Courtesy: Princeton Athletic CommunicationsBill Bradley '65, who holds so many Princeton records that may never be broken, has been named as one of the top 75 players in the history of the NCAA Tournament, the NCAA has announced.
As part of its celebration of the 75th NCAA Tournament this March, the NCAA compiled a list of 75 top players, 25 top teams and 35 top moments since the tournament began in 1939.
At this point, the list is ranked only chronologically, stretching from Wyoming's Ken Sailors, the tournament's Most Outstanding Player in 1943, to Kentucky's Anthony Davis, the MOP last March. Bradley's name is 17th on the list, recognized for playing in NCAA Tournaments in each of his three seasons from 1963-65 and for being the Most Outstanding Player in 1965 as he led the team to the Final Four.
Bradley was selected as the tournament MOP that year despite Princeton not advancing to the final game. In five games, Bradley scored 177 points (35.4 ppg) and grabbed 57 rebounds (11.4 rpg) as Princeton got past Penn State, North Carolina State and Providence to reach the Final Four in Portland, Ore. Bradley had a game-high 29 points in Princeton's 93-76 loss to Michigan in the semifinal, and in the third-place game, Bradley scored 58 points in a 118-82 win over Wichita State. That was the single-game scoring record at the time, and to this day, only one player has scored more than 58 points in an NCAA Tournament as Notre Dame's Austin Carr had 61 against Ohio in the first round of the 1970 tournament.
Fans will be able to rank the list's top 15 players, as well as the top team and top moment, starting in early January at NCAA.com/MarchMadness. The lists were compiled and researched by the NCAA basketball and statistics staffs, which consulted with the NCAA's media partners and selected members of the United States Basketball Writers Association.
