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What does it take to be an NBA player?
In many cases, it’s about sheer size and strength. If you stand at least 6’10” and tip the scales north of 245, there is probably a roster spot for you somewhere.
Same goes for those with pure, unmatched athleticism. Bill Walton refers to this group as the “winners of the genetic lottery.” Blake Griffin might never learn to shoot a free throw properly, but he sure can leap over the hood of an automobile.
Or you can reach the NBA by mastering a particular skill.
Like Dennis Rodman, who figured out every conceivable angle that an errant jump shot could carom and made it his life’s work to track each and every one of them down.
Like Bob Cousy, who acted as lead composer for the Celtics’ dynasty of the 50’s-60’s by reading the court like a war general and handing out assists with the ease of a friendly neighbor unloading life-sized Snickers bars on Halloween.
There are many different paths to the league. There are lottery picks that have a decade-long career in the palm of their hand just so long as they remain on the straight and narrow.
There are guys like Draymond Green and Tim Hardaway, Jr. -- players fortunate enough to have displayed their talents at big-name basketball institutions where visibility and opportunity are never in short supply.
Then there is Travis Bader. A household name to hoop-heads in the metro Detroit area.
And an anonymous figure to the rest of the country.
Deserving Of Attention
At first glance, nothing really jumps out at you about his situation. Bader is a 6’5” senior shooting guard leading his team with a respectable 20 point per night average. He suits up for little-known Oakland University, a 12-19 squad that just completed a fairly ho-hum maiden season in the Horizon League. But let’s be careful not to bury the lede, here.
He also happens to be the most prolific long-distance shooter in the history of college basketball. It’s the kind of accomplishment that demands a second look and a show of roundball respect.
Does that make him worthy of entrance into the hallowed ground that is the National Basketball Association? Not necessarily. Setting a collegiate record does not always translate to professional success.
Of the top ten passers in college football history, only three (Ty Detmer, Philip Rivers, Colt McCoy) went on to win a single game as an NFL quarterback. Of the ten best NCAA home run swatters, only two (Pete Incaviglia, Cory Snyder) cracked over 100 round-trippers in the bigs.
But cashing in on 494 three-pointers is not some fluke occurrence. It can’t be achieved with a couple of sizzling weeks or even a year’s worth of hot shooting. It requires four complete seasons of sustained long-range marksmanship. Bader has done just that.
And fortunately for the Okemos native, outside shooting never has and never will be a fad in competitive hoops. Every Hakeem Olajuwon and Tim Duncan needed a Robert Horry, Mario Elie, or Steve Kerr to knock down shots and space the floor. It’s how the game works. Pound the ball inside when the opportunity presents itself. When the defense starts to collapse and force the ball back outside, you must have shooters capable of making it rain from 23 feet.
Pistons Could Learn From The Kid.
Take this year’s Pistons, for example. They often rack up points in the paint, dominating teams on the interior. But it’s generally to no avail due to the fact that they are so grossly inept from the perimeter.
They rank 29th out of 30 in 3-point accuracy. Kyle Singler is the only rotation regular that sinks over 35% (which isn’t very good, anyway).
The Pistons are literally thirsting for players that can routinely spin the ball from hand to net without a mid-flight crash into the side of the iron.
Travis Bader is such a talent. From the short line, too. Of the college hoopers that have taken at least 100 free throws this year, Bader leads the pack with a blistering 94%.
He’s attempted 148 freebies this season. His misses can be counted on two hands (9). The fact that Bader has been able to put up the kind of numbers he has with a limited crop of talent around him is a testament to his tenacity and underrated ability to move without the ball. A player like Bader gets the other squad’s primetime defensive attention each time he steps on the floor. Nothing comes easy. Yet he still finds openings and still remains productive.
Twice this year, Bader bagged 10 triples in a single ballgame. That’s basically unheard of in the college ranks, where shorter game length and a longer shot clock make possessions more scarce than that of the more drawn-out NBA affair.
A Grand Finale
Bader’s final regular season game took place Saturday night against Youngstown State. It set up as a tricky road date for Greg Kampe’s Grizzlies. They had taken out Youngstown earlier in the year with a ferocious comeback at the O’Rena. The Penguins would have revenge on their minds this time.
It was Senior Night, meaning the home crowd would be out in full force to make sure they sent superstar guard Kendrick Perry off in style. The game would also determine which school would have home-court advantage for Tuesday night’s rematch to open the conference tournament.
It was like a mini Super Bowl. You know, if the Super Bowl drew 4,000 fans and was played in a building known as the Beeghly Physical Education Center. As has become Bader’s custom during his four celebrated years in Rochester, the shooter did not disappoint. He logged 39 adrenaline-filled minutes, turned the ball over just once, popped in 11 of 19 from the field (including a half-dozen treys), and converted all five tries at the stripe. He outgunned his counterpart Perry 33 to 30, and as a result, Bader and OU scampered out of Ohio with a very gratifying season-ending 87-81 victory.
A Promising Future
But before Bader can be anointed as the second coming of Ray Allen, there are certain criticisms to take into account. Some view Bader as one-dimensional. A guy who can fire up threes and not much else. They say his quickness is subpar and that his defense will suffer as a result. There are questions about ball handling and whether he’ll have the ability to create his own shot in the pro game.
And those claims might very well carry some validity with them. But I still don’t see any of them serving as an unmovable road block preventing Bader’s future ascension to the game’s highest level.
J.J. Redick, the man Bader recently passed for the all-time lead in NCAA three-pointers, has carved out a near-decade long career in the league with a very similar skill set.
He’s counted on to run through a million screens on each possession, hit shots when open, and swish virtually every free throw. And he does a pretty good job of it.
Is it so unrealistic to imagine Bader doing those very same things and establishing a steady foothold in the NBA? I surely don’t think so.
And so Bader begins his final act as a college basketball player tomorrow night. With a fairly pedestrian supporting cast alongside, his stay in the Horizon tournament could very well be a brief one. The championship will probably belong to Green Bay or Cleveland State, the top tandem throughout the season.
But even as the last few seconds melt off and Oakland prepares to say their goodbyes, Bader can take comfort in knowing that the ending to his personal basketball odyssey is yet to be written.
Some will view his NBA quest as a pipe dream -- a carnival attraction with a singular skill trying to milk it for all that it’s worth. But they’ll be missing the point. Shooting the basketball well and doing so with a hair-trigger release is not something to be taken for granted.
It is a valued attribute, and it is timeless. And very few do it better than Travis Bader.
