Pennsbury senior Mekhi Bryant surpassed the 1,000-point milestone in the Falcons’ win over Neshaminy last Thursday.
By Mike Prince
For SuburbanOneSports.com
Mekhi Bryant leads by example.
If he's not finding the open man underneath, he's finding a way to get to the basket himself. Most of the time, he is the most vocal player on the court.
But before the Pennsbury senior guard became a leader, he was learning from his peers and taking in as much basketball knowledge as possible.
"When I was a freshman, I witnessed Kieran Bolger hit 1,000 points, and ever since then, that's what I wanted to do," Bryant said. "It was a good thing to see and the excitement from him was what made me start to play harder."
All of that growing over the last four years helped Bryant to achieve his goal, following in Bolger's footsteps while hitting the 1,000-point plateau last Thursday in a road win over Neshaminy.
"I'd say it's definitely at the top of my accomplishments because it's something that I've always wanted to do," he said. "It was definitely a different kind of feeling when I got there. It was very exciting.
“They stopped the game and mentioned it, and I have a lot of respect for Neshaminy's coach who honored me. They even let me keep the game ball."
Bryant is a four-year varsity player who has been a starter since the district playoffs his freshman year. Over the years, the 5-foot-6, 165-pound player has grown not just as a shooter, but as a defender, making aggressive plays on both ends of the court for his team.
Bryant is a tough player who can knock down the three-pointer when he's not passing or using his strength to get in the lane.
"Mekhi has been with us for four years, and it has been amazing to see how his game has changed and evolved," Pennsbury coach Bill Coleman said. "It's amazing to see how he's evolved as a kid and to have two 1,000-point scorers (Cameron Jones) in the same year is an unbelievable accomplishment."
Entering Thursday’s game at Neshaminy, Bryant needed 18 points to reach a thousand, and he ended up with 22. Although Thursday's game was halted to honor Bryant, he was also given proper recognition at home the following night before the Falcons took on Harry S. Truman.
"With him being around and playing at the level he has been playing at, he's used to having high expectations put upon him," Coleman said. "He definitely has become more of a vocal leader as the year has gone on. It will translate to help him in the future wherever he lands.
Bryant acknowledged that his vocal leadership might well be his strongest trait.
"I talk about it all the time how my talking on the court stands out," Bryant said. "I'm probably one of the most vocal players on the court at all times, whether I'm playing AAU basketball or with my high school team or even at practice.
“I talk a lot and it's kind of hard to shut me up on the court. I'm just talking to my teammates and trying to get people in different places."
With a 15-2 overall record and a 10-2 mark in the conference with three games remaining, the Falcons – who lost nine seniors from last year’s district runner-up squad - are looking forward to what they hope will a successful playoff run.
"This season has been going well and we're all playing well with each other," Bryant said. "Before the season, everyone wasn't really buying into their roles and each person is doing great now. We're trying to get to districts and we want to get back to Villanova. That's our first goal for right now, but once we are there, we hope to get to states and make that run again. We don't want to fall short like we did last year."
Bryant has a full scholarship offer on the table to play basketball at Holy Family University, but he is still weighing his options. Caldwell University is also interested in the senior, but Bryant said he is still taking a look at some junior colleges.
“Whoever gets him will have a very good kid who works hard on their hands,” Coleman said. “He's been a leader through all of it with us and he's seen the program grow and helped get back to the level where it once was."
Bryant is the 12th male player in Pennsbury’s history reach the 1,000-point milestone.
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