Ramel Bradley's legacy as a Kentucky Wildcat may not be that of glory, considering what the U.K. teams that he's been a part of have accomplished. After all, Ramel was a member of what many believed might be Kentucky's best recruiting class ever. A group that included McDonald's All-Americans Randolph Morris, Rajon Rondo, Joe Crawford; a recruiting class that was rated as the best in the country. Those three players, along with Ramel, were supposed to be the building blocks for several national championships in U.K.'s near future.
Unfortunately, things didn't exactly go as planned. Kentucky did manage to make it to the Elite Eight that year, held together by the leadership of Chuck Hayes. Shortly thereafter, the program began to crumble. There were so many things that happened, I will opt to just list them.
- Something that needs to be recognized about Tubby Smith's best recruiting class are the two classes that surrounded the 2004 class. 2003 Class: Bobby Perry, Sheray Thomas, Woo, and Shagari. 2005 Class: Jared Carter and Rekalin Sims. With the exception of Sims, there really isn't even a role player in this group.
- Joe Crawford tries to leave during the 2004-2005 season.
- Kelenna Azubuike leaves after the 2004-2005 season.
- Randolph Morris tries to leave after the 2004-2005 season.
- Randolph Morris misses half of the 2005-2006 season.
- Rajon Rondo leaves after 2005-2006 season.
- Rekalin Sims leaves after the 2005-2006 season.
- Adam Williams leaves after the 2005-2006 season.
- Shagari Alleyne leaves after the 2005-2006 season.
- Do you notice a trend here.
- Tubby Smith leaves after the 2006-2007 season.
- The horrific start to the Billy Gillispie era.
Weathering all of these unfortunate events, you have Ramel Bradley. 'Smooth' has been through it all, and sporting that crazy smile along the way. As Kentucky has seemingly (hopefully) turned things around this season, Ramel has grown into a complete team leader. Everybody knows that Smooth has always had the emotion of leader, but now his play is backing it up.
Ramel Bradley may not be recognized in the annals of U.K. history with the same regard as the Unforgettable's, but his contribution and dedication to the program should be remembered.
In recognition of his play in last weeks' wins over Tennessee and South Carolina, Ramel was named as the S.E.C. Player of the Week.
2 comments:
My favorite run in with Ramel "Smooth" Bradley is when I was selling shoes in the mall in the fall of 2006. This is when I realized that SMOOTH is the best possible name for him. He had already won my liking with his superb ball sharing abillites, shot selection, and his likeable attitude. So Im sure you can already tell, I was psyched when he approached me and demanded me get him some shoes from the back. When I got to the stock room I was approached by my eager co-workers wanting to know what he wanted... I was starting to think that it was some type of privilege getting him shoes.... maybe I should be paying him for letting me get his shoes.
I took his shoes to the cash register and proceeded to ring him up. This is when his Smoothness was provin to mwah. I told him his total was $105.99 and began frantically patting his pockets, then turned to the girl he was with and said "AWW man! I forgot my wallet... could you get this fo me?" thats when he turned at me and winked! she complained and rolled her eyes but abided, putting the shoes on her credit card
I understand this kinda thing happens... people forget their wallet sometimes... but i kid you not when i say - he came in the store the very next week and did the very same thing, just with a different girl. The only differece is that when he was approaching the counter he saw that I was the same person that rang him out the week before and put his fingure up to his lips, montioning me not to say anything, and then he once again winked at me.
Waht a guy!
You forgot, along with those impact players of Jared Carter and Rekalin Sims, another OTS signee: Adam Williams.
Post a Comment