Dazzled by enhancing his NBA prospects at a bigger, “name” school, Bradshaw said he asked Winthrop for a release from his scholarship. He said that the school rejected his request.

Marshall, who Bradshaw says is a “great” coach and motivator who “knows how to push the buttons of some players,” sort of denies this.

“I don’t know that he formally asked” for his release,” Marshall said.

“He was tampered with (by schools) after the Olympics,” the coach added, declining to name names.

“They were telling him, ’You can’t reach the NBA at Winthrop. You can’t reach your goals in Winthrop.’ They were wrong.

“Here we are, still in the NCAA tournament. And a lot of those schools are not. The San Antonio Spurs, they have been at our practices seven times in the last two years. And he’s getting his (finance) degree. On time.”

Sunday, Bradshaw has his chance to lead Winthrop to its 20th consecutive win and extend his wacky story within this wild, Eagles ride.

“Not many people from New Zealand get to play on a stage like this,” he said.

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