(Photo: The Breakdown)

It’s been almost a month since Burlington, Ontario, native Brady Heslip dropped a career-high 27 points in the Baylor Bears’ 80-63 win over the Colorado Buffaloes in the second round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament. With the Madness of March behind him, the 6’2’’ guard reminisces on what was a wild night in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

“It was an amazing night. For my mom and dad to be there, it meant everything to me. I dreamed of playing in the NCAA Tournament as a kid and being able to play in it and be successful was really just an amazing feeling. It felt like my hard work had been paying off,” Heslip said via email.

Not only did the 21-year-old sophomore set a Baylor NCAA-record for most three-pointers made in a game (9-12), Brady also became a trending topic on Twitter in a matter of minutes.

“It was a little hectic. My phone was going crazy. It was cool having people send me very nice messages on Twitter. I appreciated all of them, but I was not going to let it change my outlook and attitude towards the game or my work ethic, “ said the humble Heslip.

All eyes were on the Baylor bomber that night, including those of Phoenix Suns’ point guard, Steve Nash. “Captain Canada” was quick to congratulate Brady on his three-point barrage via the online social networking service.

“@bradyheslip killing tonight!! Congrats. Keep it going....,” tweeted the two-time National Basketball Association (NBA) Most Valuable Player (MVP).

Heslip fell just two three-pointers shy from the overall Tournament record held by Jeff Fryer of Loyola-Marymount in 1990.

Heslip’s success should come as to no surprise. Brady breathes basketball. In fact, the sharpshooter has been known to sleep and even shower with his leather lover. His stroke may seem somewhat robotic, but it’s because this bad news bear has to make 150 threes before and after each Baylor practice. A quick release requires repetition he says.

“I used to watch a lot of Ray Allen videos and he really stressed repetition. He’s the NBA’s best shooter ever, so why not follow what he does? I would shoot all the time. Every chance I got,” said Heslip.

The young Canuck comes from one of Canada’s blueblood basketball families. His mother Jody Triano was a standout high school point guard and his father Tom Heslip was an All-Canadian basketball player for the University of Guelph in 1980. His uncle Jay Triano played on the Canadian National team for 11 years and then went on to become the head coach of the Toronto Raptors for nearly three full seasons before moving into a front-office position with the team. Heslip says he keeps in constant communication with his uncle Jay.

“I communicate with Jay quite often (via) BlackBerry Messenger and text messaging. He offers me great advice on just staying focused, working hard and other areas of my game that he sees I need to improve on,” said Heslip.

Besides being basically bred into the sport of basketball, Heslip’s road to Waco, Texas, wasn’t entirely smooth. Prior to playing for Scott Drew at Baylor, Heslip was initially enrolled as an Eagle at Boston College. But after Al Skinner was let go as head coach, his replacement Steve Donahue saw no use for the gunslinger in his system.

Heslip had to sit out the entire 2010-11 season in accordance to NCAA transfer rules. But the time off served as a blessing in disguise for “Straps”; a nickname handed to him by his basketball brothers at Baylor. “Strap the scene” is what his teammates say when Heslip hits from long range.

Heslip lost 20 plus pounds during his redshirt year. Instead of sulking while being forced to sit out a season, Heslip realized that the only way to earn minutes moving forward would be to layoff the sweets.

“My diet was the main thing I had to change. I’ve always been in the gym working hard, but it was just the way I was eating. I would eat lots of candy and eat late at night. I still eat candy, but I just do it from week-to-week, not every day,” said Heslip.

The former junk-food junkie finished third in the Big 12 conference this past season with 84 three-pointers made and sixth in the nation with a 43.5 three-point percentage. He was also named to the Big 12 All-Tournament Team. Heslip gives credit to those who have helped him with his form along the way.

“I really got my shot from my dad. He taught me how to shoot properly. Everyone who has helped me and supported me over the years always stressed hard work,” said Heslip.

One might assume Brady’s basketball heroes would include Hall-of-Fame shooters like Reggie Miller, but that’s not the case. While he admires the “Knick Killer”, it’s another proven pistol he looks up to most; Pete Maravich.

Maravich is considered to be one of the best pure shooters of all time. He is arguably the greatest college basketball scorer ever. He holds nearly every single college scoring record and averaged 44.2 points per game at Louisiana State University before the three-point line was ever introduced.

After Heslip read “Pistol’s” second book (Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich), he grew out his hair as a tribute to the icon, who died in 1988 of a heart attack while playing pickup ball. For Heslip, it’s important to acknowledge the greats who paved the way for players like him.

“My father got me really tuned into “Pistol” and how hard he worked. (Maravich) was a basketball junkie, playing in the gym every day. I look back on it, and I was that way. I would spend full days at the gym just playing. (Maravich) is an amazing character with a fascinating story and I really admire him,” said the shaggy-haired Heslip.

Heslip was one of 31 Canadians on 21 different Division-1 rosters who participated in this year's NCAA Tournament. During last year’s run, there were 20 Canadians in the field, including two first round NBA draft picks Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph (both played for Texas). Heslip says he isn’t at all surprised by the growing number of Canadians excelling south of the border.

“It’s just that Canadians are getting a chance to show the world we can really play. We’ve known this for some time now. Just getting the chance to participate in the Tournament and be a part of the whole thing is an amazing feeling. I feel blessed to be a part of that group,” said Heslip.

Needless to say, the future looks very bright for Heslip and his Canadian counterparts; about as bright as Baylor’s florescent highlighter-yellow uniforms.  

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