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The night before the first round of the men’s basketball NCAA tournament, Keyonte George made a proclamation in the Utah Jazz locker room.
“The campaign starts tomorrow! Jaden Bradley is the best guard in the country!”
George spent the next few weeks talking about and hyping up the Arizona guard to whoever would listen — and often arguing about Bradley to those who didn’t want to listen. And the feeling is mutual.
“Definitely good having one of the best players in the NBA having your back,” Bradley told the Deseret News this week at the NBA Combine. “I’ve got his back and I’m always watching his game, saying tuned and excited for his career. I just appreciate the support.”
So what’s the connection here? They’re both IMG Academy products.
Bradley went to IMG (a Florida prep school known for training future professional athletes) when he was a high school junior. That was the same year that George arrived at IMG as a senior. The two became friends and over the last few months, George has been a sounding board for Bradley as he goes through the pre-draft process.
“He’s given me some great advice,” Bradley said. “This process, it’s long, but enjoy it. Not everybody gets to go through this process so just have fun, soak it all in and continue to grow.”
And Bradley has also asked about what comes after draft night, what the rookie NBA season is going to be like and what he should expect as he makes the leap from the collegiate ranks to the professional league.
“He said there’s gonna be ups and downs,” Bradley said. “A rookie coming into the league, it’s hard and you gotta find your niche, find your role. You don’t get to decide what team you go to. So it’s about trying to fit in.”
Bradley had one of the longer collegiate runs this last season, with Arizona falling in the Final Four to eventual championship winning Michigan.
While most eyes were trained on his teammate, Brayden Burries, who is projected to be a top-10 pick in the upcoming NBA draft, there was enough interest in Bradley for him to take the chance and enter the draft.
From everything scouts and executives are saying, Bradley is expected to go in the second round of the draft, on June 24. As a senior at Arizona, he averaged 13.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, shooting 46.3% overall and 39.4% from 3-point range. He was named Big 12 Player of the Year and earned All-Big 12 First-Team and All-Defensive honors.
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- Jaren Jackson Jr. mourns close friend and former teammate Brandon Clarke (Deseret News)
- Austin Ainge was good luck for the Utah Jazz in the lottery drawing room (Deseret News)
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Up next
- NBA draft | First round | June 23 | 6 p.m. MDT
- NBA draft | Second round | June 24 | 6 p.m. MDT