, Bradford was no longer on scholarship. Williams stepped in and paid for his former player's final semester at Kansas, and Bradford graduated in December with a degree in African American studies.

"He's a great person," Bradford said of his former coach. "He does a lot of things people don't know about."  Not only did Bradford earn his degree in December, he also made the Knights on his second attempt.

At the beginning of this season, Bradford wasn't playing a lot of minutes. In some games, he didn't play at all.  "He was a little frustrated because he wanted to play more," said Pritchard, who has had nine players promoted to the NBA in the league's first two seasons. "In our business, things change so quickly because of injuries and call ups. You have to be ready to play."

The Knights lost swingman Donny Marshall to the New Jersey Nets. Then the team's top two scorers, guard-forwards David Vanterpool and Maurice Carter, were sidelined with injuries.  That opened the door for Bradford, who set a franchise record with 35 points and grabbed nine rebounds in his first start — a 120-94 victory over Detroit on Feb. 10.  "It felt good to get out there and play," said Bradford, whose career high at KU was 23 points. "I wanted to play well with our guys injured."

Bradford followed that performance with a 12-point, five-rebound effort in a victory over Phoenix and 12-point, 10-rebound game in another win over the Eclipse. He had another double-double, 13 points and 11 rebounds, last Wednesday in a victory over Indiana.  He scored 11 points Saturday in the Knights' 115-86 win over Las Vegas at Kemper Arena.

Though Vanterpool and Carter are back, Bradford is still starting for Kansas City (17-5).  "They aren't playing as much because Nick has played so well," Pritchard said. "He's really improved his shooting. When he shoots, I expect it to go in."  A 48.2 percent field-goal shooter and 58.8 foul shooter in college, Bradford shot 35 of 71 (49.2 percent) from the field and 10 of 15 at line (66.6 percent) in his first five starts.

Bradford is happy with his recent success, but the life of a minor leaguer isn't glamorous. While former KU teammates Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz are making millions and playing on national television in large NBA arenas, Bradford will make $20,000 with little fanfare during the Knights' 42-game, 120-day season.  "I'm just getting started, so I have to carry a lot of bags in the airport," he said with a laugh, adding that he is the team's lowest-paid player. "That drives me to play well."