MONTENEGRO - Former Oakleaf High basketball standout Jonathan Bryant II has taken the long road to stay on the hardwoods and the gamble has paid off with the sharpshooting dunk machine making his path through Europe with a championship trophy and a rookie of the year selection.
According to Eurobasket News, Bryant, 25, is a power forward for the KK SusanJ professional basketball team in the Montenegrin Prva. B league, Bryant averaged under 20 points per game, 8.5 rebounds per game and was ninth in league scoring in the 15-team league in Serbia.
"The one thing I learned very quickly is that European basketball is very physical," said Bryant. "I found out that unless you have a bloody lip, then don't call it a foul."
For Bryant, who had a stellar career at Oakleaf, then college stints at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, Tyler Junior College and, finally, four years at the University of Tampa before two Serbian teammates at Tampa got him in the loop to play in Europe.
"They were here and asked if I would be interested, an agent talks to an agent, then things start to roll," said Bryant. "There is a website that catalogs college players in America and teams in Europe make contact to see if they want to come over. It's mainly a lot of social media contact."
Bryant showed up with much fanfare as a high-flying scoring machine from his previous high school and college experiences and wowed his new team with a 33-point first-game effort.
"I think I showed them quickly what they were getting," said Bryant, who finished as the league rookie of the year; for a $100 bonus, and added a team championship trophy to his resume after just one season. "As the season progressed, I was given more and more opportunities to do what I do."
Bryant also earned three League Players of the Week awards during the season.
In his league championship game, Bryant exploded with a 28-point, eight rebounds, and four blocked shots day to push the team to the title.
Jon Bryant Sr., though, had some concerns about his son being so far away and him not being able to attend his games.
"As a father, I was confident that he was mature enough and strong enough to do what he needed to do to succeed," said Bryant, Sr., "I was more remiss about not being able to see him play. I attended all his college games in Tennessee, Texas and Florida. He had to put his foot down a couple of times for them to take him seriously, pay him as they said and take care of his needs like living space, food and travel. He did that all on his own and I am very proud of that."
Bryant reiterated his dad's concern and was thankful for the support of his family and friends while so far away.
"To all the next generations that may think of this, having a strong support team behind you is very important," said Bryant. "I knew my family would be watching out for me and if I needed anything, they would find a way."
As for his next few years as a basketball journeyman, Bryant already has a standing offer to return to Serbia, but has been accommodating some offers elsewhere; Asia, as one.
"I signed a one-year deal with this team, but would not be against coming back here if that's how it plays out," said Bryant. "This is such a beautiful area; lots of mountains that I have never seen from Florida."
Bryant thought his break would keep him in Florida through the summer with fall being the time to decide what's next.
"I got there in September last year and that's kind of the schedule," said Bryant. "For now, just stay sharp, keep shooting and lift some weights."