Tony Bradley: Big Pickup for Tar Heels

Signing a four-star recruit is not usually cause for celebration in Chapel Hill, but Roy Williams and the UNC fan base certainly rejoiced when 6’10” power forward Tony Bradley committed on Wednesday night.

photo by Kelly Kline

After signing Justin Jackson, Theo Pinson, and Joel Berry in the 2014 class, UNC recruiting took a quick downward turn. The Tar Heels went after seven of the top 10 players in the class of 2015 and struck out with all of them while only getting a total of two official visits from Brandon Ingram and Jaylen Brown.

Things were not looking good for the 2016 class either. With over 20 scholarship offers out, there was a legitimate question regarding UNC’s ability to sign just one. Then came the Bradley announcement which lifted the mood of an entire fan base beaten down by the academic scandal, NCAA talk, and a six-year Final four drought. 

Right now, Tony Bradley is ranked No. 31 in his class, but that is in large part due to the emphasis that high school rankings place on athleticism and NBA potential. The big man from Barstow (FL) won’t wow anyone with his speed or leaping ability, but he did put together one of the more efficient performances over the course of the summer as any player in the country. During Peach Jam play Bradley averaged 14.2 points and 8 rebounds on 71.1% shooting from the field and during the Nike Global Challenge he dazzled onlookers with 19 points and 11.5 rebounds per game on a scintillating 78.6% from the field.

The North Carolina recruitment of Bradley began with the first July live period in 2014. Assistant coach Steve Robinson informed Tony Bradley Sr. that the UNC coaching staff was looking forward to watching Bradley’s summer performance and he didn’t disappoint. Bradley turned in one of the better performances at the Adidas Unrivaled camp in Chicago (IL) under the watchful eye of Roy Williams and earned an invitation to the Adidas underclassmen all-star game.

UNC’s recruiting picked up for Bradley as soon as his junior year started and Roy Williams offered a scholarship in early December. He then took his first and only official visit in early March when the Tar Heels lost to Duke in the last game of the regular season. After enjoying his visit to Chapel Hill, UNC was the presumed leader but with the NCAA academic situation unresolved an early commitment was not expected.

This past spring Bradley put a focus on improving his conditioning. As a result, his upper body slimmed out and his ability to run the floor improved. Over the next year Bradley will need to continue his focus on conditioning given the up-tempo style of play under Williams.

Ample playing time awaits Bradley in Chapel Hill. After this season Brice Johnson and Joel James will graduate leaving Kennedy Meeks, Isaiah Hicks, and Luke Maye as the lone big men. Bradley and his 7’4” wing span should be able to adapt to the college game fairly quickly. He is a good rebounder in space and has a very solid low post game. He prefers a short right-handed hook as his go-to move, but also has a nice touch on a short jumper from 5-12 feet. 

Given the recruiting drought in Chapel Hill, the Tony Bradley commitment could not have come at a better time for the Tar Heels. Will this clear the black cloud hanging over the program? No, but it at least offers a ray of sunshine to a program going through a tumultuous time.  

Frank Jackson Off To Duke

Coach K is on a heater like none other. With the commitment of 6’3” point guard Frank Jackson on Tuesday, the Duke Blue Devils continued their unprecedented hot streak. Over the past five months Duke won the 2015 NCAA title, convinced five-star point guard Derryck Thornton to re-class into 2015, nabbed North Carolina product and projected top five pick Brandon Ingram, and then got their 2016 recruiting class off to a bang with Jayson Tatum, a top three recruit. Now, in Jackson, they have another five-star recruit in what could be a class for the ages. 

Previously, Frank Jackson was a BYU commitment. As a sophomore he transferred to Lone Peak, a Utah high school powerhouse and along with TJ Haws, helped the Knights win their fourth straight state title. His reputation sky rocketed while playing against national competition during the summer of 2014 and he entered his junior season as a top 30 player in his class. With several high major programs showing interest, Jackson re-opened his commitment prior to the start of his junior season. While he was not able to lead Lone Peak to another state title, he did turn into a five-star recruit that had his choice of suitors.

Playing for the Utah Prospects in AAU play, Jackson put his name into the discussion for top overall lead guard in the 2016 class. With a strong upper body and quick first step, Jackson used his power and athletic ability to get by some of the top players in the country time and time again. When he gets to the rim, Jackson excels as a two-footed leaper and uses superb body control to finish. While a little trigger happy at times, Jackson has the ability to score from all areas of the court and will enter his senior season as the No. 17 rated prospect in the country per Scout.com.

 After participating in the NBPA Top 100 camp in Charlottesville, VA in late June, Jackson took an unofficial visit to Durham, NC and subsequently cancelled a potential visit to Maryland. Later in the summer, Jackson cancelled a visit to Arizona and scheduled an official visit to Duke which took place this past weekend. It wasn’t too hard to see that Jackson had his sights set on the Blue Devils and will be another member of the Mormon faith to suit-up for Coach K after previous players in Chris Burgess and Jabari Parker.

With the commitment, Duke takes aim at their fourth straight top five class and third straight top two class. Earlier in the summer, 6’8” Jayson Tatum, the No. 3 recruit in the country committed to Duke during the famed Nike Peach Jam. Expect more five-star recruits to follow. Harry Giles, the No. 1 recruit in the country has Duke at the top of his list and also happens to be best buds with Tatum from their USA gold medal experiences over the past three years. Duke is also in the thick of things for five-star center Marques Bolden (No. 12 overall) and 6’9” Wenyen Gabriel (No. 10 overall), who was the hottest player this summer. 

Right now Duke is selecting the recruits they want and should wind up with a vaunted 2016 recruiting class. Cue the undefeated talk for the 2016-17 season. Can Coach K stay hot for that long?