Wiedmer: Bradshaw fulfills dream tonight on SEC Network

photo Dane Bradshaw, president of Thunder Enterprises, is photographed in the offices of the Jasper Highlands subdivision in Marion County on Wednesday, July 30, 2014, in Kimball, Tenn.

It was easily one of the more touching moments of the Bruce Pearl Era at Tennessee. Just before his final home game at Thompson-Boling Arena, senior guard Dane Bradshaw learned that Pearl was endowing a scholarship in the Memphis native's name. Then the Volunteers went out and knocked off defending national champion Florida, a late Bradshaw steal and free throws sealing the upset.

"It meant so much to me -- still does," Bradshaw said last week. "But the joke I always tell people is that I thought it was such a generous thing to do until I found out that Steven Pearl (the coach's son and a UT walk-on) was the first recipient."

Such humor should serve Bradshaw in his new part-time gig as a color commentator on the new SEC Network. He debuts tonight with the network's showing of Stony Brook's 7 p.m. visit to Georgia.

"If it was a full-time job I might have had to say no," noted the Memphis native who now calls Chattanooga home. "We've now got three children under three years of age (Brooklyn arrived last week to add a third Christmas stocking next to Baylor, 2, and Millie, 1), and I don't think my wife (Julia) would have wanted me gone that much.

"Plus, I love doing what I'm doing now in land development with John Thornton. I never thought I'd be so excited about power lines, driveways, roads and stuff."

Yet Bradshaw also has so much of his past life tied to hoops. Because he was a fan favorite at Tennessee, he wrote a book after graduation titled "Vertical Leap: Inside the Rise of Tennessee Basketball."

UT-Chattanooga coach Will Wade has asked him to play pickup games with the Mocs -- "I never could shoot, so when I play now I'm pretty much the same player I used to be," he said with a chuckle. And beginning tonight he'll join former Kentucky star Tony Delk as one of the SEC's two new analysts on its ESPN-run network.

Bradshaw won't, however, be in front of the camera for Pearl's return to the Boling Alley on Jan. 31, when Bruce Almighty returns as Auburn's coach.

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"I'm on the SEC Network as a color commentator and studio analyst," he said of a schedule that currently includes eight nonconference games up to the New Year's Eve afternoon matchup of UT and East Tennessee State at Thompson-Boling.

"I think the Auburn game's scheduled for ESPN or ESPN2. They'll bring out the big guns for that one."

Having earned a bachelor's degree in communications and a master's degree in sports management during his playing career, Bradshaw long has considered what it would be like to become a media big gun.

"I've filled in for Bert (Bertkelkamp) on the radio a couple of times," Bradshaw said of Bob Kesling's radio broadcast partner and former Vols player. "He's great at what he does, and Bob's been phenomenal helping me improve."

Bradshaw also praises his daytime boss, Thornton, for letting him scratch his media itch.

"John was gracious enough to let me pursue this on the side," he said. "He didn't have to do that."

What he doesn't expect Thornton to do is have as much interest in the Vols' halftime stats if Bradshaw's sitting courtside at the Boling Alley in the TV analyst's chair.

"John's courtside seats are right next to the TV announcers," Bradshaw said. "So a lot of times at halftime he'll ask to see the stats when they're delivered to the broadcast team. I'm guessing that if I'm doing a game there this year and it's halftime, he's not going to ask for a stat sheet. He's going to say something like, 'How many lots did you sell today at Jasper Highlands?'"

Bradshaw, who often was considered a coach on the floor during his playing days, even compares his day job to coaching, or at least recruiting.

"It really is a lot like recruiting," he said of Thornton's latest development in Marion County. "But instead of getting kids to come to your campus, we're trying to get retirees to come to our development."

As for his former coach at UT, Bradshaw says he couldn't be happier to have Pearl back in coaching, even if it's at Auburn.

"I think he's going to have a lot more trouble sneaking up on people than he did his first year or two at Tennessee," he said. "But I think everyone has such respect for him as a coach. And when it comes to my personal relationship with Coach Pearl, as soon as we see each other, even if it's been awhile, it's like we've been around each other every day."

Added Pearl last month: "I endowed a scholarship in Dane's name. I don't think I need to say more than that about what he means to me and my family."

Like anyone who's ever played the game at a major college level, Bradshaw's ultimate dream was to reach the NBA. He got as far as the Netherlands on the European circuit. But he also often thought of what it would be like to do television work, especially on those nights he listened to former Memphis Grizzlies coach Hubie Brown analyze the pro game.

"Every time I watched him do a game," Bradshaw said, "I felt like I was learning something I hadn't known before."

To borrow a signature line from Brown, if Bradshaw can duplicate that skill, he just might have a chance to become one of the best analysts we've ever had in our league.

Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.

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