Tom “Whatever It Takes” Bradbury

[PointGuard]

Game #1 @ Virginia: The lead flip flops throughout the 1st half, but we head to the locker room ahead 39-35. We draw away throughout the 2nd half by tightening our defense. We win our opener 75-58. Dalron Jones picks up where he left off last season, scoring 29 points. Joey Brown has a great first collegiate game, hitting for 15 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. Rob Ferguson tosses in 18 points while pulling down 8 boards. (1-0, Preseason #7 ranking)

Game #2, Hawaiian Shootout vs Pepperdine: We’re the #1 seed in the tourney. Since Valder Greene needs a bit more seasoning and experience running our sets, Antonio Greer will be starting at PG. We roll in the first half, clamping down defensively to take a 39-20 halftime lead. We win with ease 72-51. Dalron Jones leads our scoring with 23 points. Joey Brown continues to dominate inside, scoring 17 and getting 17 rebounds. Rob Ferguson also gets a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. (2-0, Ranked #2, RPI: 13)

Awards: Joey Brown picked up both the American Athletic Conferences Player of the Week and Freshman Player of the Week awards.

Game #3, Hawaiian Shootout vs Clemson: We began pulling away late in the first half and left the court at intermission with a 42-30 lead. In the 2nd half, we expanded our lead to 22 and then coasted to a 72-56 victory, sending us to the Tournament Championship game. All 5 starters scored in double figures: Joey Brown with 15, Antonio Greer getting 13, Dalron Jones scoring 12, and Rob Ferguson and Johnnie Campbell both adding 10. Joey Brown had 9 rebounds and Rob Ferguson had 7. (3-0)

Game #4, Hawaiian Shootout Championship vs Duquesne: Our defense was stellar throughout the entire game. We led 40-25 at the half and finished with a 70-49 win taking the Tournament Championship. Dalron Jones led our scoring with 22 points and Rob Ferguson contributed 11. Joey Brown pulled down 9 rebounds. (4-0)

[PointGuard]

Game #5, Akron: Another defensive gem. We take a 30-21 halftime lead and then leave Duquesne in the dust, winning 61-39. Rob Ferguson stars with 18 points and 10 boards. Joey Brown picks up 13 points, Antonio Greer scores 11, and Dalron Jones finishes with 9. (5-0)

Game #6, UTEP: Our offense takes over in this game as we spurt out to a 43-25 halftime advantage. The 2nd half is nearly a repeat of the first and we come away with an 87-50 victory. Dalron Jones scores 20 while adding 7 rebounds and 5 assists, Joey Brown gets another double-double (11 points and 11 rebounds), Rob Ferguson scores 14, and Antonio Greer adds 9. (6-0, Ranked #1, RPI: 1)

Award: Dalron Jones is the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week.

Game #7, Southern Illinois: We hit shots from all over the floor in the 1st half and built a 53-30 halftime lead. The team kept the Salukis from making any serious runs in the 2nd half and went on to win 90-71. Joey Brown dropped in 21 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. Dalron Jones scored 19, Valder Greene came in off the bench to score 14, Johnnie Campbell put in 12 points, and Rob Ferguson added 10. (7-0)

Game #8 @ North Carolina St.: This was a close game almost the entire 40 minutes. At the half, we led 33-29, and could not pull away in the 2nd half. We pulled out a narrow victory, 66-62. Dalron Jones took high-point honors with 21 points, but Joey Brown had another awesome game with 15 points and 15 rebounds. (8-0, Ranked 2nd, RPI: 2)

Award: Joey Brown again won both the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week and Freshman Player of the Week awards.

[CoachVN]

I read a lot of the Dynasty stories and enjoy them all, but I check for updates to this one as soon as I get here. Can't wait to see how Coach Bradbury and his Tigers progress. Looking forward to the next chapter!

[PointGuard]

Thanks, CoachVN! I too wonder how long he will get away with his corrupt ways.

[PointGuard]

Game #9, #8-ranked North Carolina: North Carolina sported a small lead early in the game, but by the half we were ahead 41-31. We then pulled away in the 2nd half to win easily 81-60. Dalron Jones dropped in 25 points plus grabbed 9 rebounds and Rob Ferguson added 10 points. (9-0, Ranked 3rd, RPI: 3)

Game #10, Tennessee: Remembering how the Vols stomped us last year, our guys wanted revenge. We did a great job of doing exactly that in the 1st half and pulled away to a 45-24 halftime advantage. Our defense was porous in the 2nd half, but we continued to score well and put together an 87-65 victory. Dalron Jones achieved a double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Rob Ferguson scored 17, and Antonio Greer and Johnnie Campbell both scored 16 points. (10-0, Ranked #3, RPI: 2)

Award: Dalron Jones was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week.

Game #11 @ St. Bonaventure: St. Bonaventure controlled the tempo in the 1st half, built as much as an 11 point lead. We finished the half trailing 37-30. Even though we weren’t hitting our shots and were taking too many bad shots, our defense bailed us out in the 2nd half, as we leap-frogged by the Bonnies and won 68-60. Dalron Jones scored 15 but the game MVP went to Rob Ferguson with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Valder Greene also scored 14 and Antonio Greer added 10 points. (11-0, Ranked 4th, RPI: 2)

Ineligibility: SF Bradley Ides, a sophomore SF walkon, finished the term with a 1.9 GPA. My reaction was that I wanted to cut him, but my assistants convinced me to keep with since he’s been practicing our sets for 18 months. We got him a tutor.

Game #12, Tulane: We came out flat and could only manage a 33-33 tie at the end of the first half. We led most of the 2nd half, but could never put the game out of reach, finishing with a 73-63 victory in our first conference game of the season. Dalron Jones had 22 points and 8 assists and Joey Brown and Rob Ferguson both had double-doubles, 13 points and 10 rebounds for Brown and 14 points and 10 rebounds for Ferguson. (12-0, 1-0, 1st place tie)

[PointGuard]

Game #13 @ Houston: We played heads up ball in the 1st half and rolled to a 45-24 lead at the half. Houston closed on us in the 2nd half, but we held them off for a 67-56 victory. Joey Brown carried us with 22 points and 15 rebounds. Our starting guards, Antonio Greer and Dalron Jones scored 13 and 11 points, respectively. (13-0, 2-0, 1st place tie, Ranked #3, RPI: 2)

Awards: Joey Brown once again both the conference Player of the Week and the Freshman Player of the Week awards.

Game #14 @ Connecticut: In the early stages of the first half, we played well and held a small lead but by the midpoint of the half, Connecticut turned things around and by the end of the half led 42-33. With the refs called things tight on us, our players simply lost their aggressiveness. I was all over the refs. The zebras definitely noticed, because they came out with a vengeance in the 2nd half, whistling our players for just looking at their opponents. Connecticut took full advantage of this and opened a 25 point lead. In the latter stages we tried to make a comeback, but the difference was just too great. We dropped our first game of the year by a score of 76-61. Shooting, turnovers, and rebounds were very equal between the two teams. What wasn’t equal? We were called for 10 more fouls. Dalron Jones played only 18 minutes and scored just 8 points because of continual foul problems. The Huskies got to the foul line 20 more times than we did! And they scored 16 more points on free throws...more than the final difference in the score. In other words, we were jobbed! Rob Ferguson scored 14 points and pulled down 7 rebounds and Joey Brown scored 12 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. (13-1, 2-1, 2nd place tie)

Game #15, Cincinnati: The Bearcats entered the game in 1st place in the American Athletic Conference. We came out playing a withering defense that immobilized Cincinnati in the first half and led us to a 40-25 lead at the half. The Bearcats came out in the 2nd half hitting their shots and trimmed our lead a little but we never let them get close enough to put a real scare into us. We came away with a 74-65 victory that got us back into a tie for the top spot in the conference. Antonio Greer led our scoring with 19 points, but Rob Ferguson scored 13 points and had 12 rebounds while Joey Brown knocked down 10 points and hauled in 11 rebounds while getting 3 steals and blocking 2 shots. Dalron Jones scored just 10 points but had 6 assists and 6 rebounds plus 2 steals and 2 blocks. (14-1, 3-1, 1st place tie, Ranked #3, RPI: 2)

Award: Joey Brown again won the Freshman Player of the Week Award for the American Athletic Conference.

Stats thus far for our 3 main players: SG Dalron Jones (18.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.6 spg, 0.5 bpg); C Joey Brown (12.5 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 2.1 spg, 0.9 bpg), and PF Rob Ferguson (12.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.1 apg, 2.0 spg, 1.3 bpg).

Game #16 @ Central Florida: Good defense crushed Central Florida in the first half allowing us to achieve a 39-21 half time lead. We put it on cruise control in the 2nd half. Central Florida scored well, particularly PG David Holman who finished with 26 points, but we never let them get close. We won 79-68. Rob Ferguson led us with 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Dalron Jones put 14 points on the board, Joey Brown had 13 points, and Johnnie Campbell added 12. (15-1, 4-1, 1st place tie)

[PointGuard]

Game #17, SMU: SMU came in with a 9-6 record, but we destroyed them. We shot extremely well in the first half which drove us to a 48-34 halftime lead. Then we clamped down defensively, allowing the Mustangs to score just 16 points in the 2nd half and won handily 79-50. Antonio Greer scored 17 and dished out 6 assists. Joey Brown also scored 17 plus he had 7 rebounds. Dalron Jones picked up 11 points, and Howie Tyler came off the bench to score 14. (16-1, 5-1, 1st place, Ranked #2, RPI: 3)

Game #18 @ Temple: The first half is a battle. We outshoot Temple but they out-rebound us and get to the free throw line more. We escape with a 42-38 lead at the break. We come back on the floor in the 2nd half and rapidly expand our lead to as much as 22 points as our shooting remains extremely hot. We finish by hitting 65% of our shots. We won decisively, 88-72. Rob Ferguson dropped in 22 points, Dalron Jones tossed in 18, Joey Brown and Antonio Greer both added 12, and Adrian Banes scored 10 points off the bench while playing just 14 minutes. (17-1, 6-1, 1st place)

Game #19, South Florida: The guys came in expecting an easy game. But this turned out to be no walk in the park. The teams slugged it out the entire game. We held a slim 41-37 lead at the half. The game remained tight in the 2nd half. We were generally out-played but South Florida’s 19 turnovers let us squeak by for a 66-63 victory. South Florida’s PG Jon Montgomery burned us for 26 points plus had 7 assists. Dalron Jones regained his shooting form and scored 20 to lead our scoring. Antonio Greer continued to score well, dropping in 17 points. Joey Brown hit for 15 points plus pulled down 7 rebounds. (18-1, 7-1, 1st place, Ranked #3, RPI: 3)

Game #20 @ Tulsa: The lead in the first half see-sawed back and forth. We ended up on the short end of a 34-30 halftime score. Again the refs took us out of this game in the 2nd half and Tulsa continually went to the line to pull steadily away. We took a 78-62 beating. The Golden Hurricanes went to the line 27 more times than us and outscored us by 18 points on free throws. That was more than enough to beat us. Tulsa’s C Derick Paige poured in 26 points. Dalron Jones knocked down 20 points. Rob Ferguson added 18 points while pulling down 8 rebounds. (18-2, 7-2, 1st place tie)

Recruiting: We were on pins and needles throughout this week awaiting the SAT scores for recruit Ruben Rohwer. His 2.1 GPA didn’t bode well for him to get a qualifying score, but we figured out a way to make sure he got some SAT tutoring before the test. We also were closely watching to see how three highly rated high school recruits performed. Two of them also had 2.1 GPA’s and one has a 2.0 GPA, so the SAT was a big hurdle for both. If they get high enough SAT scores, we'll go after them like a cat goes after catnip.

[PointGuard]

Game #21 @ Tulane: We gradually pulled away in the first half to take a 32-23 halftime lead. We then opened a 21 point lead in the 2nd half and held on for a 69-53 win. Dalron Jones hit for 20 points, Johnnie Campbell scored 15, and Joey Brown added 12 points while pulling down 9 boards. Rob Ferguson hauled in 10 rebounds. (19-2, 8-2, 1st place, Ranked #5, RPI: 6) The loss to Tulsa earlier in the week took a big hit on our fortunes with the poll voters and with the RPI computer.

Norton Award: Dalron Jones, Joey Brown, and Rob Ferguson all were named quarterfinalists for the Norton Award.

Game #22, Houston: Our play in the first half was awesome. We ran away to a 42-22 halftime advantage. We went into cruise control in the 2nd half, but won 68-47. Joey Brown had a big game with 19 points and 9 rebounds. Rob Ferguson wasn’t far behind with 17 points and 9 boards. Dalron Jones added 14 and Antonio Greer scored 11. (20-2, 9-2, 1st place)

Injury: Antonio Greer left the game late with a strained thigh and likely will miss one or two games.

SAT results: Ruben Rohwer’s SAT score was 890...just enough to be above our 880 minimum. Phew! The news for 3 recruits we liked who were ranked #12, 18 and 26 wasn’t as good. None of the 3 were even close to scoring an 880. Ugh! That’s a big disappointment to our recruiting fortunes. The loss of these 3 studs alters our recruiting strategy since there are no longer extremely strong high school seniors left to recruit meaning we may go after a JC player.

Game #23, Connecticut: We again put together a big first half and finished the half with a 42-22 lead that was identical to our previous game. Although we eased up in the 2nd half, there never was any doubt and we won 78-66 to avenge our earlier loss to the Huskies. Valder Greene started at PG and played adequately but continued his penchant for getting into foul trouble and eventually fouled out. Dalron Jones lead our scoring with 20 points and had 8 rebounds, Joey Brown put 18 points on the board plus grabbed 13 rebounds, Rob Ferguson also recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Howie Tyler came off the bench to score 12 points. (21-2, 10-2, 1st place, Ranked #4, RPI: 4)

Award: Joey Brown was chosen as the American Athletic Conference’s Player of the Week and Freshman Player of the Week.

Game #24 @ Cincinnati: I told the guys it was time to come up big against a good team on the road. The first half was a dog-fight with Cincinnati coming away with a 40-35 lead at the break. I jumped all over the players during the half about playing defense. They responded by shutting down the Bearcats in the 2nd half. We retook the lead and gradually opened an 11 point lead. Cincinnati hit some late shots but we won 70-63 by allowing the Bearcats to score just 23 points in the 2nd half. While we couldn’t control SG Rodney Walton who finished with 24 points, no other Cincinnati players scored in double figures. Dalron Jones popped in 20 points, Rob Ferguson had 16 points, and Antonio Greer came back of the injured list to add 11 points. Joey Brown was surprisingly held scoreless but pulled down 12 rebounds. Valder Green scored 9 points in 10 minutes of play but also picked up 5 fouls during the short time. (22-2, 11-2, 1st place)

[PointGuard]

Game #25, Central Florida: We blistered the nets in this game. By the end of the first half we were ahead 58-40. We finished our offensive onslaught by hitting 62% of our FG attempts, 60% of our 3 pointers, and 90% of our FT’s. We buried the Knights 98-71. Dalron Jones dropped in 25 points, Antonio Greer added 15, Rob Ferguson scored 12, and Johnnie Campbell and Valder Greene both scored 11. (23-2, 12-2, 1st place, Ranked #4, RPI: 4)

Norton Award: Dalron Jones and Joey Brown were both named semifinalists for the Norton Award.

Game #26 @ SMU: We came out flat and stayed flat. We trailed 34-19 at the half and while we cut into their lead in the 2nd half, we could never really get it together. The result was an embarrassing 55-46 loss. We hit just 31% of our shots, but surprisingly the Mustangs only hit 30% of theirs. But they controlled the boards and again we were beat at the free throw line where we got to the line 16 fewer times and scored 11 fewer points than SMU. Our only player to score in double figures was Joey Brown with 13 points. (23-3, 12-3, 1st place)

Game #27, Temple: Temple out-played us in the first half and sported a 40-36 halftime lead. But in the 2nd half we combined a potent offense with a solid defense and ran away from Temple for an 87-64 shellacking. We outshot the Owls 51% to 39%. Dalron Jones put on a 30 point offensive show and also dished out 7 assists and pulled down 6 rebounds. Valder Greene came off the bench for his best game of the season with 19 points (hitting 100% of his shots including 5 from 3 point land). Rob Ferguson scored 14 and Joey Brown added 12. (24-3, 13-3, 1st place, Ranked #4, RPI: 4)

Game #28 @ South Florida: In this game we played solidly throughout both halves. While not impressive offensively and while allowing the Bulls to hit too high a percentage of their shots, we recorded a fantastic 18-5 turnover advantage. The result was that we led 34-28 at the half and expanded that lead in the 2nd half to as much as 20 points while finishing with an 80-68 win. Joey Brown had a big game scoring 19 and pulling down 12 boards. Dalron Jones also popped in 19 points along with recording 6 assists. Antonio Greer scored 17 and Rob Ferguson had 14 points and 8 rebounds. (25-3, 14-3, 1st place)

[PointGuard]

Game #29, Tulsa: Tulsa played tough in the first half and came away with a 39-38 halftime lead. But we tightened our defense in the 2nd half and pulled away to win big, 78-60 in the final game of the regular season. Rob Ferguson came up with a big game in his final game at home as a senior, scoring 22 and hauling down 9 boards. Antonio Greer scored 13 and Dalron Jones, Johnnie Campbell, and Valder Greene each chipped in 10 points. (26-3, 15-3, 1st place, Ranked #4, RPI: 4)



Players declaring for the draft: Two of our players declare for the pro draft: Antonio Greer and Valder Greene. Greer is a SG who has been starting at PG and Greene is a true PG who was his primary backup. To complicate matters, our SG Dalron Jones is graduating. While we have a couple other good PG’s who could develop into strong players next year, we still are going to be short of guards. So our spring recruiting strategy has changed. We need to come up with a SG who can step right in and contribute.