Freshman Jaden Bradley Brings Traditional Point Guard Play Back to Alabama Basketball
In the past five years, Alabama has developed a reputation for producing flashy, exciting, All-SEC caliber point guards to lead the offensive charge in Tuscaloosa.
Collin Sexton, Kira Lewis Jr. and Jahvon Quinerly all fit the mold of Alabama point guards with a knack for showmanship to go along with high-scoring volumes.
Incoming freshman Jaden Bradley plays the same position as those players, has a similar recruiting ranking, and yet plays both the game and the point-guard position in a seemingly different way: the 'old school' way.
The Rochester, N.Y. native truly embodies the role that point guards used to be primarily associated with: getting teammates involved. Bradley's vision and passing ability are superb, and combined with his high basketball IQ and feel for the game his playmaking ability is elite.
Bradley stands at 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, with an above average wingspan that creates a larger frame than one might expect for a point guard. He was rated a five-star prospect and the No. 24 overall player in the Class of 2022 by 247Sports' composite rankings.
He was also selected as a McDonald's All-American, Alabama's second in the class along with Brandon Miller.
In high school, Bradley played at the prestigious boarding school IMG Academy. Many Alabama fans are used to hearing about recruits from IMG coming to play for Nick Saban, but Bradley is the second IMG basketball player to come to Tuscaloosa in as many years, following center Charles Bediako in 2021.
At IMG, Bradley posted stats that may not jump off the page, but prove to be all-around productive. He averaged 11.4 points per game, a team-high 4.6 assists per game, three rebounds per game, and a team-high two steals per game as well.
While his 11 points per contest are by no means a bad number, Alabama fans should not expect Bradley to come in and take on a huge scoring load like the five-star point guards that have come before him. As previously mentioned, Bradley's biggest strengths in his game come from running the offense to a tee, ensuring his teammates are involved, and always making the right play.
He boasts a tight handle that allows him to slide past defenders with ease to open up the court and he facilitates offense extremely well, knowing where players are supposed to be and seeing the court with extreme maturity for his age.
While scoring may not be his forte, it is certainly not a weakness, either. His most prominent scoring ability is his finishing, especially in transition, which will be key in a Nate Oats system that loves to push the ball up the floor and run in transition whenever possible. He also has a respectable three-point shot, and a mid-range pull up that can throw defenses off when he gets enough space.
Some of the most valuable aspects of Bradley's game besides his passing are his defensive instincts and abilities. His long arms and frame combined with his quick hands lead to an abundance of deflections and steals, which are the exact kind of guards that coaches look for as defenders. He has a high motor on the defensive end when guarding the ball, he moves his feet well in isolation and has the potential to be the go-to on-ball defender at a high level sometime in the future.
The biggest unknown about Bradley is an apparent foot injury that held him out of the McDonald's All-American game as well as the beginning of summer practice in Tuscaloosa.
A report from The Athletic's Seth Davis on Monday morning indicated that Bradley will be on a minutes restriction during Alabama’s foreign tour next month while coming off foot surgery.
Without the eye-popping scoring statistics, the easiest way to see how Bradley affects a game is by watching him, so here are some plays that showcase the value he brings to Tuscaloosa:
First, let's take a look at how Bradley operates as a facilitator in the half court.
This first play may look simple, but it is essential in an offense that shoots as many three-pointers as Alabama does. Bradley recognized that the defense was playing a zone, so he used the screen to draw multiple defenders before he skipped the pass over to the open shooter on the wing for an easy three-point look.
While this looks routine, his feel for knowing where his teammate was is an incredibly important skill to have honed when he will be surrounded by shooters at all times at Alabama.
One of the first things to notice in this play is the shiftiness that Bradley has with the ball in his hands. He got a defender to bite on a jab step, then followed it up with a pump fake once he entered the middle of the lane.
After the pump fake, all three defenders in the lane had eyes on him and he was able to find his teammate wide open in the post for an easy layup. Bradley's craftiness in the lane paired with his vision and knack for getting teammates open could lead to this scenario becoming quite frequent for Bediako or Noah Gurley down low.
This is another play that could become increasingly common for Bradley to make as he molds into the facilitator he has the potential to be. Alabama runs lots of high ball screen actions to initiate offensive sets, and in this particular instance Bradley chose to refuse the ball screen after he saw his defender overcommitting to one side. This move froze the entire defense allowing a textbook backdoor alley-oop to his big man.
Plays like this once again open up many possibilities for Bediako, especially after seeing how effective he was as a lob finisher as a freshman.
Both plays here show Bradley's capabilities as a finisher and as a passer in the transition game.
Oats loves to coach his team to play at a high tempo, shown by Alabama's ranking of 11th nationally in adjusted tempo according to KenPom, which includes a hefty volume of fast breaks.
Guards that can rebound give a huge advantage to starting a fast break quicker, and Bradley did exactly that in the first clip. After he grabbed the rebound he pushed the floor, then utilized a tight crossover and an effective spin move to open himself up for an easier finish on the other end of the floor.
In the second clip, Bradley had already begun his fast break when he received the pass after half court. Instead of driving in and taking a contested layup, he dished to his trailing teammate which allowed an uncontested dunk.
These high-IQ plays are the type that avoid mental mistakes and can ultimately be game-winning plays.
Finally, we'll take a look at a few defensive plays that are of the utmost importance for Alabama guards.
One of the biggest downfalls of Alabama's basketball team in 2020-21 was the lack of defensive intensity from game to game. Oats preaches maximum effort, especially on the defensive end, and guards that can defend are some of the biggest keys to success.
The first clip here shows Bradley's quick hands and defensive instincts that make him so dangerous. When his opponent tripped up for just a slight second, Bradley saw the opportunity and swiped his hand quickly into his opponent's dribble, without fouling, to knock the ball away leading to the runout layup.
Active hands that don't foul are the kryptonite to any point guard, and Bradley has some of the best hands in the entire incoming freshman class.
The second clip is all about the aforementioned maximum effort that Oats tries to instill in his teams. Sometimes defense is as simple as being stuck on an island in isolation, and all you can do is move your feet to stay in front of your man. Bradley does exactly that in this example, forcing an off balance, ill-advised shot from his opponent.
Bradley's passing and defensive prowess lead to him making plays that affect winning much more than his own stat line, which is the dream of any coach. His old school style is sure to appeal to many who can appreciate more than just the numbers in the box score.
But don't be mistaken, Bradley can make a few highlight-reel-worthy plays too.
Previous breakdowns of Alabama Basketball newcomers:
