By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

DURHAM — North Carolina Central freshman Kyla Bryant’s introduction to college basketball wasn’t a barrel of fun.

The Eagles weren’t ready to play yet on Nov. 9. Throw in a coast-to-coast trip and they were in over their heads against the University of Washington at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle. Washington set some records in a 113-39 romp.

But Salisbury High graduate Bryant left that blowout debut seeing the positive side of what had transpired. Despite a rough shooting night, she hadn’t lost her poise in an impossible situation, had committed only two turnovers and had played 37 minutes.

It took a little while for that stat to sink in. Forget the score, she had played 37 minutes in her first college game.

When Bryant signed with North Carolina Central, just about everyone believed she could contribute and would find a role as a freshman for interim head coach Terrence Baxter, the former Catawba College coach who had seen her play often in high school.

But no one saw instant success coming, except maybe her parents.

“Everyone told me freshmen don’t play that much, to be prepared to sit some, that it might be a learning year,” Bryant said. “I was hoping I could earn 20 minutes on a good night and maybe 15 on a bad one.”

The season is two months old now for the Eagles. Bryant averages a durable 33.3 minutes per game, the third-highest total in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

She has made them productive minutes. She is second in the MEAC in scoring at 14.4 points per game and 10th in assists. She’s in the top 10 in all the shooting areas — sixth in free-throw percentage, sixth in 3-point percentage, eighth in field-goal percentage. She has received one MEAC Rookie of the Week certificate and a second one — for torching UNC Wilmington — is on the way.

She personally started turning things around against Wofford, five days after the Washington disaster. N.C. Central fell by 30 to the Terriers, but Bryant scored 18.

“The one thing I promised myself was to be better than the first game,” Bryant said. “We didn’t compete against Washingon. Wofford is a good team, but we competed.”

Bryant’s third college game was historic. North Carolina Central overmatched Mid-Atlantic Christian as much as Washington had overmatched the Eagles. Bryant had a triple-double in her first home game with 21 points, 10 assists and 10 steals. She was the first freshman in school history to record a triple-double, and that performance keyed her first MEAC Rookie of the Week honor.

Bryant enjoyed a storybook high school career, playing for a team coached by her mother, Lakai Brice, the former Catawba star. The SHS Hornets were 98-8 with Bryant on the floor, and while she had plenty of help, she was the standout for two 2A state champions and for two other teams that were elite in 2A. She scored 1,809 career points, even with a COVID-shortened sophomore season. She was a county player of the year three times and a conference player of the year three times.

She obviously was a winner and possessed a multitude of intangibles that couldn’t be measured by yardsticks and stop watches, but dozens of coaches college passed on her. They were concerned about her 5-foot-7 height. Girls who are 5-foot-7 aren’t supposed to play Division I.

They also were concerned that she wasn’t blazing fast, although her head and her heart always more than compensated for that.

“A lot of schools recruited me and a lot of coaches came to look at me, but then they didn’t offer me,” Bryant said. “That told me they didn’t think I can play for them.”

Bryant has plenty of niceness built into her DNA, but that doesn’t mean she’s a pacifist. There’s a hot competitive fire burning beneath that smiling former homecoming queen exterior, and she took notes of all the schools that basically said, “No, thanks.”

“Keeping the receipts” is the expression that has become popular lately.

North Carolina Central’s non-conference schedule was basically a parade through those schools. The Eagles played a number of the programs in the Carolinas that could have had Bryant if they had wanted her, and she was extra-motivated.

“Definitely a chip on the shoulder, and it’s going to stay there,” Bryant vowed. “Whenever we played one of the schools that didn’t want me, I wanted to go out there and just shoot the lights out. There’s some satisfaction in knowing that now they’ve got to scout me. Now they realize that I can hurt them.”

On Dec. 11, Bryant made four 3-pointers and poured in 26 points at Jacksonville. That’s a career high — so far. She believes that was her best game, but not because of the points.

“I’d say it was the best because I had eight rebounds,” Bryant said. “Eight rebounds is my goal for every game, but that’s the only time I’ve reached it.”

She averages almost 5 rebounds per game.

“And I’m taking a lot more charges than I ever did in high school,” Bryant added. “The goal is to get two of three every game.”

On Dec. 18, Bryant made two key 3-pointers in the second half as well as clutch free throws in an exciting 65-63 victory at UNC Asheville. West Rowan grad Abigail Wilson played well in that game for the Bulldogs, shooting 4-for-6 for eight points.

Bryant said the most satisfying non-conference game was taking a 70-65 win at UNC Wilmington on Dec. 21. She had four steals, made three 3-pointers and scored 20 points.

The Eagles (6-10) have been on the road frequently. The road is unfriendly. The Eagles are 2-9 away from home. The only road victories were the ones Bryant helped fuel at UNC Asheville and UNC Wilmington.

“The road games are draining,” Bryant said. “We’ll practice before we leave. We’ll have a practice after we get there. We’ll play the game, and then have a practice the day after we get back. Our practices are always before class — usually at 7 a.m. I guess the Power 5 programs practice even more than we do, but we practice a lot.”

Bryant knew what she signed up for. She understood Division I basketball basically is a full-time job.

But there are also classes to attend, and she’s a serious student. She is in the pre-nursing program.

Her professors are aware that she’s a basketball player, that she’ll miss some lectures. They have been understanding and helpful, but that doesn’t mean they cut her any slack. She attends the labs and gets the work done.

She was far enough ahead academically at Salisbury High that she was able to take Rowan-Cabarrus Community College courses for college credit hours.

“I was a sophomore academically when I got to North Carolina Central,” Bryant said. “So I’m already in to some difficult courses like human anatomy and biochemistry.”

As far as basketball, she’s aced those courses since she was very young, There’s not much doubt she’ll continue to do so.

Her mother and her father (former Catawba basketball player Quentin Bryant) are regulars at her games, home or road. Her mother usually practices the high school team early, so she can still get to Kyla’s games, but the school and the team love Kyla almost as much as the coach does. Everyone has been willing to help.

“I’ve had a lot of support from my parents and from former teammates,” Bryant said. “My mom still gives me plenty of advice after my games, but it’s different for her now. For the first time, she’s able to watch me play basketball as my mom and not as my coach.”

MEAC play finally started on Jan. 6, and the first one was a thriller. N.C. Central got to play at home at McDougald-McLendon Area against Howard University and beat the Bison in overtime. Bryant was terrific, scoring 23 points, including six in the overtime period.

On Jan. 8, N.C. Central lost to Norfolk State, which appears to be the MEAC’s strongest squad, but Bryant was tough. She made a career-high five 3-pointers and scored 17.

“Norfolk State was one of the best teams we’ve played — very balanced with posts, shooters and drivers,” Bryant said. “The coaches say this is a driving, attacking, aggressive league, and we’ve got to be ready to play every night.”

Bryant will be ready to do her part and to play heavy minutes. The freshman hasn’t needed much of a learning curve.

“The biggest thing is I know I’ve got the full confidence of my coaches and my teammates,” Bryant said. “I’m at the right place.”