Former Vol Still Making Good Plays

The NBA draft lottery is Tuesday. Teams won't be lining up to claim to Dane Bradshaw. Oden, Durant, Wright, Horford, and Noah--- yes. Bradshaw-- no. Dane knows he won't hear his name called in the actual draft next month. But that doesn't mean the former Vol has gone into hiding. Like his on-court style, Dane Bradshaw remains in motion. He's as busy as ever. 

At a special event Sunday in Knoxville, Bradshaw told me he had just returning from the beach, perhaps his last real vacation for a while.

Bradshaw is trying to keep his basketball career going. In Europe. Or someplace like that. His deal should be set after a series of tryout camps in August. He says it's like being recruited all over again.

Dane is also entering the literary world. His book, entitled Vertical Leap, chronicles his final year at UT. It has just been released. Bradshaw figures to wear-out his wrist at book signings around Tennessee this summer.

True to his character, Bradshaw is also involved in his community. On Sunday, he spent two hours helping motivate youngsters at Church Street United Methodist Church. The children's ministry there has just concluded a fantastic five week effort to raise money for Nothing But Nets-- a campaign created by Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly-- to buy mosquito nets for malaria-threatened villages in Africa. The youngsters raised more than $3000, which will help purchase more than 400 nets.

It's remarkable that Bradshaw's final year at UT had him play against seven of the projected top-ten picks in this year's NBA draft. You won't hear Bradshaw's name on draft day. But that's ok. Life is working out fine for a player UT fans will never forget.