Hot in Eilat by way of Brigham
Elijah Bryant is making the most of his time in Israel
Hapoel Eilat’s Elijah Bryant is making an impact. Through four games, the Brigham Young University product has averaged 22.5 points per game, good for second place amongst the league leaders. Following his junior season last year at BYU, Bryant declared for the NBA draft but wasn’t selected after averaging 18.1 ppg for the Cougars and now looks to make an impact with the Red Sea city side. The Sports Rabbi had a chance to talk with Bryant in order to learn about the new phenom that’s setting Israeli basketball on fire.
“It all worked out perfectly and everything fell into place,” Bryant explained about arriving in Israel for his first professional contract. “I’m enjoying my time here. It’s a great place to be and I love it.”
Although based in Eilat, Bryant has had a chance to visit Tel Aviv, albeit just for a short while when his team went north to play Hapoel Tel Aviv. “I have been to Tel Aviv but I haven’t been able to explore as much as I have wanted to. Eilat is super nice and it never gets cold. Where I lived In Utah it gets cold, so it’s nice not to have to deal with the snow.
“Basketball has been a part of me for my whole life,” Elijah said as he reminisced about growing up, “I used to play football but I was late bloomer so football wasn’t in my playing cards. I grew super late. I stuck to basketball all year long and I finally hit a growth spurt going into senior year. Then I went to prep school and I went to Elon University in North Carolina. From there I transferred to BYU. Basketball has always been with me since I was a little kid, so it’s nice to do it for a job now.”
There were a number of players that Bryant looked up to, “I think right off the top would be Kobe Bryant. Kobe’s Mentality; his ‘Mamba Mentality,’ it was real. He had a fighter mode that one could use. I was able to watch him and see his whole career. I am also a big fan of new players like James Harden, Stephen Curry and Lebron James. For Kobe, basketball wasn’t a job, but a lifestyle. He did everything in his power to get an edge. That is something that I have definitely picked up on. Whether it’s eating healthy, sleeping more, or doing recover. It’s not always physical things either. What mental edge can edge can I bring? Kobe thought about all of these things too. I looked up to him, not just basketball wise but his complete approach to the game.”
THIS PAST summer, Bryant had the opportunity to play for the Philadelphia 76ers Summer League team and sponged it all up. “It was a great learning experience and a great opportunity. I am super grateful to the 76ers for bringing me in. I think in that situation, a lot of rookies get down. I was trying to be a sponge; trying to get anything and everything that I could pick up. Everyone there was “the man” at their school or club team. It shows you how much talent is out there. It also humbles you. When you get to the camp you realize that you have a lot of work to do. I think that anything that can humble us in life is an achievement. Even though I didn’t play as much as I wanted to, I learned a lot and I was humbled as well.”
Elijah Bryant and his wife, Jenelle, have an active Youtube channel called EB&J and features over 30,000 subscribers. Bryant explained the reasoning behind having an online channel all about their lives. “I think there are three ideas behind it. The first is memories. People get caught up in material things too much. My kids will never be able to see me play at BYU so it is the fact that it is documented. The second reason is to inspire others. I am always asking myself, what can I do to motivate others and inspire others to be the best they can be? I have to give something back. The third reason is to give insight. I feel like players are objectified in a way. When you see them behind the screen you see them as a person. The YouTube channel allows me to spread positivity, build memories and humanize myself and my teammates as well.”
Bryant has been adjusting to Eilat both from a basketball sense and also as his new place of residence. “I think it is a great team and great coaching staff. It’s been different for me coming to a professional setting from college where I had so many more responsibilities. The style of coaching that Sharon Drucker has is so great because he allows you to play your game. Eilat has a Pro Bowl feeling. Not everyone speaks English, but everyone is so nice here. I definitely like it here a lot.”
Of course the ultimate goal for most basketball players is to play in the NBA and that’s no different for Bryant. “I would be lying to myself if I said my goal isn’t to get to the NBA. Without a goal in mind you are just floating. My goal is to get to the NBA. But at the end of the day I just want to play the highest level of basketball that I can. I want to be the best basketball player that Elijah Bryant can be.”
Joshua Halickman, the Sports Rabbi, covers Israeli sports and organizes Israel Sports Adventures. Follow him on Twitter @thesportsrabbi, contact him at sportsrabbi9@ gmail.com or visit sportsrabbi.com.