Michael Bradley Wanted to Give up Scholarship

[tcf15]

From Borges Blog: http://borgesblognhr.blogspot.com/2011/09/bradley-this-is-something-i-wanted-to.html

Great article here. Borges talked with, Bob Smith, who is Bradley's mentor and is listed as Bradley's father in the UConn media guide. Hopefully it finds its way to ESPN to shut up everyone questioning the move and painting Calhoun in a bad light.

Touches on a few things here:
- Bradley is leaning more towards business than pharmacy, so that 6th year may not be needed.
- Mentions that Bradley will be getting his scholarship back next year.
- Wanted AD here to practice against the best, and he wants to get better. Sees the best way to do that is go up against AO and AD.

Gotta love this quote:

“To be honest, (at first) I felt uneasy about it,” Smith admitted. “But as Mike got to talking about it, you could tell real quick this is what Mike wanted to do. He wanted to do this. (They) won a national championship last year, and Mike wants to do that again so bad. He has a passion for it at this point.”

 

[Huskies2324]

I am really thankful for the kids we have on this team but honestly I am really rooting for Bradley. I hope he gets some minutes this year as this is what it means to be a team player. I saw him play this summer at the GHPA and he is not bad. Here is to hoping he gets a chance to fill a role this year.

 

[arnie3]

sounds like he feels comfortable with the situation. That $38,000 being thrown out by bloggers just ain't so.

 

[hooskies]

we're grateful to have a guy like him

 

[Dogbreath2U]

It was a great article.....kind of the anti-Jacobs. He mentions his own reservations, then looks again and lets the principals tell the story without his own initial feelings setting the agenda. David Borges, very nice job!

Hey, he even mentions message board mavens and their rationalizations! Nobody like that around these here parts.

 

[EricLA]

that ought to be required reading for every blowhard and blogger before they write.

 

[UCHuskies08]

Sorry, Calhoun stole a scholarship from a kid from a group home in TN. Gary Parrish wrote it so it's true.

 

[Fishy]

If Andre Drummond had committed to North Carolina, and Roy Williams had to kill a freshman to free up the scholarship, ESPN would have helped him bury the body.

I knew this would become the story the second Drummond committed. I think it took about 30 minutes for ESPN to update their commitment article with something about "questions abound". ESPN and their gaggle of slow-eyed monkey bloggers can all go face-duck* each other for all I care.

 

[UCDaveD]

ESPN and their gaggle of slow-eyed monkey bloggers can all go face-duck* each other for all I care.

Apparently, they already do...

 

[TheRogers]

Wow. Amazing article.

 

[Kitaman]

Thanks MB, you are a star in my eyes.

 

[mauconnfan]

Great article - who's sending this to Gary Parrish?

Anyway how if you are not rooting for Michael Bradley now (not that some weren't) then you are a very miserable person. What a great story and a great attitude this young man has. Hope his improvement in hoops helps pay him back for this gift he has given UConn.

 

[UConn2SF]

man i will be rooting really hard for the him. seems like an incredible teammate and young man. reading borges' blog and dom amore's at the courant leads me to believe bradley and calhoun have a really special relationship.

 

[Donyell]

man i will be rooting really hard for the him. seems like an incredible teammate and young man. reading borges' blog and dom amore's at the courant leads me to believe bradley and calhoun have a really special relationship.

 

[Donyell]

Good luck Mike, Great kid we are lucky to have a kid like that. This is good Karma for us and and Mike. Think down the road Bradley will be a player that helps us.

 

[ctchamps]

Bradley already had a great story. Much more compelling than what he did with his scholarship. So I was already rooting for him big time. This just adds to the story imo.

To me this is the most salient point of the article:
“I asked Mike, point-blank. He said, ‘I’m not being pressured, it’s not something I have to do, but it’s something I want to do.’”
Between this story and what we have heard about Wolf choosing to stay at UConn, I hope some of the posters that are convinced JC will throw anyone under the bus to get better players, will finally realize that the past decisions of transfers were the kids decisions.

Naturally the JC detractors won't believe this. They'll convince themselves the kid was pressured to say this. They can't admit they are wrong or that they are as guilty about breaking rules as the people they target. Either ignore them or accept Fishy's point of view about them.

 

[Uconn93]

Hey jeff jacobs-Instead of waiting around and trying to whine to the NCAA President, why didn't you just talk to Bob Smith? Oh wait, I know.....because you're more interested in your continued hatchet job against Jim Calhoun and the University than you are in the truth.

 

[sledog]

In comparison, Wolf is beciming a real punk here.

 

[HuskyFan16]

Jeff Jacobs is a poor man's... wait a minute, on second thought, anyway I finish this statement seems like a slap in the face to a poor man in assuming he could actually be stupid enough to be influenced to read Jeff Jacobs.

 

[Karmacop]

Wow, I have GREAT respect for Michael Bradley based on this article. I already did before, but what a stand-up quality man he is. In this "me first" day-and-age, it is so wonderfully refreshing to have someone willing to sacrifice in the short term for the team's benefit, and ultimately (hopefully) to his own benefit.

One thing I will say - he'd better get his scholarship back next year. If anyone deserves it, he does.

 

[HuskyFan16]

Sledog thats not really fair. By all accounts we dont know if Wolf would have received any financial aid at all, and that may have been the only way he could have stayed in school. Its possible he loved UConn and wanted to stay on the team as much as Bradley and his scholly was the only way for him to do that.

 

[benjordan]

What a fantastic kid. While we all laugh at the "student-athlete" sham that the NCAA puts forth.. this kid embodies all that it was originally about. He's a bright kid finding himself in the classroom (switching majors) who is willing to put the team above himself. He's going placing.. in basketball or elsewhere.

 

[District-Husky]

I hope Bradley works extremely hard this year and turns into a Hilton Armstrong by his last year.

 

[Scot-e]

Yawn. Oh sorry.
I hope this makes some UCONN fans feel better about what happened- fans from other teams will never see nor hear about this part of the story. They do not care if it is not negative and adds to the concept of JC being a scumbag. But let's not kid ourselves- if this is the way it shaked out (and it must be true because it is in print) this is not the way that it happens in D1 ball most of the time. We are no worse and most of the time no better then any other school.

What do like about this topic being dragged out here on the board and elsewhere is that if everything said is true- our team is continuing to add to the good chemistry we had last year and that can go a long way for making up for some of the hole left by Kemba going to the NBA.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

If Andre Drummond had committed to North Carolina, and Roy Williams had to kill a freshman to free up the scholarship, ESPN would have helped him bury the body.

I knew this would become the story the second Drummond committed. I think it took about 30 minutes for ESPN to update their commitment article with something about "questions abound". ESPN and their gaggle of slow-eyed monkey bloggers can all go face-duck* each other for all I care.

I love it when a new member weighs in like this. Keep comin' back.