Inside the Huddle: Bryant Rediscovers Love for Basketball, Takes Advantage of Second Chance With Illinois

Genesis Bryant was tired of losing. After moving into a new house that already included a basketball hoop in the driveway, Bryant was almost always shooting hoops in her spare time with her cousin, who was a year older and living with her family at the time.

The pair regularly played one-on-one, and Bryant always came out on the losing end. And she did not take it well.

Frequently coming back inside crying and upset after yet another defeat, Bryant realized enough was enough. She was tired of losing. She wanted to win. So, she put in the work, putting up shots and practicing her dribbling by herself. All at the age of 5.

When her father, John, saw the amount of effort his kindergarten-aged daughter was going through to improve, he started joining outside and training with her. Instantly, he could tell she had the natural abilities that far exceeded her age.

“When my husband first started working with her, he was like, ‘She's got something special,’” said Cynthia Bryant, Genesis’ mother. “I was like, 'OK, John, whatever. She's 5 years old.’ He always said, 'She's going to be able to go to college on a basketball scholarship,' so he always believed in her from the very beginning.

“Even with her frustration with playing with her cousin, my husband noticed that she still had some really unusual skills for a 5-year-old little girl. He honed in with her early to help her cultivate those skills. He was always working with her on her shot and just trying to help her along the way.”

Though Genesis Bryant first started playing basketball in her driveway at the age of 5, her sports journey started far earlier than that. She enrolled in her first sport, karate, at the age of 3, and her parents also signed her up for tap dance.

While she also participated in swimming, track, and volleyball, it was always clear that basketball was going to be Bryant’s main sport. She may have been good at volleyball, but hoops was always going to be her destiny.

“She struggled in those other sports,” Cynthia Bryant said. “With swimming, It was like, 'Oh, baby. Just make it. Just make it.’ Running around on the track, even though she was in last place, I just wanted her to complete it. It was always very evident that basketball was definitely the top sport.”

In fourth grade, Genesis Bryant took the next step in her basketball journey, joining a local community league composed of boys and girls. Genesis was one of only two girls on her team, but that did not stop her from thriving, and she gave 100% effort every time she stepped foot on the court.

After two seasons with her local league, Genesis Bryant joined an AAU team, an experience that finally made her realize just how gifted she was. Playing in a middle-school tournament against kids between sixth and eighth grades, she guided her team as a sixth-grader to the Elite Eight, where her squad faced its biggest test yet.

As an No. 8-seed in the competition, Bryant’s team squared off with the top-ranked program at the event. Scoring 34 of her team’s 35 points, it did not prove to be enough. But, being the team player that she still is, she was “so upset” about the loss despite her phenomenal individual performance.

“Even though we lost, I felt like to be able to do that in sixth grade, it kind of put a lot of other people on notice,” Genesis Bryant said. “That's when I started getting more attention from schools around the county, and it kind of grew from there.”

Closing out a middle-school career that included a 52-point performance in eighth grade, Genesis Bryant immediately joined the varsity basketball team at Lovejoy High School. After advancing to the Final Four in the state tournament during her freshman year, the Wildcats made history the following season.

Starting the 2017-18 campaign on a nine-game winning streak, Genesis Bryant and the Lovejoy Wildcats went into the state tournament having lost only once all season. Lovejoy won its first two games by an average of 32 points, but it needed overtime to move on to the Final Four for a second consecutive season.

Once the event was reduced to four teams, Lovejoy cruised to its program’s first-ever state tournament crown, winning the championship game by 16 points.

Genesis Bryant played a significant role on that title-winning team, earning GHSA 6A Player of the Year and Regional Player of the Year honors, but it was the progress the program made off the court that made her especially proud.

“When I first got there, we probably had 50 people in the stands. There really wasn't a lot of support for women's basketball across the county. By the time I left, one game was televised, and we got nationally ranked twice,” Genesis Bryant said. “We played in national tournaments. We ended up playing after the boys in two games because our game was sold out, so they had to move us to the last game of the day.”

Serving as a captain as a junior, Genesis Bryant had to navigate the leadership duties the role required in addition to being a student and a highly sought-after recruit. The opportunity helped her solidify her leadership style of leading by example, a characteristic she has carried into her role at Illinois.

But, Champaign was not the start of her college basketball career. Genesis Bryant spent her first two seasons at North Carolina State, located about seven hours from her hometown of Jonesboro, Georgia. 

Playing in 14 games as a freshman, Genesis Bryant scored nine points in her NCAA Tournament debut. The following season, she saw her minutes reduced, though she saw the court in 20 contests as a sophomore.

Following that campaign, Genesis Bryant wasn't in a good place mentally. On the verge of quitting the sport she had been playing for 15 years of her life, she turned to her faith and her family to help guide her through the internal struggles.

Her family has forever played a big role in her life, and Bryant was always adamant about her parents attending every game in which she played. When it came time to decide her next step after a tough two years with the Wolfpack, Genesis Bryant asked her parents for advice.

“I got so deep in a hole. I always grew up with faith, and my parents come from a very Christian background. I was just like, ‘This can't be it. This can't be all that's left for me,’” Genesis Bryant said. “At that point, I started praying and going to my family. I was just in a tough spot. We always think of ‘Trouble doesn't last always; the sun eventually has to shine. It's going to get better. Eventually, the sun has to come out.’ I just held on to it until I can now see the fruit of it.”

Knowing how much her daughter loved the game growing up, all Cynthia Bryant wanted was for Genesis to rediscover that admiration.

“Ever since she was a very little girl, she always had a love for basketball. When we asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, it all centered around basketball, so we knew that that was a love of hers,” Cynthia Bryant said. “To have her go through what she went through and to see her so deflated, that was really hard because we knew the love that she had for the game. 

“She just wanted to play. Me and her dad would talk with her, and would always encourage her and tell her that the Lord is with her, and we would pray with her on the phone. We tried to keep her encouraged that, regardless of the situation, God knows what's going on.”

Genesis Bryant determined the transfer portal was the best route to rekindling her love for the game. Entering the portal closed, meaning she could only contact potential schools rather than the other way around, helped her with her mental health.

Having connected with head coach Shauna Green while she served at the helm at Dayton during her high-school recruitment, Genesis Bryant soon learned Green was taking the job at Illinois. That solidified her desire to finally play for Green, and she knew there was only one place she wanted to spend the final few years of her college career.

“When I heard that Coach Green had the job here, I knew where I wanted to go,” Genesis Bryant said. “I immediately contacted Coach Green, and we just picked up from there. I knew where I wanted to be based on who Coach Green was. I already knew the staff, and when I heard that she was bringing her whole staff back here, it was a no-brainer.

“The opportunity to be that underdog was exciting. That's kind of been the story of my life since I started playing basketball. I was always part of the beginning of something. I don't think it's a coincidence that my name is Genesis, which means ‘the beginning.’”

Growing up and living in the South for her whole life, Genesis Bryant was a bit cautious about making the move to the Midwest. While the adjustment to being a plane ride away from family was already a big transition, the culture shock and weather proved to be bigger challenges.

With teammates around her who she quickly bonded with and a coaching staff she loved playing for, Genesis Bryant became acclimated to Champaign and the Fighting Illini women’s basketball program fairly seamlessly.

“I had never been so far away from my family,” Genesis Bryant said. “Having that comfort taken away, being in a place where you know nobody, the weather is different, the food is different, the people are different: It was kind of hard. I just had to lean on my teammates because they were the people I knew. I just thank God now that I have such a big support system. I have a big fan base and a big community around me now, so it's kind of crazy to see how much a difference a year can make.”

Cynthia Bryant was nervous about Genesis venturing out so far from Georgia, but there was no one she wanted her daughter to play for more than Coach Green and her staff.

“Her AAU coach was like, ‘Would you really consider her going to Champaign, Illinois?’ We were like, ‘For Coach Green? Absolutely, yes,’” Cynthia Bryant said. “For my baby to move so far away, that just hurt my heart. That was a hard decision, but being there with Coach Green was worth it. I know she's where she's supposed to be, so it was absolutely worth the move.”

Genesis Bryant immediately made her mark with the Fighting Illini, and she recorded the program’s third-ever triple-double in just her second start for the Orange and Blue. After two years of rarely seeing the court and never cracking the starting lineup, she was eager to prove she belonged on the college stage, and that’s exactly what she did.

“At the time I did it, I didn't realize how much that would mean until after because I was just playing. Originally, it was just about having an opportunity to be able to do something like that because it has always been in me,” Genesis Bryant said. “That's who I am. It was in my DNA to bounce into that role.”

Averaging 29.3 minutes, 15.2 points, and 3.6 assists per game, Genesis Bryant shot over 40% from 3-point range, a niche she found at an early age given her 5-foot-6 stature. Her debut season at Illinois ultimately culminated in an NCAA tournament berth and All-Big Ten second-team honors.

Hitting double figures on 25 occasions, Genesis Bryant found her stride – and her love for the sport – once again, just one year after she considered calling it quits on her basketball career.

“It made the first two years of my college years just seem worth it,” Genesis Bryant said. “You don't really hear about those kinds of jumps. I averaged two points and five minutes my sophomore year, and to come in my junior year and just do everything that happened, it could only be by God. It's only by His grace that that happened. I have so much gratitude for the game, too. I don't take the game for granted. I don't take games for granted.”

Not only did Genesis Bryant find her happiness on the court, she also has made an impact off the court. She co-founded a Bible study group with Illini wide receiver Isaiah Williams, and she also leads a weekly Bible study with her teammates. In the community, she's volunteered at Cunningham Children’s Home and with Habitat for Humanity. Over the summer, Genesis joined other Illini student-athletes for a mission trip to Africa, where the group integrated and interacted with locals and gave back to the Kenyan population.

Being visible in the Champaign-Urbana community has always been a point of emphasis for Genesis Bryant when it comes to leaving a legacy at Illinois. Wanting to be known for her work both on and off the court, Genesis Bryant serves as a role model for kids who look like her.

“Representation matters,” Genesis Bryant said. “I want to let kids see that people who look like them can be on this platform and can have a successful student and athlete life. Letting them see that and being able to relate to them, I feel like that's the biggest thing. No matter what your circumstances or your situation are, you can still come out on top.”

Genesis Bryant has taken a complete 180-degree turn from where she was two seasons ago, when she often sat on the bench and had to watch from the sidelines. Now, she has taken a central role in the Illinois women’s basketball program’s historic turnaround.

While Cynthia and John Bryant have watched their daughter’s drastic improvements mostly from afar, they are incredibly proud of Genesis’ hard work and decision to give basketball another chance.

“It's surreal, and it's such a blessing. It really is,” Cynthia Bryant said. “It really is a dream come true. This is truly a dream come true, and we're so happy. To see what she went through and to come out on this side of it, it's such a blessing.”

Now in her second season at Illinois and her fourth campaign at the collegiate level, Genesis Bryant continues to wear the same number, ‘1,’ she has donned for nearly the entirety of her competitive hoops career. First inspired to choose ‘1’ in her quest to be the best player on the court, she has since changed her perspective by using her number as a motivator to play for an audience of one.

“As I matured and increased in my faith, I changed that inspiration,” Genesis Bryant said. “I feel like when I'm on the court, I'm only playing for God. I feel like when you try to play for too many things, it can get confusing. When you play for something that has a great foundation, it helps me center myself and not worry about all the extra distractions.”

Genesis Bryant has come a long way since the days of playing in the driveway against her cousin, who she has since defeated several times. While she no longer has the same backboard from the basket she used as a 5-year-old – it shattered while John and his friends were playing, she still has the same pole that was there when her family first moved in.

That goal played a big role in her basketball journey, and she has now taken basketball to a level she previously never thought possible. Wanting to leave the Illinois program better than she found it, Genesis Bryant continues to add to an already impressive legacy.

That backboard may have changed, but her desire to be the best and her hatred of losing remain strong as she competes in her senior season with the Orange and Blue.

“Basketball has given me a lot,” Genesis Bryant said. “Every day, no matter if you're sick, no matter if you're hurting, or something just happened in your personal life, whatever is going on, you're expected to come out and show up. When people talk about their work, sometimes they dread it, but I enjoy practice, I enjoy games, and I enjoy being on his team. I'm just enjoying it.  I wake up every day excited for what the day is going to be. That's something not to be taken for granted.

“I want to be known as a person who cared about the person and actually took the time to meet people where they are and to see people for what they are. I want to be a person who started something here that's going to go way past me. I also want to be someone who did the right thing, led by example, someone who you could follow on and off the court, handled their business in the classroom, and just a good teammate, good person, good friend all the way down the line.”