Bryant Quits Bulldogs

[Nyghtewynd]

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070226/SPORTS02040101/70226035/1003/RSS02

[getreal4]

Message to Keno: Please fill the two open scholarships with D1 talent.

[DUBulldog]

I can somewhat understand Bryant's reasons for wanting to leave. It's tough to go from playing 20-30 minutes per game, to barely playing at all. I cannot understand why he wouldn't wait another 2 weeks until the season was over. He'll be in school the rest of the semester, so why not stick it out?

I had really, really high hopes for Chris when he was a freshman. He had his weaknesses, sure....but he could really shoot the ball. Toward the end of his freshman season, Drake was playing SIU at the Knapp.....Drake had a 2-3 point lead with maybe 2-3 minutes to go when Bryant shot from the top of the key....Darren Brooks blocked the shot almost before it left his hand and went down to the other end for a layup. On the next possession, Brooks stole the ball from Chris as he was trying to hand off to a teammate. Drake ended up losing by 1. After that game, his confidence really seemed to disappear. And when his confidence disappeared, so did his shot.

During his sophomore season, his shot looked fundamentally different, and he never got into an offensive rhythm other than for short stretches. As he continued to struggle with his shooting, the other deficiencies in his game became much more glaring....and the mental mistakes started to really become more noticable. At the Knapp Center against SIU, Drake was down 1 with about 10 seconds to go......Bryant received the ball wide open at the top of the key with about 3 seconds to go.....instead of taking the wide open shot, he tried to drive into heavy traffic and had the ball stripped. Against Evansville, Drake was again down 1....again the final shot was designed for Chris. Drake was inbounding the ball from the sideline in front of their bench, just inside half court. Chris was the inbounder.....he was to throw the pass in, sprint to the 3-point line and get the ball back for the (potential) game winning shot. Instead of sprinting to the 3-point line, he stopped and set up about 6-7 feet behind the line. His shot wasn't close. There were several other games that season where he had a shot to win the game.....but he never came close on any of the attempts. The coaching staff was trying really hard to set him up to be a hero many times, but he couldn't get it done.

This season, other than the Iowa game, he never really got his shooting touch back. He continuously passed up open shots to drive into to traffic....almost always resulting in a turnover. His defense was slightly better, but still not good. His ball handling and passing were very poor, and his shooting was marginal at best.

Maybe it's because he's from a small, remote town, but Chris just never seemed to have the mental toughness necessary to succeed at this level. While guys like Grant, Calvin, Stewart and Houston greatly improved their game during their time at Drake, Chris' game didn't really improve at all. Most of the time, he looked scared out there, like a deer in the headlights.

He seems like a nice kid, and I wish him well in whatever he does. If he's interested in more playing time, he's making the right decision.....but I still can't understand why he didn't stick it out 2 more weeks.

[DUBulldog]

Message to Keno: Please fill the two open scholarships with D1 talent.

Wow, good thing you thought of that.....I doubt if the coaches would've come up with that on their own. :doh:

[getreal4]

Wow, good thing you thought of that.....I doubt if the coaches would've come up with that on their own. :doh:


They definitely need a reminder based on past decisions! :bash:


:innocent: :innocent: :innocent:

[Mc Bulldog]

Shut the f up.

[thomasj316]

message to getreal: blow it out your @ss!

sincerely,
everyone

[Ricky Del Rio]

He seems like a nice kid, and I wish him well in whatever he does. If he's interested in more playing time, he's making the right decision.....but I still can't understand why he didn't stick it out 2 more weeks.

Maybe he gave the coaches his notice and he was told, "If you are so unhappy here, you might as well clean out your locker and leave now." So, he did.

Just a speculation.

[Drakey]

According to Davis he told him to take some time to reconsider. doesn't sound like anybody told him to clean out his locker. At least it's not as bad as Josh Powell who quit last year after the exhibition season started, depriving the Dogs of a scholarship, and enabling him to go to school free without contributing a thing.

[Dawg_tired]

Drakey, I totally agree with that. He was a puss.