Can you fathom how difficult it is to pick the greatest players ever to run on the hard court for the NIU men’s basketball team? A panel of NIU administration, alumni and members of the local media collaborated to pick the centennial men’s basketball squad, along with the NIU player of the century.

The starting line-up reads like a who’s who list of Huskie basketball. The front court is led by Allen Rayhorn at center, T.J. Lux and Kenny Battle at forward and Donald Whiteside and Jim Bradley at the guard spots.

These five were the top vote-getters on the long list of Huskie stars who were considered for the team. Bradley was chosen as Huskie player of the century after receiving unanimous votes from the committee.

Bradley was the leader for NIU player of the century with 16 votes, followed by Rayhorn with four, Lux and Battle with two and forwards Donnell Thomas, Paul Dawkins and Matt Hicks each receiving one vote.

Bradley, a 6-foot-10-inch, 221-pound all-purpose player was a two-time All-American from 1971-1973. Nicknamed “The Franchise,” Bradley led coach Tom Jorgensen’s 1971-72 squad to a 21-4 record and a spot in the major-college top 20 rankings. The 71-72 squad broke 52 NIU records and upset then-No. 5 Indiana University.

In 49 games in a Huskie uniform, Bradley amassed 1,134 points and 824 rebounds along with two of the only three triple-doubles in team history.

Former NIU sports information director Bud Nangle said Bradley was a giant among men.

“Jim Bradley could do it all,” said Nangle. “He hit 40-footers, dribbled behind his back or through his legs, handled the ball against the press, led the break and passed better than someone a foot shorter.”

Chicago Tribune sportswriting legend Bill Jauss also spoke highly of Bradley.

“He had established himself as a scorer and a rebounder,” Jauss said. “It was almost like Wilt Chamberlin in the early 1970s. Now Bradley wanted to show people he could pass the ball, too. One of the first times I saw Bradley, he got eight assists. If he had stayed in the league (ABA-NBA) for a long time, Bradley would have been one of the all-time greats.”

In 1973-74, Bradley left NIU because of academic problems and NCAA sanctions. He joined NBA greats Artis Gilmore, Dan Issel and Louie Dampier on the American Basketball Association Kentucky Colonels. A year after his acquisition, the Colonels captured the ABA title. Bradley became a basketball nomad as he traveled to the ABA, CBA, France and eventually to the NBA. On Feb. 20, 1982, a promising career was cut short when Bradley was found dead in an alley in Portland, Ore.

Back in 1982, former NBA all-star and current Denver Nuggets coach Dan Issel said Bradley was one of the most talented player he’s ever seen.

“Talent-wise, I would put him in the class of the Julius Ervings and David Thompsons of the world,” said Issel.

Even two NIU gridiron greats were given votes for their athletic performance on the basketball court. Reino Nori and George Bork were both stars on the NIU men’s basketball team during their days as football heroes. Nori was NIU’s first NFL player after breaking the roster with the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and Brooklyn Dodgers. He holds a school record 17 varsity letters in five sports from 1932-36.

Bork was a 1999 inductee into the college football hall of fame and was team MVP, league MVP and All-American quarterback for the Huskies from 1960-63. The right arm that received accolades on the gridiron also flicked jump shots for 1,114 points in three seasons.

Eighty-six other Huskie legends received one vote, including 33 NIU hall of famers and 12 athletes who were either drafted or signed as free-agents in the NBA.

Members of the All-Century team will be acknowledged at halftime of the NIU-Ball State men’s game on Saturday, Feb. 17 at the Chick Evans Field House. Game time is set for 7:05 P.M.