BRADLEY SHINING BRIGHTER FORWARD, TEAM IMPROVED.Byline: Gideon Rubin Staff Writer LANCASTER - Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley High's Ollie Ollie may refer to the following:
Despite his team's woes, Bradley, a 6-foot-4 forward, was a first-team All-Golden League selection as a sophomore, but his individual success did not make it any easier for him. ``Oh man,'' he said, reluctantly reliving re·live v. re·lived, re·liv·ing, re·lives v.tr. To undergo or experience again, especially in the imagination. v.intr. To live again. Noun 1. the season he'd just as soon forget. ``It was real tough.'' His efforts were not lost on opposing coaches, who noticed the young player's composure amid difficult circumstances. ``He continued to play hard in a losing situation,'' Palmdale coach Garry Phelps said. ``He really did a lot of good things.'' Bradley said that after each game his mother, Jerilynn, would drive him home and tell him to keep his head up and stay positive. ``Just keep working hard and good things will happen,'' she would tell him. Bradley said his mother's encouragement and his Christian faith helped him persevere per·se·vere intr.v. per·se·vered, per·se·ver·ing, per·se·veres To persist in or remain constant to a purpose, idea, or task in the face of obstacles or discouragement. . He never did stop working hard and this season, good things have started to happen. He is averaging more than 18 points per game, and 11 rebounds, three steals and 2.5 assists per game, and despite opening league play with two tough losses, the Antelopes (7-10, 0-2) are vastly improved. In the league opener on Friday, Bradley scored a season-high 29 points and the Antelopes led by as many as 20 points late in the third quarter before eventually losing to league favorite Lancaster 80-68 in overtime. Bradley scored 14 points while playing with flu symptoms on Tuesday in another heartbreaking heart·break·ing adj. 1. Causing overwhelming grief or distress. 2. Producing a strong emotional reaction: heartbreaking loveliness. loss, 66-64 to defending co-league champion Quartz Hill on Baron Harrell's buzzer-beater. But despite the tough losses, Bradley said that the finger-pointing and infighting in·fight·ing n. 1. Contentious rivalry or disagreement among members of a group or organization: infighting on the President's staff. 2. Fighting or boxing at close range. that soured the team's mood last season are gone, and that now he and his teammates have become a tightly knit Adj. 1. tightly knit - closely and firmly integrated; "a tight-knit organization" tight-knit integrated - formed into a whole or introduced into another entity; "a more closely integrated economic and political system"- Dwight D. unit and are best friends on and off the court. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Bradley, he and his teammates have taken well to the up-tempo system first-year coach Tom Hegre has brought to Antelope Valley. ``We didn't even really have to adjust,'' he said. ``That's how we're used to playing. We like to just go and run and create on our own.'' Bradley, a fundamentally sound player who excels in all aspects of the game at the high school level, has already attracted the attention of Division I scouts. A two-sport athlete who was a Golden League honorable mention in volleyball last season, Bradley hopes to go to UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX and compete in both sports. He is interested in computer graphics and says he wants to major in business administration. He hopes to start his own business when he concludes his athletic career. Bradley jokes that he was born with a ball in his hand and he isn't far off the mark. His father, Ollie Bradley Jr., first introduced him to the game at age 2, when he would help him grip a ball. Ollie Bradley III attributes his sound fundamental play to the his father's mentoring. Bradley said he considered himself short most of his life until a five-inch growth spurt growth spurt Pediatrics A period of rapid growth in middle adolescence; ♀ ↑ ±8 cm/yr ±age 12; ♂ ↑ ±10 cm/yr ± age 14; GS is orderly, affecting acral parts–ie, hands and feet grow before proximal regions, at the end of junior high school. He was 6-2 by the time he entered Antelope Valley. What has impressed his coach the most is the respect he has for the game, and the respect he gets from his teammates. ``He's always watching and he's always very attentive,'' Hegre said. ``He's a respectful `yes sir' kind of guy, and the guys really respect him.'' Teammate Terrell White, a junior who played with Bradley on the varsity team In the United States and Canada and UK, varsity sports teams are the principal athletic teams representing a college, university, or high school or other secondary school. Such teams compete against the principal athletic teams at other colleges/universities, or in the case of last season, echoed Hegre's sentiments. ``He keeps us going,'' said White, a longtime friend, who also said that what has impressed him most about Bradley is his attitude and how he acts on and off the court. ``He's always helpful to other teammates and other students.'' |
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