Jaden Bradley looked a bit different than he did a season ago. Not so much in appearance, but in play.
He was less get downhill in pursuit of the basket and more stop and pop. It’s a good thing for the University of Arizona as it searches for more help on the perimeter.
On Monday, he showed it, scoring 16 points in the win, hitting his first shot – a 12-footer – as UA cruised in its last exhibition game before next week’s season opener. All came in the first half.
Monday night’s 113-64 win over Point Loma was a sign Bradley has altered his game for the better. And not that he didn’t have a good shot last year after transferring from Alabama, but he was a more get-to-the-basket type than a shooter …. although he did get to the basket a time or two.
He’ll stay aggressive – maybe now even more from the perimeter.
“They’ve been saying that since I got here,” Bradley said, referring to the coaching staff telling him to be more aggressive. “Just having that confidence and being the first one to shoot off the first possession, that’s something we’ve been working on, so just having that confidence and stepping into that shot.”
So, less downhill? Not necessarily.
“It’s trying to find that even match and not selling (it) as much,” he said. “You make a couple (of shots) and it’s hard to get downhill.”
It may change the way he plays – or at least handles his role this year – given he’s now a starter and not someone coming off the bench. He’s more point guard, or you’d at least think that.
“(Now) it’s taking what the defense gives me,” he said. “As a point guard, I love giving my teammates the ball and seeing them go. But if the defense is forcing me to shoot then that’s what I’m going to do.”
Tommy Lloyd said “Jaden’s gotten so much better” compared to last year and beyond. It’s about confidence and about “having an identity.”
“He had that identity before but now he’s packaged it with fundamentals,” Lloyd said. “What are fundamentals? Repeatable habits. He’s got that and a great foundation from which he’s playing from. He’s an effective player.”
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