Nov. 29, 2007

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Whenever she steps onto the court, USC Upstate junior Courtney Bradley looks to be the quintessential point guard by bringing a mix of speed, defense and leadership. Since the start of the 2005-06 season, Bradley has played in all 59 games, starting 52 of them, and currently leads the team with 4.3 assists per game. In the final six games of last season, she averaged 17.8 points per game including a career-high 32 points against Lander on February 21.

Recently, Bradley sat down with Adam Walker of upstatespartans.com to discuss the current state of the team, road trips and fellow junior Ebony Johnson.

US.com: What are your thoughts about the team's play so far this season?
Courtney Bradley: We've done pretty well up to this point. Some people thought we wouldn't do as good as we have so far and I think we've changed some people's minds with our play so far.

US.com: What has it been like playing at schools with big arenas such as Kentucky and Wake Forest?
CB: It's a great experience. There are a lot of people there and it's bigger than the crowd we have at the Hodge Center. I don't feel intimidated when we play at the big schools.

US.com: Ebony Johnson and yourself are the only upperclassmen on the team with two seasons of experience at Upstate? How much do both of you try to be leaders on the team?
CB: We've tried very hard to set examples for the younger players to follow since we are upperclassmen. I try to lead by example since the ball is in my hands a lot.

US.com: What is the difference between the level of competition between Division II and Division I?
CB: The teams are a lot more aggressive, the players are bigger and faster and it's such a different type of feel from a Division II game to a Division I game.

US.com: You had a career-high 32 points last season against Lander. Did you feel like you were "in the zone" like some athlete say when they have games like that?
CB: I was definitely "in the zone". I was just doing what I had to do to get the job done that night for us to get a win even though we didn't. That was one of the best games I've ever played since I started playing basketball.

US.com: What do you do in your free time when you are not playing basketball, in class or studying?
CB: I just chill with some of my friends because we're always practicing or we're on the road and I don't get to see them as often as I would like.

US.com: Who is your best friend on the team and why?
CB: Ebony because I've known her for a while and we have a lot in common. Plus, she's my roommate as well and we get along very well.

US.com: Do you enjoy the road trips and which trip are you looking forward to the most?
CB: I enjoy them a lot. I'm looking forward to going to Atlanta when we play Georgia Tech (Dec.6). Playing there (in an exhibition) last season was great and I love Atlanta.

US.com: What is it like playing for head coach Tammy George?
CB: It's really fun. She's really cool and laid back. You can go to Coach George and talk to her about any thing and she's a great coach.

US.com: What are your hopes for the team for the rest of the season?
CB: I hope our season turns out to be really successful. Some people thought we wouldn't do too well this year and so far we have a better record than some of the teams picked ahead of us in the (Atlantic Sun Conference) pre-season poll. I hope that we can get up to No. 1 in the conference and show just what we've got.