Burgess leaves illustrious career at VCU behind

Jim Swing
Sports Editor
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PORTLAND, Ore. – Deep inside the Rose Garden, through the halls and into the corner of a dark silent locker room sat Bradford Burgess.

Slumped over, he stared at the floor, with his VCU jersey sitting inside-out on the ground next to him. After all the games he had won, the accolades he had earned donning that jersey, he had worn it for the final time.

VCU’s lone senior, the guy who always took the initiative to answer team questions at press conferences, struggled to find words after the Rams had been bounced from the NCAA Tournament’s third round by a gritty Indiana team.

There were the opportunities. The pair of missed free throws with a minute left that would’ve pushed VCU’s lead to five and most likely yielded a different outcome. He always wanted to be that guy with the game on the line.

“In those types of situations, I want to be the guy in that position,” Burgess said. “I just missed the shots.”

Losses like these aren’t easy to just stash in the rear-view mirror. Players dwell on it, especially when it means the end to a college career. Exactly how long it takes for Burgess to get over it is up to him.

“As long as I want it to,” he said.

But a couple missed free throws and a blown lead couldn’t overshadow the illustrious career at VCU Burgess leaves behind.

There’s the “Iron Man” record: 146 consecutive starts, a college basketball record. His 1,684 career-points sits sixth on VCU’s all-time scoring list. He became just the third player in the school’s history to score 1,600 points and pull down 700 rebounds. Then there’s always the unforgettable inbounds play that buried Florida State in the Sweet Sixteen a year ago, arguably the biggest and most memorable three seconds of his career.

“He’s a great player, and he’s done a lot of great things for this program,” teammate Darius Theus said. “He’s one of the greatest players to ever play at VCU in my opinion.”

He was always the local kid from Midlothian that was the quintessential fan favorite. Labeled as “Big Shot Brad” for obvious reasons.

All his accomplishments had barreled down to this. A rare moment where Burgess, on the verge of tears, didn’t know what to say. Even VCU head coach Shaka Smart didn’t know the words to use.

“You know, words are hollow after a game like this,” Smart said. “There’s not a lot you can say.”

Burgess scanned back over his four years at VCU. He thought back to basketball camps he had participated in, visiting different cities and even going overseas. Then he flashed back to the present moment, where his 15 points and seven rebounds just weren’t enough. It had all flown by, and there Burgess sat feeling with the feeling of finality.

“That’s life,” Burgess said. “Sometimes you work so hard for things and you just fall short of your goals and you just got to move on.”

There’s always the looming question of what’s next for Burgess on the horizon. Will he become the third VCU player to be drafted to the NBA in four years? Will he play overseas? All questions to be answered at a later time, but for now the pain of heartbreaking loss was too fresh.

Burgess sat silently, sulking over what had just happened in the corner of VCU’s dark and gloomy locker room.

The future, however, is bright.

“Even though his days playing at VCU are over, he’s got a lot of basketball left to play,” Smart said. “And he’s somebody that we’re never going to forget.”

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What’s your favorite Big Shot Brad memory? Tell us in the comment section below.