Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008 | 12:29 p.m.
Findlay College Prep basketball coach Mike Peck added an outstanding talent recently in Avery Bradley, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard who transferred from Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma, Wash.
The blue-chip prospect is a top-10 national figure for the Class of 2009, according to major scouting services. He is leaning toward Texas, where he will visit next weekend, over UCLA.
“One thing I’m so excited about is, everyone we talk to speaks about how good he is defensively,” Peck said. “He can just really hawk people, make life miserable for them. He’s such a luxury. Offensively, he can get to the rim at will.”
Bradley averaged 22.3 points at the Nike Global Challenge in Oregon this summer. He was named MVP of that tournament. He also averaged 23.8 points for a Nike USA select team that went 4-0 at a tournament in Brazil.
Peck had been after a center in Los Angeles to complete his 10-player roster, but that fizzled. He learned of Bradley’s intentions less than two weeks ago.
Bradley landed in Las Vegas at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
“We were very surprised and pleased,” Peck said. “He’s a good kid. Conducts himself well. Looks you in the eye and pays attention. He’s not loud, all hooting and hollering. He has a business approach.
“He gets it.”
Findlay is loaded with talent, from Bradley to forwards Clarence Trent and Victor Rudd, to guard D.J. Richardson and center Carlos Lopez.
That’s just the senior core that Peck will work with. Richardson has committed to Illinois and Lopez to UNLV. Rudd appears to favor Oregon State and Arkansas might have the inside track to Trent.
Junior guards Cory Joseph (Illinois, Kansas, Texas) and Issiah Grayson (Cincinnati, Florida State, Temple) are top-150 national players for the Class of 2010, according to Rivals.com. Joseph is from Pickering, Ontario, Canada, and Grayson hails from Tucker, Geo.
Assistant coach Todd Simon solved potential playing-time issues Wednesday. He showed the Pilots a list of statistics from last season’s 32-1 season. The highest scorer averaged 13.6 points. The most average shots taken by one player was 10.
Then Simon showed the players the stats of the national-champion Kansas Jayhawks. The highest scorer averaged 13.3 points. The most average shots by one player was 10.8.
Between Findlay’s sterling record and Kansas’s national title, the formula for team success is clear.
“I didn’t know that our stats looked so similar to the Jayhawks’,” Peck said. “That’s proof in the pudding. We don’t care. Bottom line, you win and everyone will get more of this and get what they deserve.”
Along with three tournaments in Kentucky and one in Dayton, Ohio, Peck has almost completed his 2008-09 schedule.
On the local front, that will include home games against Centennial (Nov. 29), Desert Pines (Dec. 11), Green Valley (Dec. 13), Lake Mead Christian (Jan. 13), Eldorado (Feb. 5) and Foothill (Feb. 11). The Pilots will play at Spring Valley (Dec. 2) and at Canyon Springs (Jan. 10).
Peck is finalizing a date with Bishop Gorman that will likely be played at Gorman’s spiffy year-old campus.
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