After his basketball playing concludes (whenever decade that is), Rashaud Bradley is planning on entering the personal training field a la his father who owns a gym in Sacramento and has worked out various NBA players. Think about it. Youngsters would flock to tutoring from the All-State hoops honoree if that is a direction he wishes to go, and that is but one possibility. Bradley also was named Freshman of the Year.
The 6-foot-4 guard/wing is coming off a season at Columbia College in which he averaged 16.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists while shooting 52%, 35% and 74% respectively. He also nabbed 51 steals and went to the foul line for 152 attempts.
Asked about his top hoops skills, Bradley responded, "(in no particular order) my playmaking—my ability to create plays, getting to the basket—I feel nothing can stop me with my ballhandling, and my defense. I believe in my ability." Why his excellence with defending? "I first started with basketball after eighth grade and I couldn't shoot or dribble. All I could offer was defense." Now he says, "I'm even confident defending bigger players."
Bradley was almost lost to the gridiron. "I played football as a wide receiver to my freshman year but basketball was different. You could play way more games and they were inside." That easy availability eventually turned the tide in favor of the round ball.
His father played football at Florida State which is why Bradley initially was catching passes from a quarterback rather than from each of his hoops teammates.
With his family originally from the south, how did Bradley get to Columbia? "After high school (at Sheldon High), I started talking to (Columbia) Coach (Rob) Hoyt." Come decision time, Bradley chose to attend American River College in Sacramento instead but ended up playing little. During summer, Hoyt and Bradley resumed their chats, added texting and it was a home visit that eventually clinched the deal. Bradley headed to Columbia College.
His best basketball moment occurred in a home game versus Fresno City College. "We lost the first but won the second." The latter being a 74-67 emotional homecourt victory with Bradley stuffing the stat sheet via 18 points, 10 boards, four assists and three steals. "It was the first time I saw Coach Hoyt cry," Bradley recalled. Asked if Fresno is Columbia's rival opposing team, Bradley stated like a gunslinger in the Old West, "whoever we're playing is our rival."
To a query regarding who he would like to thank for helping him out in his basketball journey, he said, "my parents of course, and all my teammates, especially the sophomores for teaching me the way. They believed in me and encouraged me."
Bradley also cited NBA players Jai Morant and D'Angelo Russell as influences.
He will be majoring in kinesiology at his four-year school which will be "the best opportunity presented to me."
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