PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley sophomore center Patrick O'Bryant (Blaine, Minn./Blaine H.S.) officially will forgo his final two years of eligibility after signing with an agent yesterday following a workout at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
O'Bryant was named the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year and earned second-team All-MVC honors while averging 13.4 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.9 blocked shots per game during the 2005-06 season. The 7-footer enjoyed a breakout game in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, leading the Braves to a 72-66 victory against Pittsburgh by torching the Panthers for a career-best 28 points. In Bradley's three NCAA Tournament games against Kansas, Pitt and Memphis, O'Bryant averaged 14.3 points and 10.3 rebounds.
During his two-year Bradley career, O'Bryant averaged 11.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots per game. His 147 blocked shots are third-most in school history. He recorded 11 career double-doubles in 52 games and he just missed the second triple double in program history with 19 points, 16 rebounds and nine blocked shots Feb. 18 versus Tennessee Tech.
O'Bryant is being projected as a potential lottery selection in next month's NBA Draft and likely will become Bradley's sixth first-round selection. Gene Melchiorre was the No. 1 overall selection in the 1951 NBA Draft but never played in the league. Most recently, Anthony Parker was the 21st overall selection by the New Jersey Nets in 1997, while Hersey Hawkins was the No. 6 pick by the Los Angeles Clippers in 1988.
Parker played parts of three seasons in the NBA for Philadelphia (1997-99) and Orlando (1999-00), but has become one of the top players in Europe, winning back-to-back Euroleague MVP awards in 2005 and 2006 while playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv. Hawkins enjoyed a 13-year NBA career, scoring 14,470 points while playing for Philadelphia (1988-93), Charlotte (1993-95 and 2000-01), Seattle (1995-99) and Chicago (1999-00).
Bradley's other first-round NBA Draft selections include Roger Phegley (14th overall by Washington in 1978) and David Thirdkill (15th by Phoenix in 1982). In all 15 Braves have played in the NBA, including current Bradley head coach Jim Les, who enjoyed a seven-year (1988-95) NBA career with Utah (1988-90), the Los Angeles Clippers (1990), Sacramento (1990-94) and Atlanta (1994-95).
