Already a sparkplug with his dunks, USC’s Keyshawn Bryant is learning how to lead
The volume in Colonial Life Arena was much lower a year ago.
COVID-19 restrictions meant that, at times, there were more cardboard cutouts in the stands than people. But even if the seats had been full, the South Carolina men’s basketball team’s arduous 6-15 season provided little for which to cheer.
Except for Keyshawn Bryant.
The moments when Colonial Life Arena was at its loudest and most raucous last year often came when Bryant’s feet left the ground. In a dismal season, the high-flying 6-foot-6 forward was a consistent bright spot, a source of entertainment, a walking highlight reel. His dunks had the power to change the energy in the building. Sometimes his coaches would tell him during games, “Hey, get on the rim. We gotta get some motivation.”
In a January home win over Georgia, Bryant dunked three times — each more acrobatic than the last — to help fuel a come-from-behind victory. Each dunk brought the USC bench to its feet, raised the volume, built momentum. Bryant took it upon himself to provide a spark. And that’s just one example.
“To be honest with you, my teammates enjoy it more than me,” Bryant said of his dunking. “I feel like I’ve been doing it so long, it’s just natural for me. When I get the praise from them guys, that’s when I feel good.
“It’s definitely always an energy boost. I definitely keep that in mind when I’m playing.”
Bryant is coming off his best, most well-rounded season in garnet and black, setting career highs in nearly every statistical category and earning preseason second-team All-SEC honors from league coaches. He returns as Frank Martin’s top scorer and rebounder, averaging 14.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last year while also showcasing an improved midrange jumper. Though he started just eight games last season, Bryant averaged 27 minutes per game as the first player off the bench, injecting energy into games with his eye-popping athleticism.
Now a senior on a team that features nine new faces, Bryant is learning how to motivate his teammates in other ways beyond his exhilarating dunks.
“His biggest growth as a player comes in his growth as a human being,” Martin said. “He’s always been an athlete that can jump up and make spectacular plays. I’ve seen him do that in 10th and 11th grade in high school, but 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.
“Not everyone has to be a rah-rah guy. There’s a whole lot of phony rah-rah guys. At the end of the day, are you willing to share your vision, your voice, your enthusiasm with your teammates to help them? And he’s learned to do that in his own way.”
Down the stretch last season, Martin praised Bryant on more than one occasion for his evolution as a team leader and the way he’d try to rally his teammates. Quiet by nature, Bryant admits he’s not “a rah-rah guy,” but he said he’s tried to learn from Martin on how to lead and help his teammates along.
Those skills have been put to the test this offseason, with the Gamecocks welcoming nine new players — three freshmen and six transfers. With so much turnover, veteran mainstays like Bryant and junior guard Jermaine Couisnard become all the more important in getting the new arrivals up to speed. In some ways Martin and the Gamecocks have hit the reset button, but Bryant sounded optimistic about how the team is taking shape. He has taken ownership over his role as the savvy vet.
“(We’re) definitely not starting from scratch,” Bryant said. “These guys came in ready to work. We’re actually ahead of schedule to be honest with you. With them just coming in and listening and locking in, it makes things so much easier for the older guys and the coaches.”
For the Gamecocks to improve on last season, they’ll need newcomers like freshman Devin Carter and transfers James Reese and Erik Stevenson to make quick impacts. But the team would also benefit from Bryant’s continued maturation as a scorer, leader and complete basketball player.
This offseason Bryant participated in the NBA Draft process for the first time, and he said he gained valuable feedback on how to take care of his body and the steps he needs to take to get to the next level. But there’s a sense of unfinished business in Columbia, too. Despite his highlight-reel dunks, last season wasn’t satisfactory for Bryant. Or for Martin. Or for anybody associated with the team.
“I really don’t try to speak on last year,” Bryant said, “but last year there was just so much going on. It was like, ‘How could you have energy with what was going on with our team?’ New fresh start, new team, everybody here is excited and ready to play.
“It definitely took a toll on us. But we battled it out, we figured out a way to finish it and sat down at the end of the season and talked about stuff that we needed to change. And we’re working on that now.”
This story was originally published October 31, 2021 at 8:10 AM with the headline "Already a sparkplug with his dunks, USC’s Keyshawn Bryant is learning how to lead."
