When first looking at Jared Bryant, an incoming freshman from Cincinnati, Ohio, the first impression is great size - height and weight. Upon closer inspection, he looks a lot like Chattanooga's career rebounding leader of the Division I era, Nicchaeus Doaks (2006-09).
"We call him little Nicchaeus Doaks," said head coach John Shulman. "There is a resemblance off the court...hopefully there is one on it as well."
Bryant is listed at 6-7 and 234 lbs. He has the makings of a powerful post presence.
"Another great kid," Shulman added. "He is force inside with a huge body. With our weight room and strength coaches, he is going to be an absolute monster one day.
"Jared is a very skilled inside presence," Shulman continued. "That's not really popular to be anymore, but he can really score it inside."
In this day and age, many student-athletes focus on play outside the paint, but Bryant has the potential to be a dominant inside it. That's an important part of Shulman's offense. Doaks not only set the rebounding standard with 818, but he also attempted more free throws than anyone in a Chattanooga uniform (565) since the start of the 1977-78 season.
"Our best teams get to the line because we get to the basket," noted Shulman, who is entering his eighth season at the Mocs' helm. "Jared can shoot the ball from the perimeter. He's never been asked to that because of what he can do on the block. That's the nice thing...in our league he is going to be able to score the ball inside."
Shulman was not only quick to note character when discussing Bryant, but another theme with this incoming class. He comes from a strong prep program.
"That's something that cannot be discounted because he is used to winning," said Shulman. "Jared was very well-coached in high school coming from a really good program in Roger Bacon."
Not to be lost in the equation is Bryant being from Cincinnati and Shulman's love of the Cincinnati Reds.
"Really the biggest thing about Jared - the nicest thing - is that he is a Cincinnati Reds fan," joked Shulman. "Our school has a good history with Cincinnati student-athletes," he smiled. "The football team had some pretty good luck 40 or 50 years ago bringing Russ Huesman here from Cincinnati, so we thought we'd give it a try."
GoMocs.con Exclusive Look at Chattanooga Basketball's Newcomers
July 25 - Trey Brown
August 1 - Jared Bryant
August 8 - Lance Stokes
August 15 - Rico White
August 22 - Z. Mason
