Norfolk State star Joe Bryant Jr. is following in his mother’s footsteps and making his hometown proud
Joe Bryant Jr. loves to dance.
Lake Taylor High coach Kenny Brown remembers how Bryant used to dance before games to relax.
“If we’re on the road and the right music is playing, he’s going to dance,” Brown said, breaking into laughter. “He knows every modern dance that the rappers and everybody does. He just loves the atmosphere and he’s a great person.”
Bryant will be doing a little more dancing this week after he helped lead Norfolk State to its second consecutive NCAA Tournament, commonly known as the Big Dance.
The Spartans, the MEAC regular-season and tournament champions, will face defending national champion and top seed Baylor in a first-round NCAA Tournament game at 2 p.m. Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas.
“Winning the MEAC last year, that meant a lot because it was my first time going dancing,” he said. “Now I have the experience, and I’ve been here before.”
It’s been an amazing season for Bryant, who was named the MEAC Player of the Year and the MEAC Tournament MVP. He joins Kyle O’Quinn as the only NSU players to win MEAC Player of the Year and Tournament MVP in the same season. And he is the first back-to-back MEAC Tournament MVP since Phillip Allen of North Carolina A&T did it in 1994 and 1995.
When he received the Player of the Year award prior to last week’s quarterfinal against Delaware State, he didn’t really enjoy the moment.
“I was just ready for the game. I was in game mode,” he said. “But I really appreciate the honor. It means a lot. But there’s still more work to do.”
Bryant went out and scored a game-high 23 points to help Norfolk State beat Coppin State 72-57 to help the Spartans earn an NCAA Tournament berth.
“It means all the hard work that I’ve put in over the years is finally showing,” he said about the honors. “It means my coaches trust me to make plays. It means my teammates trust me to score the ball. All the support I have had over the years, I appreciate it. It means a lot to me.”
One of his biggest fans is his mother Helen.
She knows the ups and downs her son has faced to get here.
She remembers the numerous times AAU coaches doubted his ability and how some colleges didn’t even give him a look, though he was a two-time first-team All-Tidewater selection.
So when she saw her son earn MEAC Player of the Year and MEAC Tournament MVP, she was overwhelmed with emotion.
“I was proud because I feel like sometimes he gets overlooked,” she said. “He proved to people that he worked hard for that award, and it was a chance for others to see him. I’m so proud of him.”
What many people don’t know about Bryant is his mother traveled down a very similar road as her son’s.
Helen Bryant, known as Helen Holloway in high school, was a star basketball player just like her son.
She starred for three seasons at Granby before she graduated from Norview, where she earned all-state honors.
She was recruited by several schools before going to Penn State on scholarship.
Her first year at Penn State, which was then part of the Atlantic 10, the conference put out a preseason watch list of the top incoming freshmen. Three of her teammates were listed, but she wasn’t.
“I was kind of embarrassed because it was like they didn’t know me,” she said.
She proved them wrong when she earned Atlantic 10 Conference Freshman of the Year.
“I felt like they finally saw me,” she said.
She didn’t stop there as she would lead the Nittany Lions to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments, including the Sweet 16 in 1992 and the Elite Eight in 1994.
She also was named second-team All-Big Ten and was named to the NCAA Midwest All-Region team in 1994.
Bryant was presented the Big Ten Medal of Honor, which is one of the most prestigious conference awards in college athletics. The honor was first awarded in 1915 to one student-athlete from the graduating class of each university who had attained the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work.
She finished her career with 1,022 points (39th in school history) and 598 rebounds (24th). She’s still tied for the school record in rebounds in the tournament with 16 against Kansas in 1994.
And, not surprisingly, she’s one of the school’s top free-throw shooters at 78%, which ranks 14th.
“I just played hard. It was something that I was passionate about,” said Helen, who played in the Olympic Sports Festival in 1991 and later played professional overseas in Finland, Turkey and Israel. “I was very, very passionate about basketball.”
She’s passed that attitude — along with her skills — down to her son.
Her son is on pace to break the school record for single-season free-throw percentage for the second time in his career. He enters the tournament shooing 92%, which is fifth in the nation. He set a school record of 91.2% in 2020.
And like his mother, he’s an exceptional student. He’s been member of the athletic director’s honor roll nearly every semester he’s been at Norfolk State.
“Basketball is not going to last forever,” said Bryant, who is majoring in mass communications. “The main thing is getting a degree, and I’m working on that right now. They can’t a degree away from me. So it means a lot.”
But Helen has never really told her son about her exploits.
“I’ve heard stories,” Bryant said about his mother, “but I’ve never seen no film on her.”
Instead, she motivates and encourages him.
“She always give me mental nuggets as I continue my basketball career,” said Bryant, whose sister, Jada, was a standout this past season at Norview High. “She’s always got my back whether I have a bad game or good game. She’s always a positive influence. Having her as a mother who played basketball, I’m at a loss for words.”
Bryant is very modest when it comes to the awards he’s earned this season. He’d rather talk about his team’s success.
But others are excited to talk about him.
Brown remembers how many schools overlooked Bryant because he didn’t have the body type that they were looking for and bypassed him.
“I kept telling Joe that it doesn’t matter where you go, so don’t be so concerned with the bigger schools not reaching out,” he told him. “The key thing is what you do where you end up.”
When Norfolk State assistant coach C.J. Clemons called Brown to recruit him, Brown told him he was getting someone “special.”
“I told CJ, ‘You got a steal,’” Brown said. “I knew what Joe was capable of. It didn’t happen immediately, but I knew it was going to happen over time.”
Clemons had known Bryant since middle school. What always impressed him about Bryant was his confidence and demeanor.
“He’s always been a dog, always shows up in the big games,” he said. “I’ve never seen him not play the way he’s supposed to play when it’s time to play. I could look past that he may have not had the best body, height or athletic ability. But was a bona fide hooper.”
No one is more pleased about Bryant than Norfolk State head coach Robert Jones.
“I know people talked about his body, but I knew when he got to college, that the program would put him through and that his body was going to get better,” he said. “We saw his skill level. It’s just a lot of hard work. Like I always say, he’s a kid who stuck with it.”
Looking at him now, Jones just smiles.
“In this day in age of kids just leaving, he stayed for the whole four years. You see what happens when you stay for all four years. He went from a kid that was not playing a lot to the Player of the Year. I always tell him that he’s one of my favorite players because of him preserving and his loyalty.”
Norfolk State forward Nyzaiah Chambers has known Bryant for years. They played AAU basketball together. So when he transferred to Norfolk State and saw Bryant, he knew what kind of teammate he was getting.
“I’m super-proud of him. He’s come a long way,” said Chambers, who starred for Oscar Smith. “He means a lot to this team. He’s the anchor of the team for real, for real. He’s just a big piece of this team, and he got it done.”
Another person impressed with Bryant is Pro Basketball Hall of Famer and former Norfolk State star Bob Dandridge.
He’s watched Bryant’s development over the years. And what he saw Bryant do on Saturday was simply “special.”
“Joe Bryant is a hard-nosed guy. A guy who you can count on going down the stretch,” he said. “He’s truly the leader. You saw that throughout. The big thing is that the team and the coaches have complete confidence in him. He’s a solid guy.”
Bryant has another year of eligibility because of COVID, but hasn’t decided if he’ll return.
“This may be the last time I’m playing here,” Bryant said about playing in Scope. “It all depends on how this season goes. I might come back next year. But I haven’t made my decision yet.”
If he doesn’t return, he’s definitely left his mark on the program, as his father, Joe Sr., hoped.
“I always told him when he was a freshman, by the end of your college career, you’re going to be one of the most decorated Norfolk State players in history,” he said. “I want his face in the rafters with Bobby Dandridge. That’s the goal.”
Larry Rubama, 757-446-2273, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com Follow @LHRubama on Twitter.
