Remembering James 'Spook' Bradley and one of Memphis' greatest high school basketball teams
Maybe James “Spook” Bradley was ahead of his time.
The 6-foot-8 Memphis native and basketball star was shooting his silky smooth jumper from long range before there was a 3-point line. He could grab a rebound and go coast to coast in the 1970s like many jumbo forwards today. Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame member and former Melrose coach Verties Sails said he was one of the best passers to the post he coached.
So maybe that skillset is why Bradley was right on time. His legacy is forever engraved in Memphis basketball history after helping Melrose in 1974 to become the first undefeated state champion from Memphis before going on to play three seasons at then-Memphis State from 1976-79. He transferred to the Tigers after one season at Connors State Community College. He averaged 16.5 points per game with the Tigers.
Bradley died on April 12 at age 67, but his legacy lives on. Earlier this year, he was honored at Melrose High School with a jersey retirement.
“Once you got to know him, you would love him because he’s so competitive,” Sails said. “He was a tremendous person.”
His basketball play is the stuff you hear from the old heads in the barbershops. Bradley became a second-round pick of the Atlanta Hawks after his three seasons at Memphis State. He played for the Tigers during a time period where they were figuring out how to maximize his versatile game.
That versatile game is something Dorsey Sims III, who was his teammate for a season at Melrose, compared to Magic Johnson.
"That's just how good James Bradley was with a basketball," Sims said. "Anything that you can see Magic Johnson doing, Bradley did it before Magic Johnson."
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One of the greatest teams in Memphis history
It was 32 years before another Memphis team went undefeated en route to a state championship. The 1974 squad is still remembered as one of the most legendary teams to play.
Melrose star center John Gunn was the No. 2-ranked player in the country behind Moses Malone. Point guard Alvin Wright, the uncle of the late Lorenzen Wright, and Bradley were both elite in their own rights. The trio combined to nearly average 60 points per game.
The city of Memphis had several teams finish with at least 20 wins that season, and Melrose had to go through most of them. The closest game may have been the sub-regional against Southside, when Bradley hit a game-winner from just inside halfcourt in the final seconds after Melrose had trailed most of the game.
Playing the top competition in Memphis was good preparation for the state tournament. Melrose dominated Haywood 66-30 in the state championship game.
“We had size, we had speed, we had inside scoring,” Sails said. “We just had a complete team. I have not seen another team come out of Memphis that good."
'We want him to play'
Sails had a rule. If you wanted to play basketball, you had to run cross country. Bradley, who was a talented ninth- grader at the time, told Sails that he couldn’t do long-distance running, so he chose not to participate. Despite knowing how talented Bradley could become, Sails stuck to his principles. When the basketball season came, Bradley was not going to be on the team.
One day before his sophomore season, Bradley was accompanied by the team captains, Wright and Gunn, and went into Sails’ office to change the coach’s decision. It didn’t work. Then, the next day, the entire Melrose basketball team brought Bradley to the practice and said, “Coach, we want him to play.” That’s when Sails gave in.
”I said, 'I’m going to let him play,'” Sails said. “'Now, when he loses his temper or something, I’m not going to get him, because you are your brother’s keeper.'”
A memorable performance
Bradley had several moments that stood out during the 1974 season. One of the most impressive was when Sails said Bradley went 18-for-20 from the field and scored 36 points against a good Manassas team. The most impressive part?
“I don’t think any of them were layups,” Sails said. “That’s the kind of shooter he was.”
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball: Remembering legend James 'Spook' Bradley
