Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008 | 3:11 p.m.
A few days after earning ESPN’s RISE national prep player of the week honors, Avery Bradley helped Findlay College Prep blast Centennial, 96-35, on Saturday afternoon.
Bradley, a 6-foot-3 guard bound for Texas, scored 16 points in the rout and was one of six Pilots who scored in double figures.
When Bradley learned he won the prestigious ESPN honor, he phoned his mother in Tacoma, Wash. Then Longhorns coach Rick Barnes sent him a congratulatory text message.
“Then I talked with coach Barnes, and he was very proud of me,” Bradley said. “I felt pretty honored.”
Findlay improved to 5-0 with the victory over Centennial in the gym at the Henderson International School, the private school with which the third-year Pilots are affiliated.
They are ranked fourth in the nation in the most recent USA Today Super 25 poll, and ESPN has Findlay rated fifth.
“That’s exposure we all want,” Bradley said. “I feel like we’re playing really well. We’re playing as a team. We’re not just a bunch of guys playing on an All-Star team. We’re all comfortable and confident playing with each other.”
Victor Rudd, the 6-7 senior wing from Los Angeles, led the Pilots with 18 points and said he will choose between Arizona, Marquette and Washington where he will play next season.
He said he is in no rush and that none of the three has even a slight edge on the other two.
UNLV-bound power forward Carlos Lopez, Illinois-bound guard D.J. Richardson, junior forward Godwin Okonji and guard Willie Hankins each added 10 for Findlay.
The Pilots play Montverde Academy next Saturday night in Marshal County, Ken., and they return to Las Vegas to play at Desert Pines on Dec. 11 at 7 p.m.
Findlay coach Mike Peck said Montverde boasts of a starting lineup that is 7-feet, 6-11, 6-9 and 6-9. Lopez (6-11) and Okonji (6-9) are the tallest Pilots.
“We don’t have to count on any one player,” Bradley said. “We’re passing it to get the best shot. We work hard enough in practice to prove we belong in those rankings.”
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