Murray State University Athletics
Runnin’ with the Racers Podcast – Neal Bradley Basketball Memories
5/1/2023 3:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
After 32 seasons with Racer men’s basketball, Neal Bradley calls it a career and a 3-part podcast is produced
The Voice of the Racers, Neal Bradley, was Dave Winder's guest on the Runnin' with the Racers Podcast #
139.
The Runnin' with the Racers Podcast posts each week to GoRacers.com, Spotify, iTunes and Soundcloud.
Announcing that he is stepping down from his Murray State radio duties for men's basketball after 32 seasons, a three-part series was produced as the many memories and play-by-play calls were experienced again.
Bradley is remaining on his Murray State Football radio duties in the fall of 2023.
You can find all of Murray State Athletics' podcasts at GoRacers.com, Spotify, iTunes and Soundcloud.
32 Seasons Certainly Went By Fast!
Since 1991 Neal Bradley created a uniquely professional sound on Racer Radio and all of Racer Nation took notice.
Having called more than 1,000 games in 32 seasons, Bradley called more than 700 wins. He was there for 17 Ohio Valley Conference regular season championships, 13 OVC Tournament titles and NCAA Tournament trips. He also called four NCAA victories for the Racers.
In 2022-23, Bradley was on the radio as the Racers joined the Missouri Valley Conference.
"I've told people that at the start, I thought maybe if I was lucky, I could do five years and then that turned into 10 and soon, 32 seasons.," Bradley said. "The travel wore me down and other issues required me to be home more and not travel as much. As far as the games in the Racers' first season in the Missouri Valley Conference, I am glad that I experienced that and got to see the elevated competition level. This is it for me, but I can be a fan now and I will be making some of the road games, like Carbondale, Evansville, Nashville, but I won't have the rigors of traveling with the team. This has been a tremendous ride for me with some of the greatest moments that you can possibly imagine."
Bradley's Broadcast Brothers
In MSU Racer Radio history, Bradley set the record for the longest tenure after Chuck Shufett began doing games on WNBS 1340 AM in the 1950s. Bob Swisher, Hal King, Jim Freeland, Lee Burdorf, Jerry Ferguson, Darryl Gibson and Randy Herndon preceded Bradley. For basketball radio, Bradley's trusted sidekicks have included Mark Hart, Sam Rickman, Nathan Higdon, Paul Bubb and Kenny Roth.
"All of them brought different aspects in terms of what they could do on a broadcast and they were all a joy to work with," Bradley said. "Kenny Roth I think is the most accomplished because he was a coach, administrator and recruiter. He was in the locker room after big wins and after big losses. So he brings that perspective to the radio broadcast."
One thing that Neal is looking forward to in retirement is experiencing the Racer locker room on game day.
"You know how many times I've been in the locker room on game days? Zero!" Bradley stated. "I don't know what goes on in there, unless it's second-hand from you guys posting videos of the celebrations."
You can count on it, Neal. We will get you that experience many times in the future!
Big Moments Demand Big Radio Calls
Throughout the three-part podcast, Neal commented on 22 different extended audio clips from the greatest moments of Racer Radio men's basketball history.
A sudden great moment occurred Feb. 16, 2010, when then freshman, Isaiah Canaan, avoided a turnover. He dribbled the ball off his foot, but caught it near the mid-court line and hit the shot from his knees. What was a normal OVC game against Southeast Missouri, became a national story as video of the play went viral.
"Isaiah messed up and then turned it to gold," Bradley said. "He also made a visit to Mayfield Middle School and made the same shot there and the students thought it was the greatest thing!"
Later in that 2009-10 game, Bradley was there when Danero Thomas' buzzer shot gave the Racers their first NCAA Tournament wins in 22 seasons. With the game being played in San Jose, California, Bradley was spot on with his rhyme call of "we're extending the stay in San Jose!"
"My grandsons had just got home from school to see Danero's shot," Bradley remembered. "They sat in disbelief at their dad's reaction to the moment. My favorite part after the shot was assistant coach Isaac Chew running onto the court to jump into the dogpile and then realizing that he was a coach and coaches don't do that! This moment by Danero Thomas remains as my favorite of them all."
In 1999, Aubrey Reese hit a buzzer shot in Nashville to defeat SEMO and send the Racers to the NCAA Tournament for a third-straight season. Part of Bradley's radio call included the phrase "he did it again."
"He actually had the same scenario a month earlier at Cape Girardeau when SEMO hit a 3-pointer with about five-seconds left and then Reese won the game," Bradley said. "The only difference was the game at SEMO, there was a little time left, but in Nashville, that was the final play and Reese won it. I remember the pirouette from Dr. Hal Houston on the bench when that shot went in."
A Farwell Tour – Sort of!
Any idea of a farewell tour for Neal Bradley has been quickly dismissed by the Murray State Hall of Famer.
So we did the next best thing and recorded nearly three hours with the Voice of the Racers recalling the glory days of Racer Basketball.
We hope you will enjoy these podcasts for years to come!
139.The Runnin' with the Racers Podcast posts each week to GoRacers.com, Spotify, iTunes and Soundcloud.
Announcing that he is stepping down from his Murray State radio duties for men's basketball after 32 seasons, a three-part series was produced as the many memories and play-by-play calls were experienced again.
Bradley is remaining on his Murray State Football radio duties in the fall of 2023.
You can find all of Murray State Athletics' podcasts at GoRacers.com, Spotify, iTunes and Soundcloud.
32 Seasons Certainly Went By Fast!
Since 1991 Neal Bradley created a uniquely professional sound on Racer Radio and all of Racer Nation took notice.
Having called more than 1,000 games in 32 seasons, Bradley called more than 700 wins. He was there for 17 Ohio Valley Conference regular season championships, 13 OVC Tournament titles and NCAA Tournament trips. He also called four NCAA victories for the Racers.
In 2022-23, Bradley was on the radio as the Racers joined the Missouri Valley Conference.
"I've told people that at the start, I thought maybe if I was lucky, I could do five years and then that turned into 10 and soon, 32 seasons.," Bradley said. "The travel wore me down and other issues required me to be home more and not travel as much. As far as the games in the Racers' first season in the Missouri Valley Conference, I am glad that I experienced that and got to see the elevated competition level. This is it for me, but I can be a fan now and I will be making some of the road games, like Carbondale, Evansville, Nashville, but I won't have the rigors of traveling with the team. This has been a tremendous ride for me with some of the greatest moments that you can possibly imagine."
Bradley's Broadcast Brothers
In MSU Racer Radio history, Bradley set the record for the longest tenure after Chuck Shufett began doing games on WNBS 1340 AM in the 1950s. Bob Swisher, Hal King, Jim Freeland, Lee Burdorf, Jerry Ferguson, Darryl Gibson and Randy Herndon preceded Bradley. For basketball radio, Bradley's trusted sidekicks have included Mark Hart, Sam Rickman, Nathan Higdon, Paul Bubb and Kenny Roth.
"All of them brought different aspects in terms of what they could do on a broadcast and they were all a joy to work with," Bradley said. "Kenny Roth I think is the most accomplished because he was a coach, administrator and recruiter. He was in the locker room after big wins and after big losses. So he brings that perspective to the radio broadcast."
One thing that Neal is looking forward to in retirement is experiencing the Racer locker room on game day.
"You know how many times I've been in the locker room on game days? Zero!" Bradley stated. "I don't know what goes on in there, unless it's second-hand from you guys posting videos of the celebrations."
You can count on it, Neal. We will get you that experience many times in the future!
Big Moments Demand Big Radio Calls
Throughout the three-part podcast, Neal commented on 22 different extended audio clips from the greatest moments of Racer Radio men's basketball history.
A sudden great moment occurred Feb. 16, 2010, when then freshman, Isaiah Canaan, avoided a turnover. He dribbled the ball off his foot, but caught it near the mid-court line and hit the shot from his knees. What was a normal OVC game against Southeast Missouri, became a national story as video of the play went viral.
"Isaiah messed up and then turned it to gold," Bradley said. "He also made a visit to Mayfield Middle School and made the same shot there and the students thought it was the greatest thing!"
Later in that 2009-10 game, Bradley was there when Danero Thomas' buzzer shot gave the Racers their first NCAA Tournament wins in 22 seasons. With the game being played in San Jose, California, Bradley was spot on with his rhyme call of "we're extending the stay in San Jose!"
"My grandsons had just got home from school to see Danero's shot," Bradley remembered. "They sat in disbelief at their dad's reaction to the moment. My favorite part after the shot was assistant coach Isaac Chew running onto the court to jump into the dogpile and then realizing that he was a coach and coaches don't do that! This moment by Danero Thomas remains as my favorite of them all."
In 1999, Aubrey Reese hit a buzzer shot in Nashville to defeat SEMO and send the Racers to the NCAA Tournament for a third-straight season. Part of Bradley's radio call included the phrase "he did it again."
"He actually had the same scenario a month earlier at Cape Girardeau when SEMO hit a 3-pointer with about five-seconds left and then Reese won the game," Bradley said. "The only difference was the game at SEMO, there was a little time left, but in Nashville, that was the final play and Reese won it. I remember the pirouette from Dr. Hal Houston on the bench when that shot went in."
A Farwell Tour – Sort of!
Any idea of a farewell tour for Neal Bradley has been quickly dismissed by the Murray State Hall of Famer.
So we did the next best thing and recorded nearly three hours with the Voice of the Racers recalling the glory days of Racer Basketball.
We hope you will enjoy these podcasts for years to come!
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