Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 12, 1991 TAG: 9103120106
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Bradley's mission will be for the Mormon church, but there could be a correlation to his play on the basketball floor.
"He was really having a lot of anxiety," second-year Brigham Young coach Roger Reid said. "Once he decided what he was going to do, it alleviated the pressure from a lot of directions."
Bradley, the Cougars' 7-foot-6 freshman, hopes to leave in June for Australia or one of the French-speaking Canadian provinces.
"I really don't have much of a say in it," Bradley said. "I send the papers into church headquarters; then, they can send me almost anywhere in the world.
"I'm not sure if [the decision] had anything to do with it, but there for a while I wasn't as focused on basketball as I needed to be. Lately, I feel I've played a lot better."
That's not good news for Virginia, which faces the Cougars at 8:05 p.m. Thursday night in the first round of the West Regional in Special Events Center at the University of Utah.
Virginia (21-11) is seeded seventh, while Western Athletic Conference champion Brigham Young (20-12) is a No. 10 seed, but the Cougars are expected to be the crowd favorites in Salt Lake City, located 40 miles from the BYU campus in Provo, Utah.
"That's definitely going to be an advantage for us if a lot of Utah fans don't show up," Bradley said. "We have such a strong rivalry with Utah that I wouldn't be surprised if some of their fans came and cheered for Virginia."
Bradley remembers watching Ralph Sampson in the early 1980s and he has met ex-Virginia coach Terry Holland, a commentator on WAC games, but otherwise he knows very little about the Cavaliers.
He said he was not familiar with UVa center Ted Jeffries, but by now most college basketball junkies have heard of Bradley, who leads the nation in blocked shots with 165 in 32 games.
Bradley also leads the Cougars in scoring and rebounding, but it is the blocked shots that have become his signature.
"It's surprised me," said Bradley, who, despite his height, did not consider himself a natural shot-blocker. "In high school, I would get antsy and try to block too many shots.
"I've learned not to fly after every shot. I've learned that I can get more blocks by keeping my feet, going straight up and getting the ball after it's been released."
Bradley said he was prepared for a big adjustment to college ball, where his opponents are often in the 7-foot range, and where the media demands are unending.
"It's been a step up," said Bradley, who talked to the Utah and Virginia media for 30 minutes Monday. "I do a conference call like this every week. I kind of enjoy it. It's better than having to answer the same question for every reporter who happens by."
One aspect of Bradley's freshman year that hasn't been as enjoyable is the physical play of Brigham Young's opponents, who have tried to take advantage of Bradley's slender, 215-pound frame.
"Players tend to push and shove and grab a lot," Bradley said. "I don't get off on that too well. It kind of bugs me.
"I think my ultimate playing weight will be 240 or 245. One thing about going through a season like this is, you're so active that you can eat as much as you can and not gain any weight. I hope when I go on my mission that my metabolism will slow down a little bit."
Reid, a longtime assistant to Ladell Anderson, realizes his roster is subject to sudden change. Only one starter returned from the Cougars' team that finished 21-9 and played in the NCAA Tournament last year, and freshman Kenneth Roberts - younger brother of ex-BYU star Fred Roberts - has indicated he, too, will go on a mission this year.
"A lot of people would love to have the players we have coming back," Reid said, "but they're not coming back, at least not this year."
Bradley said he has timed his return for the summer of 1993, when he will have five months to prepare for the start of basketball season. He will have three years of eligibility at that point.
"After that much time away, they're like freshmen a lot of the time when they come back," Reid said. "But, I've been here 13 years, so it's not like it's anything new."
\ Reid said he had to resigned himself to the fact that Virginia coach Jeff Jones would talk with Holland, who has served as commentator for several BYU games, including the Cougars' 51-49 overtime victory over Utah in the WAC championship game.
"When they found out they were playing BYU, I'm sure that conversation was not 10 minutes in coming," Reid said. "I would feel bad about it because Terry has seen us play three times and we've told him some inside information about our team, [but] I would assume it's going to happen."
by CNB