Cal Basketball: How Matt Bradley Managed `The Torture' While Sidelined by his Ankle

Cal coach Mark Fox says he has some idea what it was like for star player Matt Bradley to miss five games with his second ankle injury of the season.

“It’s almost torture when a guy loves to play, not being able to play,” he said. “It’s what really coaching’s like. Playing is much more fun than coaching.”

Bradley, the Bears’ 6-foot-5 junior wing, was back on the floor Saturday playing against USC. He came off the bench to to score 11 points, although he didn’t appear to have mid-season rhythm, shooting 5 for 14 from the field, 1 for 6 on 3-point attempts.

He played 25 minutes and felt it afterward.

“He was really sore after the game, which we anticipated. It’s going to take time for him to get his legs back underneath him. It’s going to take time for him to look and feel like himself,” Fox said.

Other than soreness, Bradley was no worse for wear. The team’s leading scorer at 17.1 points per game, he will presumably be in the starting lineup again Thursday when Cal (7-10, 2-8 Pac-12) visits Arizona State (4-8, 1-5). The game will be aired on FS1 at 8 p.m.

Bradley missed two non-conference games in December after spraining his right ankle. This injury, to his left ankle, was more severe.

Fox said he tried to prepare Bradley for what was ahead in rehab, and thinks that going through the process a few weeks earlier might have given him the right mindset.

“He’s handled it pretty good,” Fox said. “His body’s not going to feel good until probably July. It’s just not.

“The strength in the joint is back. Is the endurance back in that joint? Probably got a ways to go there. Is he going to have to manage this thing the rest of the year? No question.”

Fox counseled Bradley to be patient with himself and dedicated to his rehab. He tried to prepare him for the fact that all the underwater, low-impact exercising he did while sidelined could not replace what players experience during a game.

“The loss of conditioning that’s required to deal with contact and still run up and down, that’s a real challenge for guys who are hurt,” Fox said.

Even while out, Bradley made contributions to the team from the sidelines, his coach says.

“I thought Matt was very supportive of his teammates while he was out. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t extremely frustrating that he couldn’t play. It’s really hard when the game is taken away from you,” Fox said. “

“We’re still developing leadership within this program, but when he was forced to be on the side I thought he was a positive voice.”

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo