Bradley gives USF a taste of old school

The Bulls' all-time leading scorer picks up where he left off, scoring a game-high 21 en route to a victory in an alumni basketball game.

By ROGER MILLS

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 26, 2000

TAMPA -- A touch of old-school scoring and a dash of youthful ball-handling will go down as the memorable ingredients of the first South Florida men's basketball alumni game.

Bulls all-time leading scorer Charlie Bradley scored a game-high 21 and Orlando Magic point guard Chucky Atkins added 18 points and 13 assists to lead the Black Team to a thrilling 102-99 victory over the White Team at the Corral on Sunday.

Jerome Robinson added 20 points and Jesse Salters 15 points and 12 rebounds for the winning team.

The White Team got 17 points from Derrick Sharp and 15 from Fred Lewis and Radenko Dobras. Center Gary Alexander added 10 points, many coming on ferocious dunks, and had 12 rebounds.

"It was a great feeling to get out there and get with these guys," Bradley said. "I think I was feeling it for a while until the piano got on my back."

To the excitement of a packed gym, Bradley showed he still can fill it up from outside and occasionally take the ball to the basket with authority. The Tampa native and only Bull to have his jersey number retired made two three-pointers and had two dunks, which likely will be talked about for some time.

"That surprised even me," he said. "It must have been the Flex-all."

Atkins, at 5-11 the smallest player on the court, clearly needed no muscle ointment. The only Bulls alumnus in the NBA weaved through a myriad of defenders throughout the game and came up with a few crucial contributions late. At one point midway through the second half, Atkins scored nine straight points for his team to cut a 10-point lead to 78-75.

"Hey, we were never under any pressure," Atkins said. "We had it all the way."

Well, that's not entirely true. Two three-pointers from Sharp, four points from Dobras and layup by Lewis tied the score at 93 with a little more than a minute to play. But Atkins twice found Robinson open and the forward buried back-to-back threes to give the Black Team a lead it would not surrender.

After a missed free throw by Bradley, White trailed 102-99 with 11 seconds left. The ball was inbounded to Dobras, who dribbled upcourt and shot with three defenders draped on him. He missed.

"That was such a foul," Dobras said. "I was definitely fouled."

Added Alexander: "You guys saw it. He was fouled."

Proceeds from the game went to the program's post-eligibility scholarship fund.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

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