South Carolina’s roster is full of a lot of new names, but one of the biggest names on this year’s iteration of Gamecock basketball is one fans know quite well.
Keyshawn Bryant is back for his senior season in Columbia after arguably his best year of his career and is expected to be a leader for a team full of first-year players in the program.
Bryant comes back after testing NBA waters this offseason and Frank Martin said this offseason he’s seen the growth he’s wanted to from Bryant.
“His biggest growth as a player comes in his growth as a human being. He’s always been an athlete who can jump up and make spectacular plays. I saw him do that in 10th or 11th grade in high school. Now he’s a lot more comfortable in who he is and trying to help others, not just be consumed with what he’s doing,” Martin said.
“Not everyone has to be a rah-rah guy. There are a lot of phony rah-rah guys. At the end of the day, are you willing to share your vision, your voice with your teammates to help them? He’s learned to do that in his own way.”
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Bryant is coming off a year where he set career highs in points per game (14.4), field goal percentage (48.3), rebounds per game (5.4), steals per game (1.3), offensive rating (95.4) and his lowest turnover rate (19.6).
With a higher usage rate, though, Bryant posted lower assist rates and still has a high turnover rate for someone who’s not running the offense.
Heading into his senior season he’ll likely have a big role in what the Gamecocks are doing but will continuously compete for minutes with guys like James Reese, a transfer from North Texas.
That, Martin thinks, will be a good thing for Bryant and the rest of the team.
“At the end of the day, he and everyone else in the locker room know we’re deep. They have their hands full. We’re deep and unbelievably competitive. It’s going to be a rock fight to create playing time,” he said. “I’d rather have a headache of trying to figure out why to play than the headache of not having enough guys I want to play. I’m excited for that and excited for Key. He’s grown up a lot.”
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Speaking this offseason, Martin also updated what he’s seen from Josh Gray in limited amount of reps from the last-arriving transfer on the roster.
Gray arrived in early July and has spent the time since getting adjusted to what Martin and his staff want.
“My biggest thing with Josh was he went to four high schools. He goes to college and transfers after his first year,” he said. “My biggest thing with him is he needs to dig his feet in and find a way to call somewhere home where he can learn how to grow. That’s been my message to him.”
Gray, who was recruited out of Putnam Science Academy by South Carolina, opted to enroll at LSU where he played in 10 games (33 minutes) with eight points, 12 rebounds and a block.
He’s literally the biggest Gamecock this season—7-foot, 255 pounds—and the staff things he can really fit what they like to do from a bigs standpoint.
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“Our big guys rebound and will ball screen. But we’re still old-fashioned. We actually throw it to our big guys when they post up. I think he’s excited he’s going to be able to grow,” Martin said.
“When you’re 7-feet tall, 260 pounds with really good hands you get tired of ball screening. You want to be able to take advantage of match ups and play close to the rim. I think he’s understanding that’s important to us.”
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