Troy Bradford (born May 30, 1966) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who played the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

position. Bradford played college basketball for

Fairfield University Fairfield University is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In 2023, the university had about 5,000 full-time undergraduate students and 1,200 gra ...

where he was named a preseason All-American in 1989 and 1st team Small American for three straight years between 1987 and 1989.

Player career

High school

Bradford is a native of

Hamden, Connecticut Hamden is a New England town, town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant (Connecticut), Sleeping Giant". The town is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region, Connecti ...

and attended Wilbur Cross High School in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

. During his senior season in 1985, Bradford led the Wilbur Cross Governors to the 1985 CT LL boys basketball state championship and #2 national ranking while earning McDonald's All American nominee and Connecticut Player of The Year recognition.

College

Bradford played college basketball for

Fairfield, Connecticut Fairfield is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Connecticut, Trumbull, Easton, Connecticut, Easton, Weston, Connecticut, W ...

from 1985 to 1989 where he left as the school's 4th all-time leading scorer with over 1,600 points. He holds several school records including the single-season record for points scored (646, 1988), single-season scoring average (22.7, 1988) and free throws made in a single game (21, 1988). In 1987, Bradford was the sixth leading scorer in the nation (26.7) and 2nd in the nation in percentage points of the team's total (33%). In 1988, Bradford was named 1st Team All- MAAC and All-MET. Bradford was named a preseason All-American in 1989 and 1st team Small American for three straight years between 1987 and 1989. In 1989, Bradford competed in the first annual Slam Dunk contest at the Final Four in Seattle, Washington where he placed 5th among the nation's best dunkers. In 2001, Bradford was inducted into the Fairfield University Athletic Hall of Fame. Bradford is the last Stag to average more than twenty points per game in a single season in 1988 and 1989.

Professional

From 1992 to 1998, Bradford played professional basketball in

Cartagena, Spain Cartagena () is a Spanish city belonging to the Region of Murcia. As of January 2018, it has a population of 218,943 inhabitants. The city lies in a natural harbor of the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. Cartage ...

and Brunico, Italy. During the summers of 1991 to 1993, he played in the

USBL The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...

for the Connecticut Skyhawks and the Tampa Bay Sunblasters. From 1993 to 1995, Bradford played in the

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season basketball competition organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA). NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regula ...

and was among the league leaders in points per game (21.7) and assists (6). From 1997 to 1999 Troy played in the

ABA ABA may refer to: Aviation * AB Aerotransport, former Scandinavian airline * IATA airport code for Abakan International Airport in Republic of Khakassia, Russia Businesses and organizations Broadcasting * Alabama Broadcasters Association, Uni ...

for the Lehigh Valley Colonials and served as the player head coach. He was 2nd in the league in scoring (24.5ppg) and assists (6apg).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradford, Troy Living people American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players Fairfield Stags men's basketball players Sportspeople from Hamden, Connecticut Basketball players from New Haven County, Connecticut Point guards Basketball coaches from Connecticut 1966 births Wilbur Cross High School alumni 20th-century American sportsmen