Bryant Basketball Season Preview
SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team tips off the 2023-24 season on Monday night when it hosts Manhattan at the Chace Athletic Center.
Bryant enters its second season as members of the America East this winter and is coming off its fourth-straight season of 15+ wins.
The Returners
Bryant returns a strong core of players from last winter, led by America East Preseason All-Conference selections Sherif Gross-Bullock and Earl Timberlake. The group also includes Kvonn Cramer, Doug Edert, Miles Latimer, Tyler Brelsford, Todd Rochelle and Josh Ozabor.
Gross-Bullock is one of the most electrifying players in the league and is primed for a huge senior season. He was named the AE Newcomer of the Year after leading the league with 17.1 ppg. Gross-Bullock mixes a physical drive-to-the-basket game with an outside game that ranked him in the top five in the league in three-point field goal percentage. He finished tied for the league lead in free throw attempts and also dished out 2.8 assists per game and averaged 4.5 rebounds per game.
Timberlake emerged as one of the league's premier players last winter, averaging 13.8 ppg and 8.4 rpg. He ranked eighth in the league in scoring, third in rebounding and four in field goal percentage. Timberlake coupled an unmatched athleticism with sheer physicality to post a team-leading nine double-doubles.
Cramer is coming off a season in which he averaged 6.1 ppg and 3.8 rpg. After suffering a health scare in December, Cramer was able to come back strong, averaging nearly 8.0 ppg over the final three weeks of the season. He emerged as one of the league's best in offensive rebounding efficiency and electrified many a gym with his high-flying dunks.
Brelsford, Edert, Latimer and Ozabor all give the Black and Gold veteran options. Both Edert and Latimer have played over 100 collegiate games, while Brelsford and Ozabor are two of the elder statesmen on the Bryant roster. Edert looks to bounce back after averaging just 5.4 ppg on 50-of-152 shooting from beyond the arc, while Latimer averaged 4.9 ppg and 2.5 rpg in his first season with the Black and Gold. Brelsford is coming off a year in which he emerged as Bryant's court general, averaging 6.0 ppg and 1.8 apg. He's also one of the top free throw shooters in the league, hitting 42-of-48 last season and 86-of-103 (83.5) in his career. Rochelle looks to carve out a bigger role this winter after appearing in five games last winter.
Bryant also welcomes back Timmy Kiggins and John Shannon.
The Newcomers
The Black and Gold bolstered the roster in the offseason with the addition of Rafael Pinzon (St. John's), Connor Withers (UMass Lowell) and Daniel Rivera (Saint Louis) in the transfer portal. Pinzon joins the Bulldogs after spending his first two seasons with the Red Storm, averaging 6.1 ppg last winter. He brings a wealth of international experience, including a stint with the Puerto Rican National Team this summer.
Withers stays in the America East for his final season of eligibility, coming to Smithfield after four years at UMass Lowell. He posted 7.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg and 1.8 apg in 83 career games with UMass Lowell. He scored 28 points in the 2021 AE Semifinal at UMBC, hitting nine threes.
Rivera enters the season with a fresh start after an injury forced him to miss all of last year at Saint Louis. Before his time with the Bilikens, Rivera displayed incredible athleticism with Odessa College in Texas, earning all-conference honors after leading them to the NJCAA Elite 8.
Bryant will also welcome in true freshmen Aaron Davis, Keyshawn Mitchell, Greg Cantwell and Jason Arukhe. Davis and Mitchell were teammates last winter at First Love Christian Academy (PA). Davis scored 59 points in one game last year, while Mitchell was nominated for the McDonald's All-American Game in 2022.