Chapman_is_Gone said:
What a lose lose situation for Bradley and the Cal program.
Matt Bradley is a fool for transferring and giving up a Cal degree. If he thinks he can play in the NBA, he could get to that destination through SDSU or Cal. Life is extremely difficult and competitive, especially if you are black, and you just don't give up on a Cal degree when you are only one year away from obtaining it.
Perhaps his "dream" is to play in the NCAA tournament. If so, then he's made the right choice. But one day, like when he's trying to explain in a job interview why his Cal "almost degree" is worth as much as a real Cal degree, he will realize that was a shortsighted goal.
Edit: There are obviously things that us fans might not know about Bradley's situation, and we don't need to know. For example -- and I have no information here, this is just an example -- it wouldn't be uncommon for a 21-year old to suffer from depression, and in that case being around family is the smart choice (I assume he has family in SD based on someone else's comment). When you see a player make a comment like "Cal saved my life" you have to wonder if a player's personal life is turbulent. Or, I can think of a few other scenarios that might justify leaving. So, I really do try not to judge. But, in a case like that, where leaving is the smart choice, I still would have advised simply taking a year off from school, and then returning to get your Cal degree.
Or, a kid could have different priorities. Something that many Cal fans do not seem to understand is that for many of these kids, a college degree is enough. It does not have to be an elite college degree.
It would be stupid for me to do what Bradley is doing. And, if I were Bradley I absolutely would only transfer to a school that would give him a high reputation degree so I could get the best of both. Honestly, I think that is a bad move.
But I also think that for a kid who is a very good, but not elite talent like Brown or Kidd, it is just not accurate to act like Cal gives them the same chance of having the best basketball career they can have, whether in the NBA or elsewhere. If a kid wants to go to film school, they should not choose Cal over NYU. Bradley is not learning from the best here and he is frankly not learning good basketball habits on a team that is overwhelmingly not of the same caliber as he is. Cal has given him everything it is going to give him in basketball. If he wants to learn more and be a better player in his last year, he has to go elsewhere. There absolutely is a difference in his chosen field. And if you want to say he doesn't have that much of a chance at a career in his chosen field, okay, that is true of most athletes, artists, actors, entrepreneurs (who are not rich to start). And he is not choosing between basketball and homeless. He is giving up some value in the level of his college degree in exchange for increasing his value in his chosen field. And honestly, for basketball, Bradley is going to have a career if that is what he wants. There are plenty of reasonably lucrative opportunities outside the NBA. It isn't like football where it is NFL or bust.
I can easily name two players who made a ton of money because Cal changed football coaches - Boller and Asomugha. Never would have been that successful if Holmoe stayed through their college careers. I would have told any kid when Tedford was coach that if they were NFL quality, Cal would get them there as well as anyone else. You just can't say that because a top 5 pick like Brown could go to the NBA through Cal that a guy like Bradley can.
I would never argue that an athlete with no career aspirations should make any concessions to academic reputation to "have fun". I do not see how arguing that Cal gives Bradley the best chance at maximizing his basketball career passes the red face test.
And, frankly, he was clearly disciplined a few times. I have no idea whether that was warranted or not, but it doesn't make sense to stay in a place if that was going to continue.