Before the season, South Carolina’s team of virtually all newcomers only had one player dot preseason all-SEC squads but no one’s seen him play on the court so far this season.

That changes Sunday.

Keyshawn Bryant will make his debut after serving a five-game suspension to start the year and give the Gamecocks a dynamic they haven’t necessarily had early.

“We had one guy who was picked preseason all-league. Who was it?” Frank Martin said. “So any time you can add that to your team five games in you should get better. That’s my job to put it all together.”

Bryant’s suspension for violating athletic department rules ended after South Carolina’s win over Wofford and he’s expected to be on the court for Sunday’s game against Rider (2 p.m., SEC Network Plus).

The 6-foot-7 wing is coming off his best season at South Carolina where he averaged 14.4 points on 48.3 percent shooting and 5.4 rebounds per game.

Martin thinks Bryant—who blocked 17 shots in 18 games last season—will add another rim protector and a slashing athleticism outside, something the Gamecocks have lacked at times this year.

“He brings a different dynamic to our team offensively from wing perspective and athleticism where he can drive and slash and cut. We really don’t have that right now and he brings that to the table,” Martin said. “He’s an older player so it’ll be easy for him to adapt. He’s been great in practice. I’m really happy with him.”

For Bryant, his talent has been undeniable but the next step for his game has been the leadership aspect.

So far in practice—where he’s been doing things despite not playing—he’s been great and has embraced a vocal leadership standpoint as well.

Martin told the story of Bryant getting after some players dragging in Sunday’s practice, something that hadn’t necessarily happened the three previous years.

“What he did yesterday, he’s never done that here before. He’s had days where he gets mad and cusses at somebody, but that’s not helping anybody,” Martin said. “Yesterday he was demanding like this is who we are, do this and if not don’t come on the floor. He’s trying to help other guys do their jobs better. That was fun to watch.”

The challenge now for Martin and the rest of the Gamecocks (4-1) coaching staff will be how to incorporate Bryant back into a rotation full of guys making impacts already like James Reese and Erik Stevenson.

Martin’s seen a lot of progression, especially with Bryant’s shot, and hoping it translate as Bryant begins playing and seeing live bullets starting Sunday.

“He’s shooting it like really well. I hope that carries over to games. How do we reincorporate him in there? That’s the advantage of coaching somebody for three years,” he said. “I have an understanding of who he is; he has an understanding of me. Last year he led us in…(second in) points per game, second in rebounding, second in blocked shots. Those are stats I’ll take.”

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