Posted on Sun, Mar. 30, 2008

NOTEBOOK

CD will reveal the inner Bradley

'EDGY' ALBUM FREES GUARD TO SAY WHAT HE COULDN'T

By Jerry Tipton

HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER

Jerry Tipton

On flights to away games. Idle moments in hotel rooms. Once the homework was finished but the allotted time for team study hall had not been completed.

Ramel Bradley filled that void in Kentucky's just-completed basketball season by writing down thoughts. The fruit of that labor will be his debut hip-hop CD, which is scheduled for release on April 15.

"My perspective on love and my city and how people just struggle," Bradley said last week about the CD. "Things I go through, my emotions, I just release them through songs. So you get my point of view on life.

"I think I have some pretty good things to say," Bradley added with his trademark smile.

Bradley, one of the more outgoing, irrepressible UK players of the last 25 years, never seemed to have much trouble expressing himself. But he said he suppressed some feelings for the sake of the team and program.

"Things you want to say, you can't say it," he said. "Especially in the position I'm in, I have to always be that upstanding man."

Bradley declined to elaborate.

The CD is "edgy," as one of Bradley's collaborators, singer-songwriter Jonathan Webb, said. "Don't be mistaken," Webb said. "It's definitely an explicit album."

So parents beware: the CD has language not necessarily suitable for tender ears.

"If little kids hear this album, I want them to know I'm a real person," Bradley said. "Sometimes I curse. When I go through those emotions, they'll take it for what it's worth."

Generally, hip-hop music is associated with anger, misogyny and violence.

"It's so many different things," Bradley said. "People express themselves differently. For me, I don't consider myself as the average guy. My rap music is not about 'ho's and this and that. ... It doesn't matter where you're at or how you say it. The messages are all the same. Dreams. Hopes. Love. It's basic things everybody has."

Webb, a native of Lexington who sings and plays acoustic guitar on the CD, noted that musical forms share one important facet. "Whether you're a songwriter or someone in hip hop, it's just lyrics and you're telling a story."

Other collaborators included Jay Azubuike, the younger brother of former UK player Kelenna Azubuike, and former UK teammate Bobby Perry.

Bradley and Webb plan to perform near Cynthiana on April 12. They will also be co-headliners of an April 25 show at the Dame.

When asked to compare the satisfaction he gets from basketball and music, Bradley paused to think.

"Music comes naturally to me, but basketball has just been the No. 1 thing," he said. "That's what I've always done. People haven't doubted that I can play basketball.

"So it's much more satisfying to hear people say, 'Are you serious? Is that really you?' "

Then Bradley thought out loud about making a big shot in Rupp Arena and hearing the crowd roar. He decided to pass on choosing basketball or music as the source of the greatest satisfaction.

"Basketball is the main goal, the main focus of my life," he said. "But music is what keeps my life going."

PIT-bound

UK seniors Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley accepted offers to play in the Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational Tournament. The event will be April 9-12.

Other players expected to participate include A.J. Graves of Butler, Patrick Ewing and Jonathan Wallace of Georgetown and Xavier's Drew Lavender, Stanley Burrell and Josh Duncan.

The event is for seniors who are most likely not projected as first-round picks. The last first-round pick to play in Portsmouth was Cincinnati's Jason Maxiell, who was taken by Detroit with the 26th pick of the first round in 2005.

More and more, the NBA Draft's first round is an exercise in speculation. The second-round picks are generally more known commodities. Hence Carl Landry of Purdue was a second-round pick who's contributing for the Houston Rockets. And Patrick O'Bryant, a 7-footer from Bradley, was a lottery pick (ninth player taken) in 2006. He's played in the developmental league for two seasons.

Derby Festival

A prospect who figures to get a close look at the April 19 Derby Festival game later this spring is Ater Majok, a native of Sudan who attends high school in Sydney, Australia.

Majok, "a towering 208 centimeters," according to an Internet report, has narrowed his college choices to Baylor, Connecticut, Kentucky and Kansas. By the way, the 208 centimeters is about 6-foot-8, which isn't all that towering.

But Majok is still growing. Depending on who's talking, Majok is good but not great or the best big man still unsigned and available.

UK signees Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins are scheduled to play in the Derby Festival.

Two other named players, Scotty Hopson of University Heights and U of L signee Samardo Samuels, will not play in the Derby Festival game. They plan to play in a game sponsored by Michael Jordan.

The Derby Festival rosters are expected to be announced this week.

Job search

A name being heard for the South Carolina job: Darrin Horn of Western Kentucky.

As for the LSU job, interim coach Butch Pierre met with university officials last week. Former LSU coach Dale Brown has been promoting one of his assistants, Johnny Jones, for the job.

Tempestuous redhead

First-year Arkansas coach (and former UK player) John Pelphrey had six technical fouls this past season.

"I may need to work on my conduct a little bit, because my son (Jaxson), before every game, as the introductions were going on, would kind of lean into my ear and say, 'Let's get a technical foul tonight.'" Pelphrey said in a news conference to wrap up the season. "... I may be setting a bad example there. Do as I say, not as I do. I may have to revisit my actions. I'm not teaching this kid very much, obviously."

Bilas praises Crawford

On his blog, ESPN and CBS analyst Jay Bilas reviewed the NCAA Tournament action in Anaheim. His thoughts included:

• "Most Courageous Player: Joe Crawford, Kentucky. Crawford scored 35 points against Marquette and laid his heart on the floor. He fought his guts out from the start of the game to the moment he fouled out, and he is a highly respected player. There are others who can match his talent, but few can match his heart and determination."

• "Classiest Move: Dominic James, Marquette. After Crawford fouled out of the first-round contest with Marquette, James followed him to the Kentucky bench and congratulated him on his career and his effort. It was a classy move by one great competitor to another and a show of respect for the game. That is what this tournament is really all about."

• "Best Coaching Job, First Season: Mark Turgeon, Texas A&M. Turgeon brought his team to within a whistle of beating UCLA in the Bruins' backyard, and he did so without a true point guard. Texas A&M finished the season playing very well, and Turgeon did an outstanding job. He is a blend of toughness and positive reinforcement who will win anywhere."

SEC down

For those who considered the SEC down this season (blush), the NCAA Tournament provided vindication. This marked the first year since 2002 that the league did not have a team in the region finals. Only regular-season champion Tennessee reached the Sweet 16, where the Vols got smoked by Louisville.

In 2002, Kentucky was the only SEC team in the Sweet 16. UK (this was Team Turmoil) played eventual national champion Maryland well before losing 78-68 in Syracuse.

Since the SEC expanded and went to divisional play, there had been only one other year in which no league team advanced to a regional final: 2001. That year Kentucky and Ole Miss lost in the Sweet 16 to Southern Cal and Arizona, respectively.

Commemorative bottle

Former UK coach Joe B. Hall, who led the program to its first national championship in 20 years in 1978, will be featured on the 2008 edition of the Maker's Mark/Keeneland Limited Edition UK's "Most Beloved" bottle series. It's the third and final bottle in a series that featured "Rupp's Runts" and "The Unforgettables" in previous years.

The promotion is part of a fund-raiser for UK HealthCare's Markey Cancer Center, the Markey Cancer Foundation, Maker's Mark and Keeneland to raise $3 million for cancer research.

Hall's late wife, Katharine, will also be honored by this year's series. Mrs. Hall was a patient at Markey, but lost her battle with lung cancer in May of 2007. In honor of coach and Mrs. Hall, Maker's Mark will produce 18,000 numbered, limited edition "Joe B." bottles to commemorate the 12th running of the Maker's Mark Mile at Keeneland.

Bottles will go on sale Friday. Fans will have a chance to have their 2008 commemorative bottle signed at Keeneland a week later on April 11.

In an effort to better accommodate fans, a few guidelines and a ticketing system have been put in place for the bottle signing. Security officials will begin distributing tickets on the evening of April 10 to fans in line who are 21 years of age or older. The ticket will allow each holder to have up to two of the 2008 commemorative bottles signed. Tickets will not be numbered and will not dictate a place in line, but will assure the holder that one or two bottles will be signed. Anyone leaving the line after receiving a ticket will have to return to the end of the line. All ticket holders should be in line by 6:30 a.m. on April 11.

A concession stand will be open to serve beverages and snacks throughout the night before the signings. No coolers and no alcohol other than the 2008 commemorative bottle will be allowed inside the gates.

The signings will begin at 6:30 a.m.

U of L-North Carolina

The Louisville-North Carolina game left one UK fan will a difficult choice: Who to root for?

"Kinda like watching Bin Laden and Hitler in a duel," wrote Tracy Arflin in an e-mail. "You hope both go down."

Arflin, a seventh-grade math teacher at Bluegrass Middle School (halfway between Radcliff and Elizabethtown), wrote to ask about Kentucky's lead in all-time victories.

Going into Saturday, UK had 1,966 victories. North Carolina had 1,949.

"I thought we were less than 20 ahead," Arflin wrote. "Our assistant principal thought it was less than 10.

"Either way, it's too close for comfort."

As for NCAA Tournament wins, Kentucky has 98. North Carolina had 95 and counting. So the Tar Heels could tie UK by winning the national championship.

After an exchange of e-mails, Arflin wrote, "I can't stand to think of getting passed by the Tar Heels in total wins."

Like many UK fans, Arflin loved Rick Pitino as Kentucky coach. "I would have thought well of him had he gone ANYWHERE else than where he ended up," Arflin wrote. "I'd have liked him better if he were coaching the University of Afghanistan than UL."

Happy Birthday

To Johnathan Davis. He turns 39 on Sunday.

Davis, a UK reserve in the late 1980s and early 1990s, works as an Associate Minister at Consolidated Baptist Church in Lexington. He and his wife, Ginger, have two children who may become newsmakers in their own right some day.

Son Jackson, 12, played for Bryan Station Middle School's unbeaten team. He's 6-2 as a sixth-grader. "He's projected to be 7-2," Davis said, "and he runs like a deer.

"You'll be writing about him in a couple years."

Daughter Clarck, 10, sings well enough to have performed the national anthem before a Legends' game and middle school events.

When asked how turning 39 struck him, Davis said, "That strikes me as odd. I look in the mirror and say, 'Who is that?' "

He sees a bigger version of himself. Davis said he had gained 50 or 60 pounds since his playing days. "Luckily, not just in the waist," he said.

Jerry Tipton covers UK basketball for the Herald-Leader. This article contains his opinions and observations. He can be reached at jtipton@herald-leader.com.