As Aaron Bradshaw stars for Camden and has his choice of colleges, Rahway remains meaningful

RAHWAY, N.J. — Omari Peterson rushed up the court and waved his arms wildly in an attempt to steal the ball from his 7-foot opponent, Camden High senior center Aaron Bradshaw.

Peterson, 8, a third-grader at Lindenwold School 5 Elementary, looked like an ant going up against a giraffe, and his defensive skills were no match against the Bradshaw tower in front of him. Peterson swatted at Bradshaw’s knees like an angry gnat before the top college prospect gently placed the ball against his cousin’s chest and ended the misery.

An hour later, Peterson and about two dozen other kids sat in a semicircle around the top of the key of one basket at Rahway Recreation Center and watched Bradshaw make a thunderous two-handed reverse dunk.

“I was realizing how, back when I was a kid, I didn’t really have nobody. I didn’t have camps or exposure,” Bradshaw said later that day, after he hosted a one-day hoops camp for New Jersey-area kids at the Rahway indoor facility near Bradshaw’s childhood home. “I was thinking, ‘Why don’t I just run my own camp?’ Show the kids some love, be the best role model I can be.”

Bradshaw, a key cog in the Camden Panthers’ high school state title run this past spring, was relaxed and all smiles during the three hours he spent tutoring the young basketball hopefuls on a recent Thursday, and his cool demeanor will be an important asset to lean on as he embarks on his final year at Camden.

There are the obvious expectations and pressures that come with being the nation’s No. 5-ranked prospect (according to ESPN). Will the Panthers repeat as state champs and do so without coach Rick Brunson, who bolted and joined the New York Knicks’ coaching staff? Which Division I program will Bradshaw choose? Is an 18-year-old Bradshaw equipped to handle the intricacies of name, image, and likeness business partnerships?

But there are also the unexpected challenges, including the lingering fallout from a June NJ.com report, which suggested that Camden cheated its way to the state championship. The report also leveled numerous claims at Camden’s program and certain players like Bradshaw and his star teammate, DJ Wagner. The report said that Bradshaw lives in a home owned by Wagner’s father and grandmother, raising concerns about his residency status.

A spokesman for the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association confirmed to The Inquirer that an NJSIAA investigation of Camden High is ongoing and that the association would have no comment.

Bradshaw, for his part, welcomed the naysayers and critics, and said, “That’s cool” in response to the NJ.com report that Camden’s ‘22 championship may be tainted.

“Hey, come at us,” said Bradshaw. “I really got nothing to say. I’ll let our actions, me and my team’s actions, speak for itself.”

When ESPN released its latest rankings of the top 100 high school players in the Class of 2023, Wagner held the top spot and Bradshaw was four rungs below. While there is no doubt that Bradshaw’s size and shot-blocking ability make him a fearsome defender, he is an equally deft shooter and moves with the quickness of a guard.

“[Bradshaw’s] definitely ready to go, but he will have to improve in some areas,” said Jason Harrigan, the St. Joseph’s Prep boys’ basketball coach and Bradshaw’s coach for the New Jersey Scholars Elite AAU team. “Just getting more comfortable with the ball, and he could probably get a little bit stronger.

“But his skill set for a 7-foot kid is very rare. He is extremely gifted for a 7-foot guy and he still blocks a lot of shots, he dunks. He does all of those things for a big man, but he has some really good guard skills. That’s obviously something that he’s worked on. The sky’s the limit for him, to be honest.”

Bradshaw’s work ethic in the gym has never been a problem, according to Peter Marston, an athletic trainer and coach who helped Bradshaw run the one-day camp in Rahway. Marston owns a New Jersey fitness business, and he started training Bradshaw when he was younger.

“Any time you meet anybody young and who’s pretty tall, you know their potential,” Marston said. “But at the end of day, it’s still about the work. And the big thing with Aaron is he works.”

Bradshaw said the gym is where “I get all my frustrations out, and work my butt off for that hour, hour and a half.”

But he is laser-focused on his education, too, and he told the camp attendees to “stay in school” at all costs.

“The first thing you need is an education,” Bradshaw told the children. “School is really important.”

To that end, Bradshaw said he had ruled out options like the NBA’s G League or the Overtime Elite league — where basketball prospects give up their NCAA eligibility to earn six-figure salaries and train with the goal of making the NBA.

“I’ve heard of them, but I need more. I’m trying to get my degree,” Bradshaw said. “Yeah, man, education, that’s something you’ve always got to have. Nobody can take your education degree from you.”

He’s also entering the waters of the still-emerging NIL arena, where NCAA and now high school athletes (in some states) can be compensated through NIL deals. Bradshaw already has some partnerships in place, but his representatives at the powerful Octagon agency did not disclose any further information.

Jason Setchen, a Florida sports attorney who has represented numerous NCAA athletes, said high school elite athletes choosing representation to navigate the NIL waters is a shrewd move.

“I think it’s beneficial in the sense that someone with experience will likely have an eye on the bigger picture,” Setchen said. “If a kid selects an experienced agent — who can only provide marketing advice — they will be less likely to make shortsighted decisions like some families have made when their financial situation was precarious. These are good people to have in a [player’s] orbit, who can offer guidance and direction.”

Bradshaw lamented how he didn’t play his freshman year at Roselle Catholic because of “failing” grades. He then missed his sophomore year because of academics after he “transitioned from Roselle to Camden.”

“I really, really wish I could turn back the time, go back, refocus, and lock in. But now, it’s a new year, a new me,” Bradshaw said.

There is plenty of excitement building on Bradshaw’s future college choice alone, with Kentucky a possible front-runner. For now, Bradshaw is keeping that information close to the vest.

“I’m taking it easy. It’s my decision,” he said. “It’s nobody else’s decision. I’m going to do what’s best for me. Have fun with it. But not there yet. This is going to be my best year. Just going to have a blast.”