Basketball New Zealand

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NZ Tall Black Craig Bradshaw (Photosport)

AAP

A mid-season trip to the US during their championship season has netted Brisbane a signing coup that could go a long way toward helping them defend their Australian National Basketball League title.

Brisbane on Tuesday completed their roster with the signing of highly regarded young Kiwi international centre Craig Bradshaw, currently trying to push his NBA draft claims in the United States.

Bullets general manager Jeff Van Groningen got under the guard of several NBL clubs keen to sign the 210cm centre when he secretly flew to North Carolina last December to make contact with the young Olympian and 2007 World Championship player.

The New Zealand Breakers were sprouting Bradshaw’s virtues and were confident the youngster would return home this season after finishing his university studies.

But Van Groningen’s gamble to spend a week or so with Bradshaw paid off with the 23-year-old agreeing to a two-year deal.

With veteran centre Mark Bradtke retiring after Brisbane’s NBL triumph earlier this year, Brisbane needed to address their lack of height in the front court.

The first step was signing hulking 212cm Perth centre Justin Brown and they have now bolstered the position with Bradshaw, a more athletic centre who coach Joey Wright believes has all the tools to be a star.

Wellington-born Bradshaw is surprisingly quick for his size, possesses a good shot and is extremely athletic in his position.

With the Bullets retaining eight members of their 10-man, championship-winning roster, they’ll play the same high-paced aggressive style they did last season with Bradshaw and Brown – the Double Bs – giving them the height and muscle they were short on.

“Bradshaw gets up and down the floor as good any centre playing. He’s very athletic, a bit unique,” said Van Groningen.

Possessing the quickness to switch between power forward and centre, Bradshaw averaged 13.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game as Winthrop University in South Carolina closed out their season with 19 straight wins, dropping only five of their 34 games.

They finally bowed out in the second round of the prestigious NCAA Tournament after pulling off a first-round, upset victory over Notre Dame.

It was Bradshaw’s third NCAA tournament appearance in his four-year stint in the US, stamping him as a winner.

Bullets forward and fellow Kiwi international Dillon Boucher played a role in convincing Bradshaw to join Brisbane after he had a highly successful season.

It’s understood the Breakers offered Bradshaw more money but that the opportunity to play in Brisbane’s championship winning program under Wright, without the huge expectations Kiwi fans would put on him, played a key role in his decision.

“I’ve come from a winning program and to now be part of a team like Brisbane, who have also had great success, was just an opportunity that I felt I couldn’t let slip,” Bradshaw said.