Aaron Bradshaw recaps 'surreal' debut: "Like a relief that got off my shoulders"

Aaron Bradshaw could feel his leg shaking on the bench before heading to the scorer’s table. The nerves finally hit. After months of waiting and rehabbing, the 7-foot-1 freshman was set to make his Kentucky debut.

His former high school and grassroots teammate had to calm him down. DJ Wagner looked him in the eye and told him to go do what he does best, what they’ve done together for years.

“He was just saying ‘calm down.’ He knows when I’m nervous, I start shaking my leg and doing some anxiety things,” Bradshaw said Thursday. “But he’s like, ‘Bro, you’re good. Just calm down, you’re straight. Play your game and be who you are. Go out there and be a dog.’ He was just giving me a little pep talk.”

It was a weird feeling to do it without Wagner, his on-court brother at Camden High School and with the New Jersey Scholars. “I’m always used to him being by my side,” Bradshaw said. “That was the person I’d go to.”

As he came in, though, Wagner was forced to sit out with an ankle injury. But the show goes on, finally with Bradshaw suiting up for the first time. He’d score three points on 1-1 shooting — a thunderous slam — to go with two rebounds and a block in 12 hard-fought minutes.

It came in a losing effort, but individually, the 7-footer had to start somewhere. And he’ll be the first to tell you it feels good to finally get that weight off his shoulders and just play.

“It felt great, it’s a surreal feeling. I’m just glad to be back,” Bradshaw said. “It was nerve-wracking, but with the help of my teammates and coaching staff, I calmed down really easily and got adjusted. … It was like a relief that got off my shoulders, it felt really good.”

There were times throughout the process Bradshaw felt he was ready and wanted to give it a go ahead of schedule. He was antsy, itching to join his teammates on the floor. That was the hardest part, being told ‘no.’

But he knew the payoff would be worth the patience. And it’s hard to say he’s experienced that completely quite yet in just 12 minutes of action, but it’s coming.

“Multiple times (I wanted to play). I had to sit there and realize my time was coming,” he said. “I had to be patient and get the work done, check those boxes in order for me to play. A lot, a lot, a lot of patience. And it’s different because it’s like a teaching moment for you.”

No setbacks, either. He felt good leaving the game, and he’s felt good in practice in the days since.

“I feel good, I can’t complain. I’m just ready to work, ready for the next journey,” Bradshaw added. “I’ve just got to be me and play my game, get adjusted to the college game, merge with my teammates.”

The debut has allowed him to open up a bit more, too, growing comfortable stepping up as a leader now that he’s actually playing rather than cheering from the bench. That’s been just as important for him, especially after a loss. It’s about getting back to the same brand of basketball the Wildcats were playing leading up to that point.

He wants to be a part of that.

“I’m a vocal person and I like to voice my opinion no matter how you feel about it. I’m always voicing my opinion,” Bradshaw said. “So I feel like with a game under my belt, it’s like a starter for me. I can get back in my groove, do what I do, talk, yell at teammates, get to where we have to get.”

He doesn’t know what the rest of his ramp-up looks like or how many minutes he’ll play each game moving forward. That’s above his pay grade.

“That’s not for me to say, that’s for the coaching staff to say,” he said.

Bradshaw is just happy to be past the point of if. Now, it’s only about when his number will be called each game moving forward.

“I’m just ready whenever they put me in,” Bradshaw said. “I feel good.”