Brock Bradford has been a dynamic yet stabilizing force for the men’s basketball team at Husson University in Bangor for the last four seasons.
Now, the Eagles must play the rest of the season without the senior from Kenduskeag.
Men’s basketball coach Warren Caruso confirmed Thursday that Bradford has been lost for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
The 6-foot-1 point guard, was injured during the last minute of Husson’s 79-67 loss Tuesday night at the University of New England in Biddeford.
“It’s part of the game and you never know when it’s going to happen,” said Caruso, who in December lost senior guard C.J. Hodges to an ACL tear.
Hodges is expected to receive a medical redshirt and return next season.
Bradford, a former star at Bangor Christian School, has been a mainstay of the Husson program. He is a four-year starter and two-time captain who twice has earned All-North Atlantic Conference first-team honors.
“Brock’s a special individual,” Caruso said. “Not only is he a gifted student-athlete, he’s a man of faith and conviction who is a positive influence on everybody.”
In 16 games this season, Bradford is second on the team while scoring 15.7 points per game. He leads Husson (10-6 overall, 4-1 NAC) with 4.9 assists per contest.
Bradford winds up his career as the program’s No. 2 all-time free-throw shooter (84 percent) and also ranks sixth in assists (398) and 18th in scoring with 1,329 points.
Caruso said Bradford is a poised floor leader who has developed a mutual trust with his teammates.
“Starting 100 games in your career, that experience and that understanding of our system is a big key to him handling things on the floor,” Caruso said. “He has a very good basketball IQ and is fundamentally sound in both mind and body. He was always someone that made people around him better in multiple ways.”
Bradford also has been a leader for Husson in the classroom. He maintains a 4.0 grade point average and will graduate with an undergraduate degree in accounting and a master’s degree in business.
Last season, Bradford was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team.
“It goes way beyond the basketball floor,” Caruso said. “When you start talking about what you want from your student-athletes, he’s certainly a poster boy for what you’re looking for.”
Caruso said Bradford is mature enough to take charge off the court, without any encouragement or prodding from his coach.
“Oftentimes, he just reached out to his teammates knowing they needed a helping hand,” Caruso said. “He’s usually one step ahead of me. He’s a caring individual and when something goes wrong in someone’s life, he’s the first one there for support and guidance.”
Bradford also has demonstrated his maturity by achieving at a high level as a student-athlete while married the last 2½ years to Husson women’s three-sport star Shelby (Pickering) Bradford of Lee.
Caruso is pleased to see how Bradford is dealing with the injury.
“He has an understanding of the completeness of life and the journey,” Caruso said. “I haven’t seen him down in the whole situation. He been positive every step of the way.”
In the wake of the injury, Husson will make the necessary adjustments to continue its quest for a NAC title.
Caruso said freshman Phil Leighton will move to point guard and freshman forward Eric Modica of Kittery will become a starter. Facilitating those changes was the willingness of junior forward Jay Uhrin of Winterport to accept the sixth-man role to provide some punch off the bench.
“I’m really proud of Jay Uhrin to step forward and take that responsibility on his shoulders and adjust his role,” Caruso said.
Junior Dwayne Mitchell will be the backup point guard.
“Our job right now is to the get the team ready to play with the people that we have,” Caruso said. “It’s a challenge for our group to move on and respond to that.”
Husson is home to Johnson State tonight at 6.