Peyton Bradley (Larry Vaught Photo)
Kentucky’s junior class is loaded with big-time players and some may overlook talented guard Peyton Bradley of Meade County but should not.
She might not be a top 40 player nationally like Zakiyah Johnson of Sacred Heart, Leah Macy of Bethlehem or Ciara Byars of George Rogers Clark, but she has a chance to be a 3,000-point scorer despite missing half of last season with a knee injury that has also kept her out of AAU play.
She already had scholarship offers from Murray, Northern Kentucky, Wright State, Purdue-Fort Wayne, Southern Indiana, East Tennessee State, Bellarmine and Eastern Kentucky before her injury and likely would have added numerous other offers this summer.
She has already scored 2,420 points and made 396 3-pointers. Even though she’s a point guard, she has over 600 career rebounds.
Bradley averaged 23.2 points last season and shot 46.9 percent overall from the field and 44 percent from 3.
Recently I had a chance to talk to her as she continues to rehabilitate and look forward to next season.
Question: How hard was it just to sit and watch state tournament games knowing you could be playing possibly if you had not been hurt?
Bradley: “It’s not great. It is just hard. We were feeling pretty good after the Queen of the Commonwealth (at Bullitt East in December) and were on a high and improving and then it was just heartbreaking knowing what we could have done.”
Question: How did you miss almost half the season and still get named Third Region Player of the Year?
Bradley: “That’s a great question. I was surprised but I felt like I earned it in the 19 games I did play. I was still shocked but felt blessed to win it again.”
Question: Have you done anything basketball-wise recently?
Bradley: “I have watched a lot more basketball and without practice I am not dribbling as much. During practice I would dribble on the sideline. I can’t shoot yet. I have been shooting in my seat to myself.”
Question: What is the long-term prognosis?
Bradley: “I will miss all the summer basketball but I should be back for the end of fall. If I am back for that, I will definitely be back for the (basketball) season. That is my goal to be back for the start of the season. He (doctor) said realistically it would be nine months and that would be a couple of weeks before the season. He said he did the easy part with the surgery and now it was up to me.”
Question: How much do you play golf (she won the 5th Region title in September)?
Bradley: “I don’t play a lot. When golf practice would start, I would do golf practice. If it was nice before then, I go out and play because I live on a nine-hole course. I would go out occasionally with dad for a couple of holes a night. I only go to the (driving) range or putting green to do that for some practice with myself.”
Question: So is golf a pressure-free sport for you?
Bradley: “I still put pressure on myself. I am very goal-oriented and obviously winning the region last year, I am looking to do that again even though I can’t practice all summer. I am realistic but I still have high standards, so even if I am not playing well, I will get mad at myself. I have controlled the anger a lot better. I used to break clubs. Now I am more steady. After I broke one and had to pay for it, never again.”
Question: What impact will your injury have on recruiting?
Bradley: “Obviously I will miss the whole summer and I felt like I was going to have a very successful summer. I had high hopes. I had a decent season until my injury. I am still on the Kentucky Premier team. I will go to the Louisville tournaments and hang out with my team but I obviously can’t play. I will be working on myself. I can do drills.I can’t go side to side or do contact but I will be on what I can do all summer.”
Question: Have coaches reached out to you after your injury?
Bradley: “Yes, quite a few coaches have texted me, called me to see how I am mentally and given me tips. Mentally is the hardest more than physically because it is a battle not being able to do anything.”
Question: Will you likely not pick a school until your senior season is over?
Bradley: “I am going to try and pick in the summer. That is my goal. Definitely before the golf season so I can have a stress-free senior season. Less stress for school hopefully.”
Question: Are any schools standing out above others right now?
Bradley: “I want to go somewhere where I can play. That is my No. 1 thing. I don’t want to go and just sit. That’s not my personality. I would struggle with that like I struggled with injury. I am also looking just for the culture and where I fit personality-wise and even playing style. And not too far from home.”
Question: What would it mean to go over 3,000 points in your career even with this injury?
Bradley: “Starting out in seventh grade that was not a goal. I was not even thinking about that. As I’ve gotten older and playing well, it has been kind of a goal. I like to reach high, so I might as well go high.”
Question: Is it hard being part of a class in Kentucky loaded with two top 10 national recruits and several other high caliber players?
Bradley: “I have been with them for so long I know how good they are. I played with Leah (Macy, Z (ZaKiyah Johnson), Ciara (Byars). It is just fun to play with them. Some people have been saying our class is the best in the history of Kentucky. Even Grace Mbugua showing off in the state tournament. Just playing with them and being in that group says something about how hard I have worked because I don’t have the size any of them do. I just put my heart into it.”
Question: Can you still outshoot your Dad?
Bradley: “Yes, he might try to tell you otherwise but I have him still. I have beat every record he has. It kind of bothers him. I like to rub it in a few times when he tries to say he is better.”
Question: Did you play a third sport at one time?
Bradley: “I played tennis in the seventh grade but then COVID hit and we didn’t have a single match. I haven’t played since then but we have a little pickleball net at home and our family plays pickleball together. It is fun and actually very popular now. You still move and make it competitive and that is our family because we are competitive like that.”
