Commitment Analysis: Matt Bradley
The second 2018 commit of the Wyking Jones era at Cal was Matt Bradley, a 4-star shooting guard out of San Bernardino, CA who will be playing at Wasatch Academy in Wasatch, UT next season.
Listed at 6’4”, 200 pounds, Bradley is a big, physical guard who plays a very aggressive style. He has a tremendous motor, expending a ton of effort on both ends of the floor. Due to his strength, quickness, and overall athleticism, Bradley does a great job at attacking the glass, battling for loose balls and rebounds. He is an active defender and is physical without fouling. He possesses a great second jump when going up for rebounds, something that helps him when he’s going up against bigger players.
In addition to having great physical tools to work with, Bradley is becoming a much more polished player, something he mentioned he has been working on. He handles the ball well and has good form on his shot, able to knock down the open three when needed. He is starting to become much more of a player who can run the point guard position, something that he was lacking before.
What Bradley really loves to do is drive to the basket and draw contact en route to And-1 opportunities. He identifies as a “power guard”, which is a guard who likes to score inside and bully people around due to his strength. When you watch him play, you instantly see why he identifies as a “power guard”, just because of how physical he is and how much he wears down his opponents.
As an extension of this, Bradley is developing a wide array of moves that he can use to score inside: Spin moves, jump stops, pump fakes, etc. He is a very tricky player to defend because in addition to being physical, he can get to the hole in a variety of ways. While he has the mentality of a north-south running back, he has the shiftiness to get around defenders and not rely on his strength alone.
The areas that Bradley needs to work on the most are his ball handling and overall point guard skills. While he has made great strides in these areas, there's still plenty of room for improvement. Much like his fellow 2018 commit Jacobi Gordon, Bradley needs to improve his off hand and not rely so much on scoring with his left hand. If he can learn to go right with more regularity and finish with his right hand, he’ll be much more versatile when he gets around the rim.
National Rivals Analysts Eric Bossi and Corey Evans weighed in on what they like about Bradley and what they expect him to bring to the Cal program:
“I’m not sure what changed between not offering Bradley coming out of the April live period and offering him after Memorial Day weekend but at this point it’s immaterial. After getting a recent look at Bradley, he is one of my favorite players in the class of 2018 to watch. I said in a recent article it was like watching Ronnie Lott in hightops because of his physicality and nasty disposition. He puts the ball on the floor well, is an athletic finisher and the southpaw has developed into a good pull-up jump shooter. I would love having this guy on my team.” –Bossi
“While ranked top-100 nationally in his class, Bradley failed to register a high major offer until mid-May. Then came an offer from California and the next day, the Bears locked him down, an elite competitor and hard-nosed wing that can play a multitude of roles set out for him. He can pass, rebound and defend, and should immediately leave a mark on Wyking Jones’ program.”-Evans
If there is any player who Matt Bradley reminds me of, it’s a young Deron Williams. He plays a physical brand of basketball and could be able to develop into a quality option at point guard in addition to shooting guard. His toughness, versatility, and ability to be effective on both ends of the floor make him a wonderful addition to the Cal program.