South Carolina’s Keyshawn Bryant reveals plan to test NBA waters
Keyshawn Bryant is going to test the NBA draft waters.
The South Carolina guard/forward said he would make his name eligible for the the NBA draft but not sign with an agent.
“I want to say thank you to my family, coach Frank (Martin) and my coaches and all of Gamecock Nation for their support thus far in my college career,” Bryant posted on Twitter.
Usually, the NBA requires underclassmen to declare their eligibility by the middle to end part of April or about 60 days prior to the NBA draft. But no date has been set for this year’s draft. Typically, it is held after the NBA Finals in the third week of June. But the start of the season was pushed back, and the NBA Finals won’t be held until July.
Bryant improved his draft stock during his junior season and averaged 14.4 points and 5.4 rebounds this season for the Gamecocks. He is USC’s most athletic player and has had several eye-popping dunks throughout his time at South Carolina.
The Florida native was among three Gamecocks who didn’t play in USC’s final game against Mississippi in the SEC tournament. Martin said at the time Bryant and the absences of the other players weren’t discipline-related.
“All three are dealing with physical injuries, and just the mental toll that it’s taken on all three is not fair,” Martin said in early March. “It’s been extremely difficult.
“At the end of the day I’m not going to put winning a game over young people’s mental health, young people’s physical health.”
Bryant isn’t listed among any of the NBA mock drafts. He has two years of eligibility left because of the extra year the NCAA gave players because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bryant might not be the only Gamecock who declares for the NBA draft this year. All-Southeastern Conference guard AJ Lawson also might declare for the draft, something he has done the past two seasons. Lawson has returned to USC each of the past two seasons after declaring.
The Gamecocks went 6-15 in the COVID-shortened year and missed the NCAA tournament. USC had three COVID-19 pauses during the season.
After the season, questions about Martin returning also began surfacing. But it appears Martin, who led the Gamecocks to the 2017 Final Four, will be back after several prominent members in the Columbia area, including Mayor Steven Benjamin, came to his defense.
This story was originally published March 28, 2021 at 1:52 PM with the headline "South Carolina’s Keyshawn Bryant reveals plan to test NBA waters."
