Wessler: Play it again, Sam, and again and ...

This was not the way Sam Singh figured his Bradley basketball career would finally end.

He had ridden the bench with a knee injury in March 2006, when the Braves made their NCAA Sweet 16 run in his second season at BU. He wanted to go back to the Big Dance and play a part on the court.

Northern Iowa put an end to that dream Saturday, knocking Bradley out of the Missouri Valley tournament semifinals, 57-40. It was another in a season full of frustrating performances by the Braves; one that begged an explanation of what happened.

But Singh shook his head slightly and said, no, he didn’t want to talk about that. Not today. He spoke with the sort of calm perspective you might hear from a grandfather, which, as a sixth-year man in a four-year college sport, Singh ... is.

“I just want to think of the positives right now,” Singh said, turning from handshakes with younger teammates. “I had a blast with these guys. I could have been out in the real world, miserable working every day, 9 to 5. Thanks to the opportunity Coach Les gave me, I was able to come back for a sixth year.”

Singh played five games early in his freshman season, way back in 2004, before a shoulder injury required surgery. He received a medical redshirt and tried again in 2005. He played seven games before wrecking a knee in practice. That caused him to miss the rest of the Sweet 16 season. He didn’t play in his first Missouri Valley Conference game till his third season, then settled into a role as a backup post player.

He figured his career was done last February, near the end of his fifth year. Then coach Jim Les approached him about applying for a hardship ruling from the NCAA, which smiled upon him and gave him back the lost 2005-06 season.

“I owe Coach Les a huge debt of gratitude,” Singh said, quickly adding trainer Marcus Ohnemus, strength coach Ronnie Wright and the entire coaching staff to a list that started to sound like one of those you’ll hear winners recite on the Academy Awards show Sunday night. “I owe them all,” Singh said, “for putting me in the position to be out there and perform.”

His performances were rarely statistical gems. A 6-feet-9 center, Singh’s career scoring average is 2.8 points per game; his rebounding average 2.4. Twice, he scored 13 points in a game. Twice, including Saturday, he grabbed eight rebounds. Those were his biggest numbers.

But as he grew into his role over the years, Singh would contribute big hustle plays. Like one he made in the second half Saturday, as the Braves tried to fight their way back into a game they essentially lost in the first five minutes. On a teammate’s missed 3-pointer, Singh on his creaky knees sprinted from the paint to the sideline, outracing UNI opponents to the ball and giving his team a second chance to score.

There simply weren’t enough of those, though.

“That’s a great team,” Singh said of Northern Iowa. “They didn’t win the league by three games for nothing. They’ve got great defense, they play well together, there’s a toughness to them. They have a strong post presence and guys that can score. And they’re good guys. They just played a better game than we did.

“It’s basketball,” he continued. “Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. I’ve been part of enough winning teams and winning games in my life that when I look back, I’ll be happy.”

Saturday marked Singh’s 134th game as a Brave. Only Billy Mann (138) and Squeaky Melchiorre (137), the dynamic backcourt duo of Bradley’s 1950 NCAA and NIT runner-up club, played in more.

Truth is, Singh wouldn’t mind a chance to add to his number of games. Not to break any records. That subject never even came up.

“Absolutely,” Singh said, when asked if he wanted Bradley to receive, and accept, an invitation to a postseason tournament. He started rattling off names of former teammates: Jeremy Crouch, J.J. Tauai, Will Franklin, Daniel Ruffin. Singh arrived on campus with Crouch as true freshmen in 2004.

“... Just for the guys like Crouch and J.J. and Will and Ruff — all those guys that said they would do anything to put on the uniform one more time,” Singh said. “It’d be for those guys. All the battles I’ve been through, with this team, with teams of the past, I owe them more than I owe myself to take advantage of that opportunity if it comes.”

That’s Sam Singh. Super senior, if not super star.

“I got to play basketball every day,” he said, “and I got my education paid for. I can’t ask for any more than that.”

KIRK WESSLER is Journal Star executive sports editor/columnist. He can be reached at kwessler@pjstar.com or 686-3216.