The Gold Coast Blaze are sitting in 2nd spot on the NBL ladder, on the back of a 5 game winning streak, and now sign ex-Brisbane Bullet Craig Bradshaw to replace Pero Cameron. If this was fantasy basketball that deal would certainly be vetoed by the commish as being unfair.
If you didn't already have the Blaze as title contenders, adding Kiwi big-man Bradshaw to their squad definitely makes them legit. He may take a little time to get back to NBL speed but this is a huge addition for the Gold Coast and he will add further depth to their frontcourt of Maxey, Vukona and Petrie.
PS. Yes, you can now rename the Blaze the Gold Coast Tall Blacks ...
MEDIA RELEASE
16 December 2009
BRADSHAW CLEARED TO PLAY TONIGHT
New Gold Coast signing Craig Bradshaw has received the all-clear to join the Blaze for their road game against the Adelaide 36ers this evening after his international clearance papers came through overnight.
Bradshaw and the Blaze had been sweating on the arrival of his transfer documents from the Korean Basketball Association and faced the prospect of missing his team’s big clash with Adelaide if they didn’t arrive in time. The papers were faxed through late on Tuesday night however freeing Bradshaw to join his new teammates on the floor in Adelaide.
The 210cm New Zealand Olympian should provide a significant boost to the Blaze, who will be looking to score their second win over the Sixers in seven days after notching an 80-72 victory over Adelaide at the Gold Coast Convention Centre last Wednesday.
The former Winthrop University (NCAA) standout was signed by the Blaze as a mid-season replacement for the injured Pero Cameron, who was ironically a teammate of Bradshaw’s on the New Zealand Tall Blacks national team at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
Bradshaw is no stranger to the NBL, having played the 2006/07 season with the Brisbane Bullets, appearing in 30 games and averaging 13.5 points and 5.7 rebounds.
In another ironic twist, Bradshaw made his NBL career debut for the Bullets on 19 September 2007 against the Blaze, scoring 13 points and grabbing four rebounds.
The athletic forward/centre holds an NBL career-high of 30 points, scored for the Bullets against the Sydney Kings on 17 October 2007. He also had 10-rebound games on four occasions whilst playing for Brisbane and came third in voting for the 2007 NBL Rookie of the Year behind current NBA player Nathan Jawai of Cairns and Australian international Alex Loughton of Perth.
Bradshaw has been honing his game overseas since leaving the Bullets after the 2006/07 season, and played for Efes Pilsen S.K. in Turkey before shifting to the Korean Basketball League where he joined the LG Sakers.
The Blaze’s game against Adelaide tips-off at 7:30pm local time at the Brett Maher Court at The Dome, and will be shown live on FOX SPORTS 3 from 8:00PM AEDT. Live stats for the game can be followed by clicking on the link below.
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