All language subtitles for Shooting.for.Home.2012.1080p.WEBRip.x264-RARBG2_English

(upbeat music)

- In the world of
sports it's not uncommon

to star on a team
with few stars.

In college basketball it's

Kevin Bradshaw of
US International.

- [Rick] He was almost
like watching an acrobat.

- [McKinney] He was
a scoring machine.

- [Jay] The best scorer
that I've ever seen.

- [Rick] He definitely
broke records.

- [Reporter] Pete
Maravich's 69 point mark

became Kevin
Bradshaw's 72 pointer.

The record keeps Bradshaw
at the top of the list

of scorers in the
country but his team

is at the bottom of
division one schools.

- [Theodore]
Somebody who had them

kind of shooting skills
wasn't drafted in the NBA.

- [Jay] He just disappeared.

I thought he had got killed.

Didn't know what he was
didn't know what he was doing.

- [Kevin] I didn't come home
for 20 years for a reason.

(upbeat music)

(calm music)

- [Theodore] Growing up
in Gainesville you know

it was rough over in that area.

They just haven't
put a whole lot

of emphasis on
that side of town.

- [Keith] A lot of
things were neglected

and no outlets to do anything.

All we had was a basketball
court, a football field.

And that's why you had so
much talent at that time

coming out of the East
side of Gainesville.

- You have blacks
on one side of town

you have whites
on the other side.

- It's a whole different
period of time then it is now.

I grew up with three channels
to watch on television.

- We would take the tire
rim out of an old bicycle

and we would nail it to a tree.

There would be roots.

And you didn't have a backboard

you just had to shoot
the ball straight in.

So we when we would
dribble we would

shave to dribble
over those roots.

So when we got on a flat court
it was like elementary to us.

- It was amazing to me
when we finally went over

to the North side or the
other side of Gainesville

and seeing that kids
had lights at night.

We couldn't play at night
and if we did play at night

somebody had to pull they
car up with headlights

so we could play or we
could just use the moon.

- That was one of the
attributes to why we was so good

at playing basketball
because of the conditions.

(acoustic guitar music)

Kevin, he wasn't that good.

- [Keith] He started
off just average.

Nobody really wanted
him on a team.

- For Kevin to just
come up and to be where

this All American
basketball player

I mean who would
have thought it?

I mean I knew he'd probably
make it and he'd be

but I think it became
from his determination.

- [Keith] We grew up
in a house not a home.

It's a big difference.

My dad was a very intimidating
figure, a scary man.

250, ball of hell.

And when he walked
the house shook.

My father could speak to
you and you would shake.

So we stepped
lightly in the house.

It was like walking
on eggshells.

- Apparently something
was happening.

Kevin would come down to
the house my mom's house

crying and and didn't
want to go back home.

So it I know it was
something serious.

But how serious, at the time
I was young I didn't know.

- I think my brother for the
most part I think he caught

the worst part before he
became noticed for basketball.

- If he came to the house

we were going to the
basketball court.

We were going out to
play ball to do something

to take his mind off of
what had just happened

or what he was going through.

- Basketball was for all
of us, for all the boys

in the family was
like a therapy.

Just to go out to the basketball
court and shoot basketball

all the time that was
just like a therapy.

No matter how hot, how cold,
no lights we would play.

And we played for
the love of it.

- From sunup to sundown we are

out there on that
basketball court.

And that's all we did
was play ball constantly.

- It just a way to release
and get away, dream.

You wanted to be Doctor
J. you wanted to be Magic.

You know dream and get away
and be happy for a while

'cause after it was over
you had to go back home

and face that reality that
it wasn't the Huxtables.

It was real.

- Kevin wanted to
play basketball.

He was a sophomore in high
school and he had played

on the freshman team
then the sophomore team

and then I came in
as the head coach.

- Kevin always seemed to be,

he wasn't the most
talkative kid.

His personality seemed
to be playing ball.

That's where he seemed to shine.

If there was some way that
you could help his game

and help him with the
stance and give him

some positive feedback
and constructive criticism

I mean he always
seemed to relish that.

You could almost see
that light turn on

and there was an
appreciation there.

- The Jamboree was at
East Side High School.

I don't remember exactly how
many points that I scored

but that night when the
girls started to come

when the scouts started
to call right away

when people started to look
at me a little differently

after that night that's
when I understood

that this is different
and now I'm special.

This must be what it's
like to be a star.

(contemplative music)

- Kevin was a natural I mean
he's just such a scorer.

He was the most unbelievable
score I'd ever been around.

He was almost like
watching an acrobat.

He would start off doing one
thing and then he would end up

in a whole total
different position.

But yet his shoulders
were always square

and he always had the
same follow through.

So it enabled him to
be able to shoot balls

that look like for most
people he was off balance.

But he was actually
right on target.

- He was tough he was
physical he lathered up

as good as anybody
that I've ever seen.

He played every
facet of the game.

He was a great defender.

He was six four plus,
skinny but rangy.

- [Rick] For Kevin to make
a pass was very unusual.

So he also had a nickname
as the black hole

because when it went into
him you never saw daylight.

You knew the ball was
gone it was gonna be up.

Most of the time it was a score.

- This is the best scorer
that I've ever seen.

- I was kind of
taken back by it all.

I was a young coach and I had

not had a player
of that caliber.

(upbeat music)

- In the ninth grade I
think we lost one game.

We had scored over 100 points.

- It was very exciting, we
had two of the best players

in the state of Florida
with Kevin and Vernon.

- [Kevin] We did
everything together.

We hung out, we played ball,
we partied, we did everything.

- [Keith] People would often
debate even at that time

who were better of
the two players.

- They knew the
double threat was with

Kevin and Vernon but
Kevin was the gun.

He was the guy
everybody was shooting

for and trying to shut down.

(upbeat music)

- The difference between
my junior and senior was

when we started
to season everyone

knew who I was and
I was the leader.

People that normally
would walk by me

now wanted to have a long
conversation with me.

People in the church
that normally didn't
say anything to me

now they were patting
me on my back.

- I mean you were
popular and popularity,

people want to be round you
people want to be with you.

- [Kevin] Drugs
started out as fun.

My senior year we would get
high before games, after games.

- They used to have a thing
they called season women.

During basketball
season the girls

wanted to get with the guys
that played basketball.

If you were good now
that just add to it.

You could probably have
any girl you wanted.

- If I were to score
30 points I could get

any and everything
that I wanted meaning

money, girls, drugs,
alcohol, weed, cocaine.

And by the time I understood
that I was medicating myself

with drugs I was
deep deep into it.

Once you score 30 points you
can no longer average 20.

Then you're not the
same, then your average.

If I were to walk out of a game

with 20 points I
would be depressed

as crazy as that may sound.

- People used to
think it was so great.

Kevin Bradshaw is your
brother oh he's did this.

I knew my brother.

I knew him the person he was.

I knew what he was
going through privately

And so it was not what people
try to make it out to be.

I remember waiting for my
brother to come home after

a basketball game
in high school.

And he would never come
through the front door.

I would always have to
leave the window open

because he would come
home drunk or high.

He was never happy.

- He was holding a
lot of stuff inside

that he really wouldn't
let people know about.

And I think that's
why he was so angry.

Any little thing
would set him off.

And Kevin he wasn't
afraid to fight.

- It was a different ballgame
on the southeast side of town

as far as the way the
blacks were treated.

There was not a lot
of mixing between

the races as for
his relationships.

I didn't hate white's
at the beginning.

I think gradually as time
went on I began to hate.

Well I'm in seventh
grade in middle school

and I have a question
that I wanted to ask.

I was excited and I made
a mistake when I asked it.

And then when I completed,
finished asked my question

she said you know all
you niggers are the same.

All you niggers are dumb.

Immediately I remember
stuttering from that point on.

So the first opportunity
you have to do something

to a white person
you can justify it.

During the 70's they would
bring kids from different parts

of the city to go to school
over there with the black kids.

On the last day
of school the bell

would ring and as these
students were headed

to the bus the white students,

the black kids would
swing on them beat him up.

I knew it was absolutely
wrong and the people

that we did it to had done
nothing to deserve this.

It was something
I don't remember

reading about it in the papers.

I was there to experience
it for three years

in middle school this was
never really talked about.

Maybe because the
tension between

the races in Gainesville
at that time.

(upbeat music)

Gainesville was
crazy for the Gators.

It was Gator Town.

- [Adolph] A lot of
people were expecting

Kevin to go to the
University of Florida.

He was highly recruited.

He was practicing with the team

on a daily basis pretty much.

- The University of
Florida really liked Kevin.

You got the state's
top scorer I mean--

- A young athlete and
the kind of talent he had

and he had a lot of schools
that were pursuing him.

- [Adolph] When you come
for that visit of course

they're gonna roll out
the red carpet for you.

The girls, the limo.

- At that time pretty much we
had been recruited heavily.

There are certain
females at every school

that are known to help support
the basketball program.

Let's put it that way.

It was pretty much what do
you need what do you want?

If it's drugs the
drugs are there.

If it's sex the sex is there.

So that blew my
mind as a young man.

(contemplative music)

- His parents wanted
him to to go to

a predominantly black college.

He struggled with that.

He wanted to be there
for his mom of course

and he wanted to try to
make his father happy too.

He put them first.

- Norm Sloan came
to my high school.

He first goes off
about my grades

then he puts the
scholarship on the table.

And he said sign this.

And I looked at him and told him

I wanted to speak to
my parents about it.

And one of the things
that insulted me the most

about the conversation
with Norm Sloane was

when he saw my grades he told
me what a terrible student

I was but then he
said it can be fixed.

But according to your grades
I don't think you're capable

of taking these regular
classes so it's your choice.

And I just told him
I'm not gonna sign it.

- And he called me and
said that he would like to

join the force because
he liked the institution,

not too far from home and
the whole ball of wax.

- It was a black college
and he thought that

the experience there
was going to be

a better experience than
going anywhere else.

- It was not my choice
for him but he felt like

he would be more
comfortable there

and so he chose Bethune Cookman.

- Kevin danced to his
own beat a little bit.

- Me going to
Bethune Cookman I had

no idea would caused
such controversy.

The majority of people in
Gainesville thought I was crazy

for choosing Bethune Cookman
over the University of Florida.

The University of
Florida ran the city.

So for me to go against
that big machine

was ridiculous in
many people's mind.

- We're a small close knit
community in Gainesville

and everybody feels
like that you're

one of theirs you
got to stay here.

- The majority of people just
turned their backs on me.

- People who gravitated
towards him one day

and the next day wanted
nothing to do with him.

- Even some blacks were saying
I was crazy for choosing

to go to an all black school
which kind of confused me.

I was sure that the majority of

the black people
would understand okay

I was taking my talent
to a black University.

- People will just walk up
to him and call him a nigger.

You're nothing, you'll never
make nothing out your life.

- I couldn't go
anywhere without being

looked at or talked
to a certain way.

(contemplative music)

When I left to go off
to Bethune Cookman

it was a relief because
I felt the pressure

of not being wanted in
Gainesville anymore.

It was like a weight was
lifted off my shoulder.

- This big smile starting out.

Wait a minute.

The Daytona Beach area has
so much to offer our visitors

but I would have to say
that the biggest attraction

will always be our
world famous beach.

(upbeat music)

- Everybody looked
at Daytona Beach

as spring break, a place to go.

Spring Break only happens
over on the beach side.

There's no happening
over on the college side.

- The first time I started
second guessing myself

about the decision of
going to Bethune Cookman

probably was after
I arrived on campus,

and I was there for
maybe two weeks,

and then I started to understand

that this is not the
University of Florida

where I have all
these resources.

- They didn't have the money.

They didn't have
the scholarships.

They didn't have the materials.

- You look forward to
doing certain things

or you're promised certain
things if you come to my school

and then when you get there then

it's something
entirely different.

(upbeat music)

- [Jack] The school sits red
in the middle of the ghetto.

- A southern black
school you go to

is gonna be in the projects.

You could probably throw
a rock to the projects.

- Around Bethune Cookman
you only have liquor stores.

- We had the ABC Liquor
Lounge, we had the 440 club.

- The gas station
that you have is next

to Bethune Cookman where
they sell nothing but beer.

- [Kenny] If you go
down Second Avenue

the way they tell us not to go

that whole street going
through those projects

was nothing but a lot of drugs.

- So it wasn't nothing positive
around Bethune Cookman.

- And then I started
to continue to get

the negative feedback
from Gainesville.

And there are a few articles
written and that's when

I think I started
to feel shameful

about signing with the
small school versus

the University of Florida.

The success at Bethune
Cookman I couldn't enjoy

because you couldn't compare
it to the success of my

peers that played at
University of Florida.

Vernon had told me
that wherever I chose

to go to school
he would go there.

But after he signed with
the University of Florida

we kind of lost touch
with each other.

And I'm looking at
my best friend being
a star on television

and you're not on
the local news.

So even if you're averaging
the same amount of points

and you're doing the same
thing no one knows it.

- Nobody cared if you
went to Bethune Cookman

and played basketball
or football who cares?

- [Kevin] It got to a point
that no matter what I did

at Bethune on the court
I wasn't satisfied.

(somber music)

- Daytona Beach at that
time was like wide open.

It was the 80's and a lot
of things were moving.

It was a death
trap really because

it would consume
your whole life.

All you want to do is go
party and do different things.

- Kevin was the best
basketball player on the team.

He didn't have no
problem with the ladies.

- [Kevin] I think women became
an addiction to me then.

I could do drugs, alcohol,
and be with a woman

and yet have so
much pain inside.

- Now they have the big fences
around and the security.

Back then you were
be in practice

and people would
be from the city

would be right there in the gym.

- We had one security guard
to take care of the campus.

- The drug dealers wanted
to hang around him.

So it was easy for
him to score drugs.

He'd leave off with those guys

and when he come back
you know he's so high.

- He'd just disappear and I
say you're doing something.

Now what it is I
don't have any idea

but whatever it is it's wrong.

But by time I start
preaching to him it was late.

- I think he averaged like

17 points a game
his freshman year.

People started
knowing who he was.

So once people knew we was then

you have to have that
little chip on the shoulder

and I thought he had that chip.

That's what made him a
great athlete I think.

He didn't take no crap
from his teammates.

- If you are nice and easy you

ain't gonna last
long in basketball.

You don't want them crazy
but you want them tough.

- Lot of little things
happened around campus.

You might have a
fight in the dorms.

They might beat up somebody in

the dorms or
something like that.

- No he wasn't a evil
person but boy when

he get mad though
you can't stop him.

- So this particular
night I went

to this club down in the bottom.

We got drunk, we got
high and then I got in

a confrontation with
a man from Daytona.

And I proceeded to
go out to the car

get a gun which was in the car
which we usually had around.

- He's sitting there
on the back of a car

like mad and drunk and
crying with a gun on his lap.

Kevin goes in and take a
chair and sit in the middle

of the dance floor just
sit there with the gun.

- I was so out of it and
I was like just going off

and daring anyone to come
near me and touch me.

I cocked the gun and I
was sitting there with it.

And it's like suicide.

I was out of my mind
during that time.

- He never went to class.

He never got up in the morning.

- His grade average
start academically

started dropping down
and we called him in.

- The night that coach
McLaren explained to me

that I would be
dismissed from school

because of my grades and because
of my behavior I lost it.

I went off on him,
cursed him, begged in.

Meeting I went over to the
dorm I destroyed my room.

And then I didn't know what
the hell I was gonna do.

I couldn't go back
to Gainesville
because of the shame.

It goes back to
you believing that

what everyone was saying
about you is true.

You're a failure, your dumb,

you didn't take
advantage of your talent.

I didn't have any money.

I had a daughter
that was on the way

and the only way I
could support my family

in a legal way and
make enough money

to support them would
be join the military.

(acoustic piano music)

One word to describe life on
the ship would be disaster.

Too many rules,
chain of command,

people are talking
to you like crap

and having you sweep floors.

No one's giving me
credit for the fact

that I can jump or
shoot a basketball.

That's a different
life than what

I had experienced
being a star athlete.

- When you're in
the military trouble

come from all different angles.

It can be a personality thing.

It can be a color thing.

- All of a sudden I had to be
responsible for my actions.

And there are consequences that

you have to pay
and you pay them.

(acoustic piano music)

The worst thing about
being in the ship cell

is just been isolated and
having to talk to yourself.

Because there's no one
to curse out or argue.

And you pretty much are
looked at like a stupid person

if you're doing it
by other shipmates.

I really wanted to
get out of the Navy.

The way I was told to
get kicked off was to

walk up to the captain
and tell him that

I like being with men and
that I found him attractive.

I was going to walk up to
this man and tell him that.

But when my friends
told me about it

and they understood
I was serious

they took me off for a beer and
kind of talked me out of it.

They could see that
I was depressed and
pissed off and angry

and they knew that I
was close to doing it.

- I was a engine
man in the Navy.

I did have a reputation of being

a hard ass, asshole, dickhead.

If you messed up
basically that's

where they send you
down to see Earl.

Earl the prison
camp engine room.

Once you was in there
it's like a prison camp.

Kevin was a big knucklehead
when he came to me.

Walk around like he
was a space cadet.

Tell him to do something he give

you that oh go fuck off look.

- I thought it was
crazy I didn't like him.

- It had a lot to do
with well you're black

I'm black so you ain't
gonna make me do too much.

And I be like Kevin
you know this is a job.

- His famous sentence was
just because you're black

and I'm back don't think I won't

throw your black
ass under the boat.

You better do your job.

- You ain't at home with mother.

Kevin you in the
Navy, you a man.

You got to do what the
man got to do, suck it up.

- We even had a
physical confrontation

once in the diesel room.

He didn't write me up
and he just told me

if you want to do this game
tomorrow we can do it again.

- It was just tough
love you know.

And after awhile me
and Kevin got to going

so I invited him to my house.

- McKinney I looked at
him like Fred Sanford.

The he speaks he's from
Southeast Saint Louis.

We had a lot of the
same thoughts we had
the same mentality

but we'd never
discussed race before.

- Kevin had never met
my wife or my kid.

- And then his
Scottish beautiful

white woman opens the door.

- He's like oh how you
doing Mrs. McKinney?

But he had to look
like I can't believe

married to a white woman.

- This white woman from
Scotland I just don't get it.

I don't see the connection.

I'm assuming like
this had to be a joke

because McKinney was a little
bit of a prankster as well.

- When I first seen him
the big dumb looking

guy from Florida, that's
the look he had on his face.

- But then when I sat down
and saw his two daughters

and his wife then I
understood it was real.

- And I think that helped
him start to get at ease

with people and take the
damn chip off your shoulder.

- You know I had
certain perception or

certain belief about
whites at the time.

It just further helped me
understand it has to do with

who you are not not
the color of your skin.

- [Announcer] They
were selected as cadets

partly for their
physical fitness.

And one way they are
kept in tip top condition

is by the intramural
sports program.

- The first time McKinney
talked to me about basketball

they were getting ready
to form a ship's team.

He asked me if I could
play and I told him

I used to play a
little bit and he said

the same thing that most
people have said in my past.

That I didn't look like I could
play any effing basketball.

- Kevin look more like that
cartoon that big vulture.

He just had that look
like he was uncoordinated.

- I told him at the beginning no

I'm not really that
interested in playing.

But because he was
my boss he kind of

persuaded me that
by coming over--

- The only reason
you came out there

truthfully was to
prove me wrong.

- Hadn't said a
whole lot to anybody

and nobody really
knew who he was.

Came out and man.

- I've never seen a
guy hit so many baskets

where there's nothing but
the bottom of the net.

- Once I picked up a
basketball the love

was right back to
me and I loved it.

I stayed away from
it and I feared it

but once I picked it up
and I started playing

and then I was playing with
these guys who were just fun.

Like I said it wasn't for money

or a scholarship it was
just for ships team.

- When we stepped out
on the hardwood floor

it wasn't about me being a
Chief and Kevin being an E2.

It was about me being T
and Kevin being Kevin.

- Whether we won or lost
there was never an argument.

- We were truly
brothers on the court.

- On the submarines one person

had to depend on
the other person.

Dream team was a family.

- Love of the game just
came right back to me.

- [McKinney] We went from sand
lot to having a ship's team

to a base team to where
we considered ourselves

the Dream Team, our
travelling team.

- It consisted of
guys from my ship

from the base all
over San Diego.

What we did was travel around
play on different tournaments.

Group of guys that just played

basketball for
the right reasons.

- We were unbeatable.

Wherever we went we just
blew people off the floor.

Each one of us had
a specific trait

when it came to
playing basketball.

Kevin was a scorer.

- [McKinney] He was
a scoring machine.

- The score would be
25 to 25 and Kevin

would have had all
25 of those points.

And he was a monster
man this kid could

get up and down the
floor he was a greyhound.

- Everybody knew who
to give the ball to.

It wasn't rocket science
you know what I'm saying?

- There wasn't a
whole lot of teams

especially in the San Diego
area that could beat us.

- Every year that
we played Brad just

kept taking this game
to another level.

And he went to play All
Navy I think he played

if I'm not mistaken he
played with David Robinson.

- And I was always
surprised when

I would go out and I
would find in places

I least expected these
really talented guys.

And I remember Kevin striking
me as one of those guys that

man you know maybe
you're just not in

the right place
at the right time

'cause man you can really play.

- I'm playing with
this this awesome guy

this seven foot two All American

and he's complimenting my game.

- I used to call him PAM
'cause would score so quickly.

He could he could put up
numbers at a ridiculous pace

and he had no conscious would
shoot it at the drop of a dime

and so I called him
PAM point a minute man.

- David Robinson
influenced me by just

treating the sport for what
it was, a basketball game.

Because my idea of a
top athlete at the time

was a person that if you can put

the ball in the hoop
then you're special.

And Dave Robeson did not walk
around like he was special.

He walked around
like he was just

the next man on a regular job.

(acoustic guitar music)

- Hanging around these
guys they took Kevin

out of the riffraff
part of the Navy.

All they did play basketball
go to camps and tournaments.

That kept his mind busy where
he wasn't getting in trouble.

- Military it took away
a lot of the elements.

- We didn't have to
get drunk or high

after a big victory
to celebrate it.

Or we didn't have
to get drunk of high

after loss to heal our wounds.

- On the road trips Kevin never
wanted to hang out with us.

He would always just
go back to the room and

be content with that.

The rest of us we were
ready to go to the casino.

But Kevin was different.

- He's got a nickname by
the name of Milk and Cookies

He would always say
when you guys come back

make sure you bring me
some milk and cookies.

Bring me some milk and cookies.

- I mean when we thought
about Kevin at the store

that's what we got him.

- He was a milk and
cookies type of guy.

- And everybody in
San Diego County

talked about Kevin Bradshaw.

- [Wilson] Until he
caught the eye of

one the college
assistant coaches.

- When it was all said and done

when Kevin got out of the Navy

he got a scholarship
for two years

because he had two years of
eligibility and he went out

to USIU and just broke
every record they had.

(classical music)

- [Announcer] The United
States International University

a school that epitomizes
what San Diego is all about.

An international campus
head quartered in San Diego,

USIU spans four major
countries in the world

that share in this tradition
of a high level of education.

- General McLennan
called me and he said

Susan I have a favor to ask you.

Kevin wants to study
physical education

and he's apparently
a very good player

but he has a grade point
of an average of 1.97.

If you will take him into
your program and work with him

then I think we can bring
him into the University.

And so I think two nights a
week we had study sessions.

And he was very nice, very
respectful, yes Dr. Bandy.

And so it was it was
a good beginning.

- [Woody] The team
wasn't very good

but they had Kevin Bradshaw.

He would light it
up every night.

- [Wilson] He just
basically took over

the whole game the
majority of the time.

- I couldn't believe
what I was looking at

in San Diego County,
tremendous talent.

What impressed me
the most was his

vertical when he
jumped and shot.

And he was making everything.

- USIU was a very
entertaining team

because we scored points
and fans love to see that.

- It was fast it was furious.

If you scored 100 points a
game even if you were losing

you would get a lot of
attention for the offense.

- We wanted to scorer and
we got notoriety for that

and Kevin led the nation
as everybody knows

in scoring that particular year.

- [Woody] Fans
used to say who is

this little school from USIU?

They scoring 100 points.

- All of a sudden
the phone was ringing

all over the country
wanting to play us.

No name school so
to speak didn't draw

in the big school
arenas even though

they sold their tickets out.

Well now they're
after us because

everybody wants
to watch us play.

We didn't really
know when I was there

when I signed on with the school

that there were financial
problems in the background.

So what eventually happened
when the university

did go bankrupt we
were on the road.

It was all over the
news and it was even on

the major news
national stations.

May have been one
of the first schools

with a division one program
that filed for bankruptcy.

- People were leaving
the university.

I wasn't paid for three months.

Then they began to assess
different programs and

one of them was the the
athletic program which they cut.

- We went from having
I believe five,

six coaches to just one coach.

We went from having an
athletic trainer to no trainer.

So we were going to
the opposing teams gym

and their trainer would
have to tape my ankles.

We didn't have any resources.

- And we had a practice
facility in a warehouse.

- [Jeff] We'd be practicing
on one end of the court.

On the other end of
the court they had

50 or 60 year old
women doing aerobics.

- The school depended on money.

That's how we made our
money at the university

was playing the big schools
like Arkansas, Oklahoma.

- When the bankruptcy
hit we had some parents

pull their kids out of school
including some of my players.

Night after night double team.

They had great basketball
players amongst

every division one team
and they ended up on Kevin.

His background showed
the fighter in him

because when he
went out every night

he just got beat up a lot and
that's why we would kind of

sit down together after a
game 'cause he was wounded.

He was a wounded warrior.

(upbeat music)

- [Reporter] The LA gear
college basketball report.

- Welcome back once again
to ABC's college basketball.

In the world of sports
it's not uncommon

to star on a team
with few stars.

Cecil Fielder hit 51 home
runs for the Detroit Tigers.

In college basketball it's Kevin

Bradshaw of US international.

- The school file for bankruptcy
I believe in December.

And I broke the
record in January.

- We had been getting a
lot of national attention

for a little school
because we were

running and scoring
a lot of points.

We walked into the
gym and the media

was everywhere just
everywhere and it was

at Loyola Marymount and it
was just packed that night.

And there was something
special about that night though

because the game
started out and it was

just a firecracker game
and we were hitting

and they were it but Kevin
was hitting everything.

- We started taking
down his points

just marking it on a piece
of paper a the other games.

At this game we stopped
because I didn't want to miss

no moment or what he was
doing and he was amazing.

It's like he would kick
the ball let it bounce

off his knee and it
would go in the hoop.

He could not miss a shot.

- Four or five
minutes away from half

and this guy sitting next to me

he says coach I need
to tell you something.

Bradshaw has like 45
points before half.

Do you know that Maravich was at

the same pace Pistol Pete?

I said you're kidding
me, we had no idea.

- I had no idea who
Pistol Pete was.

I just went in like
I normally did.

I mean that year I had scored
over 50 points five times.

- And of course we
all know what a legend

Pistol Pete Maravich was and
I was thinking in my head.

Uh oh so we took it to the team.

And in that particular time
the team got excited because

what the university was going
through wasn't too exciting.

So that night could
have become memorable

for everybody forever and
they were so fired up.

I never saw him come
together with such emotion

to go back out there on
the floor and help Kevin.

So we went back
out and I remember

the reporters were now
buzzing up and down the table.

Fans were starting to buzz.

So right off the
bat you know Kevin

struggled at first because
they were just all over him.

They started double teaming.

They were picking
him up at full court.

Wherever he went he
was running out of gas.

And we got into the mid
60's and I looked up

and there was about
two minutes to go.

And the record I believe was 69.

Every time Kevin scored Loyola
Jim was rooting for him.

It just turned like that.

- Every time he was score
everybody would stand up.

And my players are
running out of gas

'cause some of them
weren't even being guarded.

Sure enough it got
down to about a minute,

under that and he was at 68.

He scored the 69th and
70th on free throws.

- [Announcer] Ladies and
gentlemen Kevin Bradshaw

has just set a new all time NCAA

single game scoring
record of 70 points.

- We were drained, it
was a different game.

And his players rushed
up to him and then that

the papers were going crazy
because it was 72 points.

On a record that some
people never thought

would be broken and here it
is today it's still there.

- I thought it was fantastic

'cause I knew he was
capable of doing it.

(calm music)

- It was kind of strange
because in San Diego

it wasn't as positive as
I thought it would be.

- ABC did some stuff about
it, ESPN it was out there

but maybe not as big as we all

would have liked quite frankly.

- [Reporter] By the end of
the game Pete Maravich's

69 point mark became Kevin
Bradshaw's 72 pointer.

The record keeps
Bradshaw at the top of

the list of scores
in the country

but his team is at the bottom
of division one schools

and next year won't
even be on that list.

- Breaking Pistol
Pete's record I know was

one of those records like
untouchable and no one wanted

especially a guy
like Kevin Bradshaw

from a team like USIU to
break a record like that

from a smaller
division one school.

- We went from major
D1 school from USIU,

school that was going bankrupt.

It was not known for sports.

And a lot of people's like it's

not supposed to happen that way.

- Consequences came
we got some hate calls

and we got some hate mail
and there were some racial

things that were being
said mainly from people

who are just fans of the
game and couldn't believe

a legend would be broken by
somebody in a low major program.

Some of the real
purist and some of

the traditional press
and fan base thought that

he took like 55 shots
or something well
so did Pistol Pete.

- I like the way
Kevin handled it.

I mean he was just nonchalant
okay just this is what I do.

- I don't worry about
what the critics say.

My main concern is right
now everyone knows who I am.

- So he goes out and he
scores but it was not

celebrated as I thought
it should have been.

- Everyone was saying we
can't wait for draft day.

You're gonna be drafted
it's gonna be a great day.

What pick, what round do you
think you're gonna go in?

And all the expectations are
on you because if you make this

then everyone else is
gonna benefit from that.

So family in Florida
they're happy for you

but you just saying my God
what if this doesn't work out?

I hope I get drafted
because if I don't

I don't have $2 in the bank.

Got to the point where
you couldn't sleep.

Instead of the sport
been a fun game

it goes back into
being a business deal.

Draft comes up in June.

The agency that I was
involved with at the time

after leading the
nation in scoring,

after scoring the 72
points they thought

it might be a good idea
to get him in the gym

three weeks prior and
change my jump shot.

Also they thought it
might be a good strategy

to show everyone that I
could pass versus shoot.

So I am also not playing my
natural game which is scoring.

And that goes back to
the people pleasing.

Just listening to people
that I knew in the back

of my mind I should
not be listening to.

Draft day I was at
home watching the draft

with my my then
wife and two agents.

It was like torture
sitting there

and having to watch each
and every one be called.

And in my heart and in my soul

I kind of knew that it
wasn't going to happen.

If that sounds crazy
but you're still hoping.

It was a nightmare.

- I mean I set up and watched
the draft that whole night.

His name was never called.

- I wasn't really upset
because I didn't get drafted.

I just feel like I
let everyone down

and everyone expected
me to get drafted

and that's where the shame
started to come back in.

- Somebody who broke a
record like that who had

them kind of shooting skills
wasn't drafted in the NBA.

That was, that blew my mind,
I couldn't understand it.

- Seeing kids get drafted
around the college that

they couldn't even, they
couldn't carry his ball bag.

That's how great he was.

- They're coming to
watch him fill it up

and he's passing off trying
to prove to everybody

that he can do
some other things.

And there's probably a little
bit of miscommunication there.

- If he'd have been
at a good college

where he could have
kind of gone out

and done his thing absolutely
could have made it.

- Not going to one college,
staying at one college

graduating and
playing the four years

I think really hurt
him but nobody can

take away the fact he
scored 72 in one game

and averaged 37 or
38 points a game

in college which led the nation.

So it doesn't, the
numbers don't add up.

- He was told that if
he break that record

that he wouldn't
play in the NBA.

- Seeing how people
treated Hank Aaron

when he broke Babe Ruth's
record and my brother

wasn't even on the NBA
level yet and I've seen

the backlash that he got and
I feel like that affected him

greatly for people even
giving him a chance.

- Having the kind
of stats that he had

Kevin was one of
the best basketball
players in the country.

What other reason
could there have been?

- I mean I look at some
of the NBA teams today

and some of the players
that come in the game and

I said to myself it could use

Bradshaw on that team trust me.

- I think he would have
set all kind of records.

- Back then I was
very angry very bitter

towards a lot of people
but now being older

everything happens for a reason.

Who's to say what would
have really happen?

Had my brother gone,
didn't go overseas.

I felt like he
became a better man

by the path that he took.

- When I didn't get
drafted I called home.

My mom trying to console me,

she was trying to
say the right things.

And then she gave
my dad the phone.

And then my dad he
couldn't get through

a full conversation,
a sentence with me.

He started to cry and
he put the phone down.

Pam leaves me my wife.

I have no place to stay now.

I was sleeping on park
benches and I would

walk around downtown
San Diego homeless.

No one knew that
when I'm calling home

I'm calling from a pay phone.

I was ashamed to tell them.

I was ashamed to tell anyone

that I was sleeping
on the streets.

Because after I accomplished
all these things

doing all these things
that I felt was right,

joining the military
to support my wife

getting married to
Pam because I thought

it was the right thing to
do because she got pregnant.

Of course I felt ashamed

and I didn't want
to tell them that.

So I was just done.

- And he was thinking about
dropping out of school there.

I told me get your
degree, get your degree.

They can't take that from you.

That's something
you'll always have.

- Imagine being on a
campus two years prior

where it's just blossoming
with hundreds of people

thousands of people
walking around

and it's this positive
energy going around

and then all of a sudden
you go from thousands

of students to
maybe a few hundred.

And then there's no
athletes on campus.

Now I sit at a table in
the cafeteria by myself

just sitting there saying
how did this happen?

- To his credit he did
it, he stayed the course.

Even after his basketball career

was over there he
stayed and finished.

- He got his degree
a year later.

- Was just marvelous yeah.

You didn't know what was
going to happen to him

but at least something good.

- After I graduated from
school two weeks afterwards

I got a call saying do you
want to come to Israel.

First thing that went to my mind

when I got a phone
call to play basketball

in Israel was yeah
I'll go try it out.

Maybe I'll be there
for a month, two weeks

at the most a year
get a little money,

come back to the states
and work on my masters.

(calm music)

I got off the airplane
with about 20 bucks

in my pocket in a
different country.

The living conditions
are different.

If you take a middle
class neighborhood here

that will be considered an
upper scale thing in Israel.

Restaurant that
might be considered

not so good in
the states will be

a high level
restaurant in Israel.

So coming from California

my lifestyle was a
little different.

I immediately got on the
phone with the guy who had

arranged the contract and told
him that I wanted to leave.

I just wasn't used to
all the guns that I saw,

the bombs that you could be in
a place and it could blow up.

When I first arrived
in Israel I was bitter.

You had these
flashbacks of playing in

these big arenas and
and also meeting people

like Dave Robinson and
my good friend Vernon.

So you sitting back
and you watching

television and you
seeing all these guys.

And then you're playing
in this dungeon.

(crowd cheering)

My first week in Israel
still you know sobbing and

thinking how the world
has screwed me over

and how bad I have it and
as I'm walking downtown

by myself this bus,
city bus drives by me.

And then all of a sudden
it goes up in the air

and then you see all these
body parts just shooting out.

I mean it goes up maybe
15 feet in the air.

And then it just boom,
it goes everywhere.

And that was a moment that
I'll never forget because

I remember thinking like the
people that are on that bus

didn't know that they were
gonna be blowing up that day

and their families
didn't know that

they're not gonna come
home and here I was

excuse my language
bitching and complaining

about I didn't get
drafted to the NBA.

And that put life in more
of perspective for me

and I thought about home
I thought about people.

If I were to blow
up with that bus

a lot of people back
home wouldn't know it

because I'm not in
contact with them.

(contemplative music)

Israelis are brutally honest.

I was telling them how
many points I scored

average in college and
scored 72 points in a game.

And they pretty much just
laughed and said no way

you're crazy, you didn't
score that many points.

And at a time the way
I was playing didn't

it didn't appear that
I could score 72 points

because I was trying
to pass the ball

and show that I
was a team player.

The manager was honest
enough to step to me

approach me and tell
me if you don't do this

the next practice
game yeah we like you

but we're gonna have
to get rid of you.

And that was the first
time I started to say okay

I need to do what I'm good at
which is score the basketball.

And that's what they loved.

(upbeat music)

That game I scored
about over 30 points

and that's when we
started to believe

that I was the scorer
that I said I was.

- He broke a lot of
records over there.

You know Kevin he did a lot
and they loved him over there.

(upbeat music)

- The manager
approached me before

midway through the
basketball season

and he told me you
scored 72 points.

Do you think you
could do that again?

And I thought probably.

He said okay if you could
score 72 points tonight

I'll double your
salary for two months.

I needed the money.

And I ended up scoring
101 points that night.

(upbeat music)

I just shot the ball.

(laughing)

The night that I
scored 101 points

one of the comments that
a reporter had written

in the paper was
he's a great scorer

but the reason
he's not in the NBA

is because he can't
use his left hand.

And then when I heard back
from people in the states

the comment was oh yeah but

it's in Europe it's
not in the States.

- They'll love you for
your accomplishment

but still you gonna have a lot

of people out there
also resent you.

Even through all this success

over there he wasn't satisfied.

But you have to find your
own inner peace and until

Kevin find that home just
wasn't the place for him.

And I think that's why he
stayed away for so long.

- First time I met Karen I was
out with a basketball player.

The town that he was playing in

that's the town
that Karen was from.

I would try to say
something to her

just something like hey
how you doing what's up?

And she didn't respond
she just looked at me.

And then one day
she just told me

like why are you speaking
to me I don't know you?

And I said sure I want
to get to know you.

She said I don't I don't
want to get to know you.

We became friends.

That was the first woman

that I actually
became a friend with.

She was there I could call her

one o'clock in the morning
if it was a bad game.

If I just broken up
with one of the girls

a girlfriend that I
had over in Israel

she told me how she
felt about things.

And that wasn't something
I was used to coming from

anyone and especially
from a woman.

And if I was trying to you
know this woman did this

and she would you
know you did this.

The biggest influence that
Karen had on me as a man

was just to take responsibility
for my own actions,

not to blame everyone
and everyone around me

and to understand that I'm
in control of my own destiny.

Her vision of life
was totally different

from anyone I've
ever met before.

I mean and sports,
she hates basketball.

She could care less what I
did on the basketball court.

It didn't mean anything to her.

So that's what made
her even more special.

(acoustic piano music)

When I got injured in 1995
I got cut from my team.

When it took the
spotlight off of me

I thought it was a curse.

I believed like
something someone

had put a curse on me
or something like that.

Being homeless in
the states is nothing

compared to being in a
different country without a job

and not having a
place to come back to.

I was like a broken man.

I was being screwed
out of my money

and she told me
these are bad people.

This is what they're
trying to do to you.

Don't sign anything
and come with me.

And she was living in
the North of Israel.

A young Kevin Bradshaw
could have never lived

in the Kibbutz
for a few reasons.

I would judge these people on
their color or their religion.

Second I would
have been violent.

The first time someone would
have said something to me

or looked at me crazy I would
have probably swung on them.

This woman was working
two jobs going to school

and I set up in her home
for about six months.

And that's when I
was at rock bottom.

I had no money, no
connection with the family.

So I felt I had
nothing to live for.

Kind of overwhelming
to even be with Karen

because here is this
good pure person.

I didn't feel that I should
be in the same room with her.

But sometimes when
you hit rock bottom

that's when you
become your best.

And that's what my
life took a turn.

It started to take a
turn from that point.

I had a gun which is something

which comes familiar
in this story.

And my plan was to go outside

and blow my brains out.

As I was leaving
home at the time

she looked at me and told
me that she loved me.

And she said you're not gonna
do anything crazy are you?

Because she just said I see
a different look in you.

And she felt something.

And I did too I told her what
I was thinking about doing.

And she told me if I loved
her I wouldn't do it.

And that's why I say
she saved my life.

And she told me I love you
you know you have so much

so many good things
inside of you.

And you're a good
person you're a good man

and I'm with you no matter what.

So you want to go kill yourself?

How selfish is that?

I left the house
had time to myself

thought about it
and came back home.

I love Karen.

I didn't know what love
was until I met her.

(acoustic piano music)

The birth of my son Deshawn
was the most special

occasion in my life because
it was the first time

that I had an opportunity to
witness the birth of my child.

I can't think of a word that
would justify or explain

the feeling that we had
when he entered the world.

This is the best gift
I believe a woman

and God can give to
a man is a child.

In 1985 I don't think I was
prepared to be a good parent

simply because I didn't
have parenting skills.

One I was still
involved in drugs.

Two I was still violent.

This is the first
time that I got

to experience the
whole pregnancy.

Because Karen and
I were married.

(acoustic piano music)

I believe my fourth year in
Israel was when I accepted

that this was the
place that I wanted to

play the rest of my
basketball career.

I just fell in love
with the culture.

I fell in love with the people.

In Israel I was the first
African American coach

at the high school and
professional level.

Some people may look at
it as a racist country

because it's a
Jewish state but it's

the most inclusive
place that I've been.

When I won the
three championships

in Israel it was bittersweet.

Great memories,
great time but again

the bitter part was
not being able to do it

back home with
friends and family.

Just doing it on your own.

- Once he went over
to Europe to play

we just kind of
lost track of him.

- Didn't know where he was
didn't know what he was doing

and everybody from
Gainesville that I brought up

had asked about him they didn't
know where he was either.

- When I lost touch with Kevin
I thought he had got killed

because he was so much
involved in a lot of craziness.

- Friends they asked me
how can you not go home?

How can you not see
this or see that.

I didn't come home for
20 years for a reason.

And I think part
of the reason is

when you are getting healthy
it doesn't happen overnight.

I wasn't ready to
come back home.

It's that simple it's not like

I couldn't afford
to come back home.

I just wasn't ready.

After my son was born Deshawn
again I became angry because

I wasn't in contact
with my family.

And my son being
born was just that

thing that tipped me over to
say you have to stop this.

And then the healing began.

- We've been looking
forward to Kevin

coming home for a
long time and I'm just

I'm really looking
forward to seeing him.

♪ A little cracked

♪ I know we're choking

- I knew once I came
home and opened that door

there's no turning back.

♪ You come with ties

- If I'm bringing my kid to
Gainesville to meet the family

that means now this
relationship is forever.

♪ No one will bend
until one falls ♪

- [Kevin] There's no right
formula for this meeting.

I mean you never
know what to expect.

♪ You for me and me for you

- [Kevin] I came home for
Christmas in December of 1991

and that's the last time
I had seen my family.

♪ It's like trying to teach

♪ Blue to a blind man

♪ Rude to a kind man

♪ Or walking on the son

♪ You try and I do
all that I can ♪

♪ But teaching blue
to a blind man ♪

♪ Can't be done

♪ We used our soldiers

♪ And it was against the world

♪ The toll was taken now

♪ We're buried under life--

- I can pretty much have a
story for every street I pass.

♪ One word and watch
our egos brawl ♪

♪ No one will bend
until one falls ♪

♪ We used to fight but

♪ You for me and me for you

♪ It's like trying to
teach blue to a blind man ♪

♪ Truth a lie and
walking on the sun ♪

♪ I try and I do
all that I can ♪

♪ But teaching blue
to a blind man ♪

♪ Can't be done

♪ We can go home

♪ You can sleep

♪ And I can think for a while

♪ We can't go on
and on on empty ♪

♪ On endless oceans dry

♪ It's like trying to
teach blue to a blind man ♪

♪ Rude to a kind man

♪ Screaming at the sun

♪ You try and I do
all that I can ♪

♪ But teaching blue
to a blind mind ♪

♪ Can't be done

♪ Can't be done

♪ Teaching blue to a blind man

- I'm gonna show you where I
played my basketball games.

All of our home games
were played here.

So these are all the basketball
teams from every year.

Number 22.

You see that?

- [Deshawn] Over there?

- That's how many
points I averaged

and this is my teammate Vernon
Maxwell who won 24 games.

How many did we lose?

- Seven.

So that was a long time ago?

- A very long time
ago. (laughing)

Oh wow that was
almost in there man.

Now do it underhand
way, do it underhand.

Man that was pretty good.

This is a big goal
you know this.

This is the goal that
I played my games on.

What do you think about the gym?

Do you like it?

- I like it.

- You think you could play here?

- Yeah.

- Would you like to play here?

- Yes.

- But we live in California.

- So I could move here.

- Oh we should move here?

- No I could move.

When I'm a grown up
I could move here.

I have to play
basketball like you did.

- So in high school you
want us to move here?

And then you want
to play in this gym.

What number you gonna wear?

- 24.

- Alright, no last shot, last
shot we do it on underhand.

Underhand like this, like this.

- Yeah I know.

- You don't have to impress
them they'll be okay, last one.

Oh that was almost, almost
I saw that one going in.

I'm telling you if you do it
underhand you gonna make it.

If you hit it off the glass
underhand you gonna make it.

Wow man you almost made it.

(contemplative music)

(acoustic piano music)

(contemplative music)