The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Bragg: ASU is ‘best fit for me’
VASJ graduate says OSU wasn’t interested
Carlton Bragg’s choice of where he would continue his college basketball career was narrowed to three schools: Arizona State, Cincinnati and Illinois.
The former Villa Angela-St. Joseph forward, again a highly sought recruit, went to Tempe, Ariz., first because it was the school farthest from Northeast Ohio. After his visit with Bobby Hurley’s Sun Devils, Bragg canceled his other visits.
“I think it was the best fit for me,” Bragg said. “When I talked it over with my family, they also agreed with me. Their style of play matches my style of play. They play fast, they like to shoot it a lot and I think I can impact there a lot.”
The 6-foot-10 forward must sit out the 2017-18 season per NCAA transfer rules, but will have two years of eligibility remaining at Arizona State. Bragg may not introduce himself to the Sun Devil faithful on the piano, as he did at Kansas, but looks forward to getting to campus.
“I’m just going to show everybody my versatility,” Bragg said. “It’s more just than basketball, I’m an outgoing person, I’m a people person.”
Bragg said he was primarily in contact with Arizona State assistant Anthony Coleman, who played for current Ohio State coach Thad Matta at Xavier.
Bragg said he respected Hurley’s story of adversity. Hurley suffered life-threatening injuries in a car crash during his rookie season with the Sacramento Kings in 1993 and returned to the court in 1994 to play four more seasons.
Bragg will join a roster that featured eight freshmen and went 15-18 in Hurley’s
second season at Arizona State. Hurley added three four-star recruits to the program in 2016 and brings in two more alongside Bragg in this recruiting cycle. Bragg met the team at an open gym and sees a bright future with his soon-to-be teammates.
“I met all of them,” Bragg said. “All of them seemed cool. We’ve got a lot of talent on the team. There’s a lot of people that are going to be surprised.”
Bragg, a McDonald’s AllAmerican in 2015, was ESPN’s top-ranked player in Ohio when he committed to Bill Self and the Jayhawks. He chose Kansas over offers from blueblood powers Arizona, UCLA and Kentucky. Bragg was the 2015 Division III Ohio Player of the Year as a senior after he averaged 21.3 points, eight rebounds and two blocks per game to lead VASJ to its sixth state title.
Bragg spent two seasons at Kansas. He averaged 4.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per game in 11.1 minutes over 69 career appearances. Bragg was the only player in Kansas’ 2015 recruiting class to play in all 38 games his freshman year.
Bragg was suspended twice during this past season at Kansas, and reinstated each time.
He was charged with battery in December, a charge dropped less than a week later. Review of surveillance footage that captured the incident showed Bragg acted in self-defense, and the woman who accused Bragg was charged with battery.
On Jan. 30, Bragg was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. Two days later, Bragg entered into a diversion agreement with the City of Lawrence Municipal Court that states the charge will be dropped in August if he doesn’t commit any other crimes.
“I had some ups and downs at Kansas, but I had an overall good experience,” Bragg said. “I’m just going to take what I learned from Kansas and just move on, have a fresh start, new beginning. I’m just trying to help this program, I’m trying to impact it the best way I can.”
Babe Kwasniak, Bragg’s high school coach at VASJ, looks forward to seeing Bragg succeed in a new phase of his basketball career.
“I don’t need Carlton to ever make another basket,” Kwasniak said. “I love him unconditionally and support him no matter what. Carlton is very proud of where he is from. If I know anything about this young man, it’s that he is resilient. Kansas was not the book on his life but simply a chapter. I look forward to Carlton proving a lot of people wrong, a lot of Vikings proud.”
Bragg’s reported interest in Ohio State was no red herring. A return to Columbus would have been more than welcomed on Bragg’s end, but the Buckeyes didn’t reciprocate his interest. Bragg holds no grudge.
“It would’ve been good to come home, but, unfortunately, they weren’t showing interest in me,” Bragg said. “I was showing interest in them but it just didn’t work out.”
Bragg’s focus is now solely with the Sun Devils, where his sights will also still be set on the NBA.
“I’m just going to give them my all,” Bragg said. “Just work hard every day and try to impact the program in the best way possible.”