Even if Jaden Bradley was looking for some sort of revenge the first time he faced his former Alabama team two years ago, he never really had the chance.
In Arizona’s 87-74 win over the Crimson Tide at Phoenix in December 2023, the point guard from upstate New York came off the bench behind Kylan Boswell and didn't last long. He picked up four fouls over 17 minutes, scoring four points with two assists.
Maybe Bradley was trying too hard. Who knows? He's not the sort to go deep into his feelings, always speaking in measured and often upbeat tones.
That’s pretty much how he was on Dec. 6, when he was asked after Arizona’s win over Auburn how it will feel to return to play the Crimson Tide, and in Alabama this time.
This UA-vs-UA game won’t be in Tuscaloosa, but it’s a flip of the semi-neutral game held in Phoenix that tipped off the teams’ two-year series that will conclude at Birmingham's Legacy Arena.
“No feeling. Just another away game for us,” Bradley said. “We’ve got to be great on the road. That's where championships and conference and March Madness, are won at, away from home. So we've got to put our hard hats on and go win this game.”
Arizona Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley (0) eyes the basket driving through the defense of Alabama guard Mark Sears (1) in the first half of their game in the Jerry Colangelo Hall of Fame Series in Phoenix, Dec. 20, 2023.
It will actually be the second high-profile trip Bradley is making to Alabama this year and there’s no telling how he feels about that, either.
Bradley returned to the state last May as one of four former Alabama players to testify in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court during the murder trial of Michael Davis and former Alabama player Darius Miles.
Bradley has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the case, in which Davis was accused of shooting and killing 23-year-old Jamea Harris, and Miles was also facing a capital murder charge for “aiding and abetting” it.
In a 45-minute testimony, according to an ESPN report, Bradley described a conversation that escalated between Davis and Harris’ boyfriend, testifying that he and Miles tried to pull Davis away from the conversation. Bradley testified that he later drove off by himself, and heard gunshots but that he didn’t know where they came from.
The case still remains pending, likely one reason why Bradley wasn’t available to discuss it this week (UA selected wing Anthony Dell'Orso to be interviewed at its weekly news conference). When Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd was asked Thursday if having to testify affected Bradley, he said he would let Bradley speak to it.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd, right, has some words for guard Jaden Bradley during a Wildcat free throw in the second half against Utah on Feb. 26, at McKale Center.
“Jaden and I haven’t had any conversations about that stuff,” Lloyd said. “Obviously, we support Jaden in everything that he’s done … Like I’ve said, I think Jaden Bradley is about 100th percentile when it comes to character and person.”
It isn’t clear whether the issue had anything to do with Bradley’s departure from Alabama, either. After announcing his transfer to Arizona in May 2023, Bradley declined to go into detail.
“We had a lot of things going on and off the court,” Bradley said then. “That was just a lot. That’s all I can say about that, really.”
But, whatever the case, Bradley had basketball reasons to leave Alabama: Bradley had lost his starting role with the Crimson Tide toward the end of his freshman season in 2022-23, and had reason to believe the situation might not improve in 2023-24 if veteran guard Jahvon Quinerly returned.
Once an Arizona commit who backed out after the FBI announced its investigation into college basketball in 2017, Quinerly remained on the Alabama roster until June 2023, a month after Bradley announced a transfer to Arizona — though Quinerly eventually entered the transfer portal and left for Memphis that July.
Arizona’s Anthony Dell'Orso (3) celebrates with Jaden Bradley (0) after a break away dunk against Auburn during a game at McKale Center, Dec. 6.
By then, Bradley was already in Tucson.
“When he left, he anticipated Quinerly staying and he wanted a bigger role,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said of Bradley in December 2023. “He's a really good player. Shoot, some people had him as the No. 1 point guard in the country in his class in high school. So I'm good with Jaden. I think he left on good terms.”
Lloyd said Thursday he didn’t think Bradley was “vindictive” or left Alabama because he felt slighted.
“He made a decision to transfer to Arizona. I think at that point, there was no looking back, and that's how he approaches it,” Lloyd said. “Obviously, he has some ties there. People will probably try to make it a story when I honestly really don't think it's much of a story on either side.”
Dell’Orso, for one, said he didn't think Bradley's move is playing a huge part in his approach this week.
"Obviously, there could be some value that he has personally," Dell'Orso said. "But at the end of the day he's with us, and we want nothing more than to beat them for him and and give back to what he went through and all that kind of stuff."
While Bradley struggled in Arizona's win over Alabama in December 2023, the one thing that is certain is that his impact on the Wildcats has increased dramatically since then.
A backup in 2023-24 playing fewer minutes than Boswell, Caleb Love and Pelle Larsson on the perimeter, Bradley took over the starting point guard spot last season next to Love when Boswell transferred to Illinois. This season, he’s become Wildcats’ second-leading scorer (14.5 points) behind freshman Koa Peat and a 58.8% shooter.
Ranked the 25th most efficient player in college basketball in EvanMiya.com’s database, Bradley has also become the Wildcats’ leader and something of the go-to player that Love was last season, as evidenced by clutch plays he made toward the end of Arizona’s wins against UCLA and UConn.
“He's obviously gotten more polished, and that just comes with time,” Lloyd said. “I’m not going to give ourselves any credit above and beyond. JB gets all the credit. He's hung with it, he’s developed a lot of certainty in his game, where he can go out there and he can play and execute with confidence.
“He's obviously a really good player, and he's put in a lot of work to become that player.”
