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re:Pat Bradley added to Shaw Team
Tough kid. I hope he plays well for us this week.
------
Bradley C's a fine chance
Summer League Notebook/by Mark Cofman
Thursday, July 29, 1999
Local fans attending the Shaw's Pro Summer League last
night at
UMass-Boston saw a familiar face playing for the
Celtics. Everett's
Pat Bradley, who finished a standout collegiate career
at Arkansas
last season, was brought in by the Celtics for the
remaining four days
of league play.
Bradley averaged 13.4 points per game in four years
for the
Razorbacks, finishing fifth on the school's all-time
scoring list (1,745
points). The 6-foot-2 guard's strength is the
perimeter game. He set
an SEC record with 366 career 3-pointers, eclipsing
the mark set by
ex-Tennessee and current New York Knicks star Allan
Houston (346).
``I got the call (Tuesday) night that they needed a
player and I was
ready,'' said Bradley. ``It was good timing on my
part, I guess.''
Indeed. Bradley's team was eliminated from the Nike
Beantown League
playoffs just hours before the Celtics put out the
call. Not that
Bradley would turn down a chance to wear Celtics green
regardless of
his team's fate.
``I look at this as a perfect opportunity to get pro
experience while
working to improve my game,'' said Bradley,
considering offers to play
overseas or for the IBL's Cincinnati franchise. ``I
couldn't be happier
to be here.''
In effect, Bradley took ex-Kentucky star Jeff
Sheppard's spot on the
roster. Sheppard, impressive in the Celtics'
opening-game win over
Washington on Monday, departed the next day after
accepting a
contract to play in Italy.
Free agent Adrian Griffin continued his impressive
play last night,
leading the Celtics to an 82-69 victory over the
Knicks.
Griffin, a 6-5 swingman from Seton Hall, collected 17
points and
Walter McCarty added 14 points. Former Kentucky and
Mission Hill
star Wayne Turner added 12 points, five assists and
three steals for
the Celtics, while DeMarco Johnson scored a game-high
20 points for
New York. Salem's Rick Brunson added 17 points and
eight assists for
the Knicks.
The victory increased the Celtics' record to 3-0 in
their inaugural
summer league. The hosts, who opened with victories
over
Washington and the German Select Team, practice at
HealthPoint in
Waltham today before resuming league action tomorrow
against
Philadelphia at 6 p.m.
Batties: Brotherly love
One player who has become quite familiar to those in
the Celtics
organization is Derek Battie. The older brother of
forward Tony Battie
spent much of last season watching Celtics' games at
the FleetCenter
while rehabbing a surgically repaired right knee.
The 6-10 forward from Temple, injured while playing
last year in Italy,
would prefer not to resume his career in Europe. He'd
like to join his
brother on the Celtics, as he did in the Fila Pro
Summer League earlier
this month in Long Beach, Calif.
``My first choice, of course, would be to stay here in
Boston,'' said
Battie, inactive in the Shaw's League until last night
because of
swelling in his right knee this week. ``Tony and I
want to have a
family member on the court for the Celtics at all
times.''
Battie was joking. But he is serious about cracking
the NBA after
experiencing pro life overseas for two years. He hopes
to make a
lasting impression on the Celtics' coaching staff the
final three days
of league play.
``The swelling in the knee is nothing serious,'' he
said. ``I've been
taking anti-inflammatories and doing therapy. I hope
to practice with
the team on the off day (today) and get back out there
again. I know
I've done enough sitting and watching.''
Appropriately, Battie's spot on the roster last night
came from his
brother, who did not play. Tony Battie could be back
for tomorrow's
league action, but will not play over the weekend.
Pair try to make a point
Ex-UConn star Kevin Ollie and Turner, a member of two
national title
squads at Kentucky, appear to be battling for the same
backup point
guard spot with the Celtics. Turner, a blue-chip
Pitino recruit with the
Wildcats, has the advantage of knowing the coach's
system inside
out.
But Pitino, hoping to get the C's back in the playoffs
for the first time
since 1995, isn't in a position to play favorites in
roster decisions.
``If Kevin Ollie outplays Wayne Turner, then all that
means is it's
more difficult to say goodbye to Wayne Turner,'' he
said.
Tony Battie and Boston mayor Thomas M. Menino hosted
an
interactive clinic yesterday prior to the league's
early session.
Winchendon alumni two good
The first game of the day involved a pair of
Winchendon School
alumni - Washington's Randell Jackson and the German
select team's
Bruno Sundov. Unfortunately for Jackson, he sprained
an ankle early
in the Wizards' 83-63 win and played just three
minutes. The 6-11
second-year forward from Mission Hill played well in
Washington's first
two games, averaging 19.5 points. Jackson,
incidentally, was also a
teammate of Bradley's and Turner's on the '95 BABC
title team.