3/10/2004

Humble senior, high priorities

Bedford just wants to win

Matt Goul
Daily Kent Stater

No hype, just wins please.

That is all Bryan Bedford is about on the basketball court.

The 6-foot-4 senior forward was jokingly called “the backup center” by coach Jim Christian before the season started. That just illustrated what Bedford can do to help Kent State’s men’s basketball team win games. Post him up or stick him on the perimeter. He is to a basketball team what a utility man is to a baseball team. He can play at just about any position — except maybe point guard.

He has played in all 128 games the Flashes have played during his four-year career, more than any other player on the team. In that time, Kent State is 95-33.

Bedford is also the only senior whose career has traveled the normal four-year path. He is one of five seniors. John Edwards and Eric Haut were redshirted as freshman. Matt Jakeway and Brian Howard transferred into the program.

As Bedford’s senior season for the Flashes has progressed, so have his personal highs. First, he set a career-high in scoring with 16 points in a win at Eastern Michigan. He later broke that with 17 points in a win at Marshall, then scored 18 against Western Michigan. The career-high was raised one more time in a second win against Bowling Green in which Bedford scored 20 points.

Bedford’s shooting style is that of a gunslinger. Awkward? Yes. Accurate? Definitely.

Maybe it could be his form. When Bedford cocks back his jump shot, the crowd knows a big shot is coming. With his left, non-shooting hand placed over the ball, he does not look like a traditional 3-point marksman. But he is.

Bedford entered his senior season with a career-high 10 points, which he had five times. Not only has Bedford surpassed that mark four times in setting new highs, he’s also passed his old scoring mark of 10 on three other occasions this season.

“It’s something I don’t really think about much,” Bedford said. “When winning is the main focus, you don’t really try to get caught up in the individual accolades and stuff like that.”

Bedford said the wins are what he is about, but this is his senior year. He has been a part of 20-win teams each season. His focus has not changed, but that does not mean he cannot have fun.

“I’m enjoying it,” he said.

Humble could be a word to describe Bedford. Edwards, a fellow senior and roommate, said that is a quality that makes Bedford fit with the Flashes.

“He’s the last guy who would ever toot his own horn,” Edwards said. “If he has a good game, we have to call his parents and tell them that he did well.”

Each season, Bedford has played a role. Each season that role has grown. Now, that role has grown into being a senior, which has come with providing leadership. Along with the heightened role as a senior, a spot in the starting lineup has been added to that role.

“That’s definitely been an added role this year, trying to be a little bit more vocal,” Bedford said. “This is my fourth year now, and when things aren’t going well, it’s not so much what you said, but it’s how you do it.”

Since Christian inserted Bedford into the Flashes’ starting lineup against Cleveland State in the sixth game of the season, the Flashes are 17-3. Christian said the lineup change was to get more experience in the starting lineup. Bedford was swapped into the lineup for sophomore Clif Brown.

“When Clif was starting, some seniors would ask why they weren’t starting because they’re a senior,” Edwards said. “He saw it as making the team better. He’ll do anything for the team. He’s a very selfless person.”

With the emergence of freshman Scott Cutley, Bedford found himself coming off the bench again in the Flashes’ season finale at Ohio. But Edwards said Bedford’s unselfishness is what makes his persona reflect the team.

“I think Bryan is the epitome of that,” Edwards said. “He’s everything you could ask for in a team player.”

Winning helps too. Bedford was accustomed to success before arriving at Kent State. He led Case High School in Racine, Wis., to a state championship with a 25-2 record as a junior. As a senior at Case, Bedford earned all-state honors and averaged 14.2 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.

Bedford’s team success has translated from high school to college. He has been a part of the Flashes’ last four 20-win seasons and MAC East Division Championships. He came off the bench in the Flashes’ Elite Eight run in 2002.

Bedford said the success he and his teammates have experienced makes them want to win this year even more.

“When I was a freshman, I didn’t really understand what it meant to win the MAC,” he said. “Each year, the understanding and the hunger has definitely grown.”

For Bedford and his fellow seniors, they have grown into one final run at continuing the ride. Now, they just aren’t along for the ride to another championship. They are driving for the quest.

Bedford’s 128 games played currently ranks third on the all-time school list for games played. He trails Trevor Huffman and Andrew Mitchell, who each played 131 games in their careers. Bedford will tie their mark if the Flashes advance to the Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship.

Edwards and Haut are not too far behind Bedford in the games played category. Edwards has played three games less than Bedford in his career. And they know each other well enough that they are roommates, along with Jakeway.

“We have a good mixture,” Bedford said. “I’m the more laid back of the three. Jakeway, he’s more outspoken. And big John is a good medium between us.”

Edwards said his friendship with teammates like Bedford will last beyond the basketball court and college.

“He’s definitely someone, who in 20 or 30 years down the line, I’ll still be in touch with him,” Edwards said. “He’s like a brother.”

E-mail: mgoul@kent.edu