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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Guard Has Hogs Fixing For The Ncaas Bradley’s Offense Keeps Arkansas Aiming For A National Championship

Mark Blaudschun Boston Globe

Deep down, he’s still the kid who caused heads to turn in dismay when he arrived in Arkansas three years ago and somebody asked him what position he played. “I’m a gahd,” said Pat Bradley. “You know, a shooting gahd.”

The 6-foot-2-inch junior from Everett, Mass., is very much that for coach Nolan Richardson’s Razorbacks. Bradley is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 14.3 points per game, as well as the Southeastern Conference’s leading 3-point shooter (98 for 230, 42.6 percent).

Bradley says the adjustment to life in Fayetteville has gone as well as possible. “I still miss home,” he said in a telephone interview, his Boston accent still very much intact despite three years of grits and glory in Arkansas. “But it was pretty easy to adjust. I had a lot to learn, but there are so many different kinds of people down here, so you get used to it pretty quickly.”

This season, like last, Bradley, has been a key cog in the Hogs’ success. Despite an 86-70 loss at Georgia Tuesday night, Arkansas (20-4) is having an excellent season and Bradley is a prime reason, providing offensive firepower from long range.

Earlier, against Louisiana State, Bradley went on a 12-point scoring binge when the Tigers had drawn to within five points, helping Arkansas gain a 85-68 victory.

Bradley scored Arkansas’ last nine points in a win over Mississippi State and, last weekend in a win over Vanderbilt, he scored 17 over the final nine minutes.

“This entire team has a lot of confidence,” said Bradley. “There aren’t too many teams that can keep up with us when we get our running game going.”

Add that to the pressure trapping defense that Richardson likes to use and you have a legitimate Top 10 team.

Bradley has carried his load since he arrived at Arkansas with nothing more than a jump shot and a desire to prove that some of the big-time schools who passed on recruiting him made a mistake.

When asked if he was totally “southernized” yet, Bradley laughed. “I’m used to pretty much everything down here. The only thing I won’t do is talk southern, like ‘I’m fixing to do something.”’

If Bradley continues to shoot the way he has thus far, Arkansas is fixing to make quite a bit of noise in the NCAA Tournament.