FAYETTEVILLE — Nick Bradford hasn’t changed all that much, even if so many people around him in the game of basketball have.
The same fun-loving kid, who grew up in Fayetteville and devel- oped into one of the top basketball players ever to come out of the Bull- dogs’ program or Northwest Arkan- sas altogether, still carries a big smile and an even bigger personal- ity everywhere he goes.
Like his personality, Bradford’s love for the game of basketball is just as consistent. From the rustic court of old Bulldog Gymnasium, to the hallowed halls of Phog Allen Field- house at Kansas, he had a sense that the sport he so dearly loved would remain with him forever. And now, his goal of continuing his hoops dreams well past his playing days are in fact, playing out in reality.
ONCE A JAYHAWK, ALWAYS A JAYHAWK
Bradford, like many skilled athletes who fall just short of the ultimate level of competition, wasn’t ready to hang up his high tops as soon as his college days were done. After a successful four-year career at Kansas from 1996-2000, the Fayetteville native kept the ball bouncing for more than a decade. There was a two-year stint in the ABA with the Kansas City Knights.
“I played for Kevin Pritchard in the ABA, and that was a great experience,” Bradford said. “Kevin is now general manager of the Indi- ana Pacers and he taught me a lot.”
Then came an eight-year jour- ney through Europe, with stops in Iceland, France, Romania and Finland.
While it wasn’t basketball at the highest level like the NBA, it was professional hoops. And Bradford had no complaints.
“The biggest misconception about European basketball is like in France they say they’re not supposed to like Americans,” Bradford said. “But that was my favorite place to play. I had a great time over there.
“Basketball over there is real competitive, and I played against some really good players and some guys like Boris Diaw who went to the NBA. So it was a great experi- ence.”
All the while, though, Bradford knew life after his playing days was fast approaching. And he had a plan.
Following the spring of 2011 season with the UMFG club in Iceland, Bradford accepted his first coaching position at Labette Community College. A member
of Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference, Labette put Bradford right back in his old stomping grounds, back where he credits much of his drive to become a coach.
“When I was in school at Kansas, coach (Roy) Williams and his staff always thought I had those coach- ing abilities,” Bradford
said. “I was the type of player that did a lot of thinking and played a lot of positions on the floor. Soalotofmy coaching came from that.”
B r a d f o r d played alongside several Kansas greats in his time with the Jayhawks. He was roommates with Paul Pierce, and teammates with Raef LaFrentz, Kirk Hinrich and Drew Gooden.
Those names, and others, served Bradford he headed out on the recruiting trail for Labette and even more so now in his new position as a first-year assistant at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin.
“I think that’s a good thing I can add in there to young guys,” Brad- ford said. “They might not know my name, but I can give them some names of guys I played with. Or when you’ve been around a guy like Danny Manning and you can talk to kids about that, it sure helps.”
FOLLOWING BROTHER’S FOOTSTEPS
Bradford gives plenty of credit to his former college coach, Roy Williams, for being a big impact on his coaching style. But there’s no mistake in who provides the major inspiration for Bradford as a coach, or in life.
His big brother, Ramon.
In December 1994, Ramon Brad- ford was an assistant basketball coach at Fayetteville when he was
killed in an automobile accident while returning from a Bulldogs’ away game at Siloam Springs. Nick Bradford, Ramon’s younger brother, was a junior on the Fayetteville basketball team and just 16 at the time of his brother’s death.
“No question (Ramon’s) life being cut short and his dream of being a Division I coach has been my biggest inspiration into being a coach and just being a good person,” Nick said. “He affffected so many young people’s lives and I’m trying to live my life in that same way, by impacting young kids just like he
did.” Bradford
is only getting started. After two seasons at Labette, he moved to the Division II ranks and headed closer to home with the move to Joplin-based Missouri Southern
State. “It’s great. My family can get
up here and see me now and I’m close to home,” Bradford said. “It’s crazy how things have grown back in Fayetteville. I went to the last game played at the old gym and I went to a game in the new arena last year. And I talk to Kyle Adams and Tommy Deffenbaugh and keep up with what’s going on with those guys and the Bulldogs.”
Bradford also hopes the move to Missouri Southern will lead to recruiting players from around the Northwest Arkansas area. And with his personality, Adams is sure Brad- ford won’t have a problem selling young players on the MSSU prod- uct.
“You didn’t know it at the time he was playing about him coaching, you just knew he had a great sense of the game,” Adams said. “But the great thing about Nick is he’s just a great person. He’s always got a smile on his face and every- body loves being around him, so he’s got a great personality for coaching.”
THE KIDS OF TODAY
Bradford has entered the coaching profession as basketball undergoes plenty of changes, not necessarily in the style of play or the rules on the court, but in the young athletes who choose to continue their games onto the next level.
“The mentality of kids today is different,” Brad- ford said. “Some kids have a mentality that everything has to be given to them. Not to say that all kids have that sense of entitlement, but it’s out there.
“What we’re trying to do here is show them that it’s about a team, and that nothing
is going to be given to you. We want them to work for every- thing they get.”
Dealing with a different brand of youngsters from even when he played the game, Bradford isn’t scared off. Instead, he’s more passionate and driven than ever to succeed. His goals for now are to help MSSU, and so far he’s off to a great start as the Lions sit at 13-3 on the season.
Beyond Missouri Southern State? Bradford isn’t one to look that far ahead.
“I would like to be a head coach someday,” Bradford said. “But right now I’m in a great situation, working for a legendary coach in coach Robert Corn. After this season, coach Corn is step- ping down and Jeff (Boschee) will take over and I’m just focused on helping us out here.”
And you can bet Bradford will wear a big smile every step of the way.