ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop sophomore center Craig Bradshaw is living out an experience that thousands of young men around the world can only dream about after being selected to play for the New Zealand National Team in the 2004 Summer Olympics next month in Athens.
Bradshaw, a gangly 6-10, 225-pound forward who calls Lower Hutt, New Zealand (located near the capital city of Wellington) his home, became an instant celebrity and the toast of his country last week following the Olympic trials in New Zealand. Bradshaw impressed members of the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) in a series of tryouts and was added to the National Team for a three-game series against rival Australia.
Known as the Burger King Tall Blacks, the New Zealand team was announced on July 17 and Bradshaw’s world has not been the same since. This past Monday, Bradshaw and his eleven new teammates, which include seven players who were members of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Team and the 2002 World Championship semi-finalist squad, packed their bags for a month-long journey that will include a week-long training camp in Florida and a brief tour of Europe before arriving in Athens.
Bradshaw will get his first taste of Olympic game experience on Sunday, August 15, when New Zealand faces Italy. The Tall Blacks will also meet China on Aug. 17; Serbia/Montenegro on Aug. 19, and Spain on Aug. 21.
This Olympic experience is sure to help Bradshaw’s development when he returns to Winthrop in late August to begin his sophomore year and prepare for a challenging 2004-05 season for the Eagles. Winthrop head coach Gregg Marshall is excited about the opportunity his player has earned.
“This is a tremendous honor for Craig and is wonderful for Winthrop University and its basketball program,” says Marshall. “I know I’ve never coached an Olympian before and I look forward to having that opportunity. From all that I have heard from the people in New Zealand, they are just ecstatic about Craig’s development and how far he has come in a year.”
“It’s obvious that he has size, athleticism and talent,” says Marshall, “But the thing that I’ve been most pleased about, which is showing now, is how hard a worker he is. Craig works tremendously hard and has improved by leaps and bounds. It is very fitting that he has received this honor and opportunity because he’s such a nice young person who is a pleasure to coach.”
The Tall Blacks will be joined over the next week at the University of North Florida by the USA and Puerto Rico National Teams. At UNF, his team will face Puerto Rico twice (July 25 and 27) in exhibitions before facing the star-studded USA team on July 30. That game will most likely pit Bradshaw against NBA superstar Tim Duncan. Following the camp in Jacksonville, the Tall Blacks will head off to Europe for two games against Turkey (August 3 and 4) and two more games against Bulgaria (August 7 and 9) before reaching Athens.
