If Avery Bradley’s English teacher assigns him to write a what-I did-on-my-summer-vacation essay when he returns to Bellarmine Prep in a few weeks, Bradley won’t have trouble filling a few pages.

Today, Bradley flew out of Sea-Tac International Airport bound for New York City. From there, one of the nation’s top shooting guards was to board an airplane headed to Brazil where he’ll join eight American college prospects on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball team.

The team will play four games against some of South American’s best teams in three cities from Aug. 16-23. When they’re not on the court, the players will take in the sights and experience Brazilian culture.

“I’m excited,” Bradley said. “We’re going to do some fun things. Not everything will be basketball on this trip. We’re going to go to an orphanage and help out one day. It’s going to be kind of like a vacation.”

Bradley can use some relaxation. He’s traveled around the country this summer, playing in AAU and invitation-only tournaments in Las Vegas and Portland, Ore., among other locations. Two weeks ago he was named co-MVP of the Nike Global Challenge. Bradley shared the honor with Bellarmine Prep teammate and highly-recruited point guard Abdul Gaddy and Serbian Nikola Markovic.

Bradley and Gaddy helped their team, USA2, win the championship at the Beaverton, Ore., tournament. Bradley scored a game-high 25 points and Gaddy had 12 points and seven assists in the finals victory over USA1.

Teams from Senegal, Canada, Puerto Rica, Lithuania, Serbia and America played in the tournament. Bradley said he enjoyed playing against elite players, like himself.

“It’s fun for me to play against guys that are as good as me or better,” he said. “I enjoy going against guys that love basketball as much as me.”

The 6-foot-3 Bradley has seen his stock rise dramatically in the summer basketball circuit. According to Rivals.com, he is the No. 5 shooting guard in the Class of 2009. Bradley has received scholarship offers from Washington, Arizona, UCLA, Kansas, Florida, Memphis and others.

Bradley said he has not made a decision, but said he would begin visiting schools soon.

“I’m going to take my visits during the college football season,” he said. “That way I can experience the atmosphere of college.”