It’s not necessarily the most unique concept that a team having its best players on the court usually leads to more success and, in turn, bigger and better wins.
Such is the case with again most college basketball teams, and it’s true for South Carolina as well. The Gamecocks have battled a few injuries over the course of the season and it’s a constant battle to keep one of their best players—Keyshawn Bryant—in the lineup.
When he is, though, it’s easy to see why the Gamecocks play better with him on the court.
“Key’s making some great reads,” Frank Martin said. “When there’s certain action at one end of the court, we’re trying to make him understand when to cut. I tell people he might be our most intelligent player. He knows every play call. He knows everything we do. When someone messes up, he knows who messed up. He’s on point. That’s my challenge with him to understand how intelligent he is so he can take advantage of that.”
Also see: Breaking down the keys to a win Wednesday
Bryant has missed nine full games this season and 37 minutes of another—eight coming back from knee surgery and the majority of two battling a head injury—while playing in nine games this season.
While the Gamecocks are 6-4 with him not in the lineup compared to 5-4 with him playing, he’s been on the floor for the team’s biggest wins of the season at Clemson and Virginia and for the buzzer-beater victory over Kentucky.
It’s not just his production—8.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists—but his athleticism, especially on the defensive end, and leadership make a difference.
It showed against Vanderbilt, his first game back from battling a head injury, when the Gamecocks put up their best offensive efficiency number (124.1) with Bryant hitting three shots for seven points with four rebounds and three assists.
“His voice, Keyshawn wouldn’t say boo last year,” Martin said. “Now he’s talking trying to help his team and stay positive. Now he’s trying to make basketball plays. Last year he was a dunker. Let’s get him in the open court if we can and go dunk. Now he’s making basketball plays. He’s trying to figure out when to drive.”
Also see: Breaking down the NET rankings and metrics
Looking at the numbers, the Gamecocks are marginally better without Bryant on the floor, averaging slightly more points, shooting slightly better and playing a little more efficiently without him out there.
But, looking at the opponents they’ve played in each splits, the average NET ranking in games Bryant hasn’t played in is 177.8 compared to a NET ranking of 101.6 when he does play.
In short, the Gamecocks are playing as good as they were against bad teams against better teams in large part because of Bryant and his ability to excel in the team’s new four-out, one-in offensive system.
“We changed how we play offensively,” Martin said. “Those guys are learning to play with each other. Keyshawn gives us athleticism and toughness.”
Also see: Gamecocks pushing hard for 2022 Georgia lineman
The Gamecocks (11-8, 3-3 SEC) have battled injuries lately with Bryant and Trae Hannibal missing two games with injuries while Jermaine Couisnard missed the SEC opener with a back injury.
They’ll try to stay healthy as they take on Arkansas Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m. on the SEC Network.
“We have to figure out a way to keep our good players on the court. We lose to Florida and have no Jermaine,” Martin said. “We lose to Auburn and have no Key. Keyshawn, he’s making some mistakes but he’s trying to make basketball plays."
