STAFF
DR. RON BRADLEY
TWITTER: @DRRONBRADLEY
ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH | FOURTH SEASON AT DEPAUL Dr. Ron Bradley joined the DePaul staff on April 21, 2010 and serves as the associate head coach in the program. He brings over 30 years of coaching experience to Lincoln Park including 16 seasons as a head coach. Bradley helped head coach Oliver Purnell guide the Blue Demons through the 2010-11 season while mentoring BIG EAST All-Rookie Team honorees Cleveland Melvin and Brandon Young. Melvin was also named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year for the first major BIG EAST award by a DePaul player. The 2011-12 campaign saw continued improvement as the Blue Demons trended upward in victories, points per game and steals per game. DePaul’s 74.1 scoring average was its highest mark since the 1994-95 season while the 7.9 steals per game were the most since the 2002-03 campaign. DePaul put together the longest winning streak in nearly a decade in 2012-13 and increased its steal total to 8.3 per game. Prior to arriving at DePaul, he spent the previous seven seasons as the associate head coach under Purnell at Clemson. His impact on the Clemson program saw the Tigers rank among national defensive leaders on an annual basis and he is credited with helping implement the high-pressure defensive schemes that characterized Purnell-coached teams. In each of the final six seasons, Clemson was ranked among the nation’s leaders in steals per game. The 2004-05 and 2007-08 squads were the only teams to rank in the top 20 in the nation in blocked shots and steals while the 2008-09 team went one step further to finish in the top 10 in both categories. As the program’s recruiting coordinator at Clemson, Bradley led the efforts to land nationally-ranked classes by ESPNU, Rivals.com and Scout.com in 2009. Bradley played a big part in Clemson’s 93 wins over the last four seasons that saw the Tigers make four straight postseason appearances. The 93 victories rank third to Duke and North Carolina in that span among ACC programs while the program recorded three consecutive NCAA visits from 2008-10. In six of his seven seasons at Clemson, the Tigers made three NIT showings and three NCAA Tournament appearances. The 2009-10 squad posted a 21-11 record while going 9-7 in ACC action. The team finished the season ranked eighth nationally with 9.4 steals per game and 10th by holding opponents to just a .294 three-point field goal percentage. Clemson received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament for its third straight appearance in the field of 65. Bradley was named one of the nation’s top 100 assistant coaches by Hoop Scoop following the conclusion of the season. In 2008-09, Clemson compiled a 23-9 record and 9-7 ledger in ACC play. The Tigers advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in as many seasons. Among the 23 victories was a 74-47 win over third-ranked Duke for Clemson’s largest win ever against a ranked opponent. Basketball Scoop named Bradley one of 10 assistant coaches to be named a `rising star’ in the profession. The 2007-08 team won 24 games and also advanced
to the NCAA Tournament, Clemson’s first bid to the “Big Dance” in 10 years. He helped guide the Tigers to the championship game of the ACC Tournament, the school’s first appearance since 1962. In 2006-07, he helped lead the Clemson program to a school record 25-win season. The Tigers tied the 1986-87 team for wins in a single season and also matched that same squad with 17 consecutive wins to start the season. The season concluded with a trip to the finals of the NIT, Clemson’s second appearance in that postseason tournament in school history. In 2005-06, Bradley helped Clemson to a 19-13 ledger and first postseason win (69-53 first round NIT win over Louisiana Tech) since the 1998-99 season. In 2004-05 he helped the Tigers to 16 wins and a berth in the NIT, Clemson’s first postseason bid in six years. The Tigers swept Maryland in three straight games, a first in school history. In his first year, the Tigers recorded wins over top 15 teams from North Carolina and N.C. State. Bradley served as a head coach for 16 years, five at Eastern Nazarene (1976-81) and 11 at Radford (19912002). He compiled a 289-175 record at those institutions, a .623 winning percentage. During his 16 years as a head coach, Bradley’s teams posted winning records 15 times and won 20 or more games six times. In 10 different seasons his teams won at least 18 games. Prior to his season at James Madison, Bradley coached at Radford University in Virginia for 12 seasons, including 11 as the head coach. He succeeded Oliver Purnell as the Radford head coach in 1991-92 and during his 11 years as head coach, Bradley compiled a 193-124 (.609) record. He won four conference titles, and led the Highlanders to their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 1997-98. That season, Radford posted a 20-10 overall record, including a 10-2 mark in conference play, along with the Big South Conference Championship. Bradley was inducted into the Big South Conference Hall of Fame in June 2010 and is the winningest coach in Radford and Big South Conference history. Overy his career, he has been inducted into five hall of fames as a player or coach. As a player, Bradley is a member of the North Quincy High School Hall of Fame, the Eastern Nazarene College Hall of Fame and the New England Basketball Hall of Fame. In addition to his Big South Hall of Fame honor, he is also a member of the Radford University Hall of Fame as a coach. Bradley guided the 1998-99 team that returned only one starter to a 20-8 record and advanced to the Big South Tournament championship game. His team won the Big South regular season title in 1999-00 and 2000-01 with identical 12-2 records. In his one season (1990-91) as an assistant he teamed with Purnell to lead Radford to a 22-7 ledger. A native of Quincy, Mass., Bradley played basketball at Eastern Nazarene under his father, Carroll. He scored 2,649 points and averaged 24.8 points per game during his four-year career. He was a three-time NAIA honorable mention All-America choice. He ranked sixth in the nation in scoring his sophomore year and 15th as a junior. Bradley was selected by the New York Nets in the American Basketball Association (ABA) draft in 1972 as
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