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Bryan named Player of the Week

 

By BRIAN WOODSON

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

 

BLUEFIELD, Va. — Basketball is serious business in the Bryan family.

 

“My dad is from Kentucky and that is a basketball state,†Graham sophomore Jordan Bryan said. “My mom played college basketball.

 

“It’s God, basketball and family.â€

 

Bryan played like it on Dec. 2. His 16 points, 10 rebounds, six steals and two blocks led Graham to a season-opening 60-56 win over Bland County.

 

“His family is a basketball-oriented family, they take basketball very seriously, they work on it,†Graham head coach Glynn Carlock, Jr. said. “All of his brothers have played and being the youngest of two other brothers, I know he has probably been a whipping post for years to them.

 

“They take it very seriously, and it is portrayed on the court for us.â€

 

That portrayal earned Bryan the first Pocahontas Coal Association / Bluefield Daily Telegraph Player of the Week Award for the 2008-09 season. No one was more surprised than Bryan.

 

“I’m surprised truthfully, I am extremely surprised,†said Bryan, who also had 15 points, nine rebounds and five steals for Graham in Tuesday’s loss at Twin Valley. “I’m surprised somebody out there hasn’t done better than me.â€

 

“We’re very, very honored to have the first player of the week this year,†added Carlock. “I hope we can get several more on there or have a repeat performance.â€

 

In two games, Bryan is averaging 15.5 points, nine rebounds — including 3.0 on the offensive end — five steals, three assists and two blocked shots per game for the G-Men.

 

“He’s been a big part of us through the first two games,†Carlock said. “When you’re averaging around a double-double, you’re obviously doing something good.â€

 

Not only is the 6-foot-1 Bryan in is second season at Graham, the sophomore is in his second year of public school. Bryan, whose brothers, Jeremy and Justin, went to Mercer Christian, was home-schooled through eighth grade, and took advantage of any extra time to work on his sport.

 

“We always knew I was going to go to high school somewhere,†Bryan said. “Being home-schooled, you get a lot of free hours so you can improve your game that much more.â€

 

Much of his tutelage came at Bluefield College, where is father, Scott, is a member on the faculty. Bryan has spent much of his youth at the Dome Gymnasium, shooting baskets and getting tips from college athletes.

 

“I used to shoot about an hour or two a day,†Bryan said. “My dad has got a key to the gym. My dad had a lot of college players work with me.â€

 

Carlock has known Bryan for much of his life, and both share a great love for basketball.

 

“When I was at Bluefield College, his father was my health professor,†Carlock said. “I had watched Jordan grow up when he was a little tike at the Bluefield College gym.

 

“He lived in the gym. He was a gym rat his whole life and he still is.â€

 

Bryan spent much of his youth playing for Mike Wood and an AAU team based in Bluefield, Va. When he arrived at Graham last season, Carlock said he only continued to improve as he got acclimated to a lot of ‘new’, including school, friends and competition on the court.

 

“He’s the kind of kid that is a joy to coach, it’s strictly ‘Yes sir’ and ‘No sir’. He’s going to do to the best of his ability what he can to put the team first and do what is asked of him,†Carlock said. “He’s a phenomenal young man, he had kind of a tough adjustment for his first year of public school last year and it affected him somewhat early on the court last year.

 

“He really did well throughout the end of the year last year and he’s really started out on an excellent note this year. He’s an honor roll student and he’s the type of kid that a coach dreams of having.â€

 

As a freshman, Bryan saw plenty of playing time, even earning a spot on the all-Southwest District team as an honorable mention selection.

 

“I think last year I played too passive,†Bryan said. “I played decent last year, but I didn’t play the season I wanted to.â€

 

That was all the motivation he needed. From team camps to individual workouts with family and friends, he’s worked on every part of his game in preparation for this season.

 

“I did a lot of shooting...I worked a lot of dribbling drills and stuff like that and then we worked on a lot of mental stuff,†Bryan said. “Last year I got a little too angry in a lot of games, I needed to control my emotions...

 

He admitted that can be difficult. “Especially being red-haired and Irish,†he said, with a laugh.

 

In Graham’s opener with Bland County, the G-Men played aggressive defense, attacked the boards, took a big lead and then held off a late run for the win.

 

“The first game of the year, your adrenaline is really pumping and I tried to cross the offensive boards a lot and get a lot of trash buckets,†said Bryan, who was one of three G-Men in double figures against the Bears. “I think we played really well against Bland.

 

“I had a really good game that game, I was happy about that.â€

 

Of course, Bryan didn’t know how good. His mother takes care of gathering statistics.

 

“My mom usually does that,†said Bryan, whose mother, Nancy, played at Campbellsville University in Kentucky. “I really don’t care, as long as we get a ‘W.’â€

 

Still, Bryan wasn’t pleased with his overall game.

 

“I had too many turnovers,†said Bryan, whose lone goal is a team goal, a state tournament appearance in the revamped VHSL playoffs. “I threw a lot of passes I shouldn’t have passed, I almost gave away the game at the end, but luckily we got it back.â€

 

Despite being 6-1, and weighing around 210 pounds, Bryan is capable of taking the ball to the hoop or stepping out and hitting a 3. That versatility causes Carlock to call him a ‘tough matchup’ for the opposition.

 

“Growing up I’ve always been one of the taller players, but I’ve always had to play point guard,†Bryan said. “It has made me a well-rounded player.â€

 

“He’s a strong young man and he displayed that against Bland in his offensive and defensive boards,†added Carlock. “He’s a very capable shooter as well and that’s not by chance, that’s because he works on it.

 

“He has the ability to knock shots down. We just felt like he was a big part of us winning at Bland.â€

 

—Contact Brian Woodson

 

at bwoodson@bdtonline.com

 

 

 

Honorable Mention

 

(Dec. 1-7)

 

Ballard Christian (2-0): Seth Hill, 29 points, 19 rebounds; Steve Ball, 20 points.

 

Bland County (0-1): Jacob Lambert, 19 points; Kyle Kennedy, 17 points; Josh Shrader, 16 points;

 

Council (1-0): Shane Presley, 18 points; Otto Fletcher, 15 points, 10 rebounds; Travis Viers, 11 points.

 

Giles (1-0): Austin Randel, 21 points; Jarrod Alls, 18 points.

 

Graham (1-0): Kyle Harris, 11 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists; David Marrs, 10 points, 6 steals, 3 assists.

 

Grundy (1-1): Cody Justus, 24 points; Jon Kelly, 23 points; Derek Hess, 22 points; Ben Rife, 21 points.

 

Haysi (0-1): Chris Fleming, 27 points; Tyler Mullins, 17 points; Jeremy Yates, 12 points.

 

Narrows (0-1): Ryan Dunford, 12 points; Mark Martin, 10 points.

 

Pipestem Christian (2-1): Zach Worley, 56 points; Austin Peyton, 50 points.

 

Richlands (0-1): Ricky Lawrence, 11 points.

 

Twin Valley (1-1): Josh Smith, 35 points; Hunter Simpson, 34 points.

 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Coaches are urged to report all games to the Daily Telegraph. Weekly winners are chosen from the information provided for publication. Call (304) 327-2813 or (800) 763-2459. Fax: 327-6179 or e-mail to sports@bdtonline.com.

 

 

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