Construction of the new Cathedral Academy gym went off without a hitch, but building a team to showcase in the multi-million dollar facility is a whole other matter.
This summer, Cathedral officials considered not fielding a varsity boys’ basketball team. The school was without a coach for the team and only a handful of students had expressed interest in playing for the Generals, which finished last season with a 1-17 record.
Cathedral Athletic Director Brandon Brown didn’t like the idea of the new gym going unused on Friday nights, but it seemed he would have no choice but to cancel the team’s season. Fortunately, it didn’t come to that and now the Generals are making great strides.
The team jumped out to a 7-4 start this season and improved to 10-11 Monday. Some may even consider the Generals’ losses moral victories since the margins of defeat have been cut drastically since a year ago.
The turnaround all started with the addition of three transfer students and new varsity coach Brad Murray.
“The Bryan family moved to Charleston and began attending Cathedral of Praise, our founding church,” Brown said. “About that same time, former Pinewood Prep standout Brad Murray was introduced to me and we began talking about him becoming our boys’ coach. The Bryans expressed an interest in the school so I gave them a tour, not really knowing how talented their three boys were not only athletically but academically.”
Talented indeed – 19 games into the season MaxPrepSports.com had senior Jonathan Bryan listed as the top scorer in South Carolina for all classifications and the 15th leading scorer in the country. The senior averaged 31.4 points per game and hit 46 percent of his shots en route to scoring 596 points in those first 19 games.
During his first game in a Generals’ uniform, he shattered the team single-game scoring record of 38, posting 52 points. On Jan. 15, halfway through the season, he broke the school’s season scoring record of 512 points. His 4.6 GPA is the highest among seniors at the school.
Like Jonathan, junior Josiah Bryan played for a 6-A high school in Orlando, Fla. before transferring to Cathedral. As the Generals’ point guard, he averages 16 points per game and holds a 4.5 GPA. During his first game with Cathedral, he scored 35 points, just 3 shy of besting the former single-game record his brother obliterated.
Their younger brother, Seth Bryan, is only in seventh grade so once enough high school players signed up for the varsity, he was moved to the JV team.
For professional reasons, the Bryan family has moved around a lot so the brothers have played for a number of teams. They say the transition to the Cathedral team went remarkably well.
“This is my third high school in four years so I’m use to change, but these guys are great,” Jonathan said. “Everyone on the team wants to learn so we learn from each other and that helps us mesh on the court. We also have strong relationships off the court, which makes us a better team.”
Josiah says the team is developing better chemistry each week and that he too is enjoying the school.
“Once we started working out with the team, things just sort of took off,” he said. “It helps that the two of us have played together for so long. I know what Jonathan is going to do and where he is going to be which makes it easier to dish to him.”
Of course, basketball is a team sport and Cathedral’s super siblings aren’t totally responsible for the Generals’ turn around. The play of their teammates as well as the organizational and motivational skills of their coach also played a part.
Murray, a member of Pinewood Prep’s first state championship team, brought a lot of experience and passion to the Generals. He coached various sports at Alston Middle School and Summerville High School prior to taking the reigns of the Cathedral team. Like the Bryans, he met Brown through church.
“The main thing is I liked the direction the school is going spiritually,” Murray said. “I also see a lot of potential here and think in the end, building this program will be more rewarding than coaching in an established program.”
In addition to the normal challenges high school coaches face, he had to deal with problems stemming from the Cathedral program being so young.
“When we started this season, some of our kids couldn’t even dribble,” Murray said. “Some didn’t know what a board or a 1-and-1 is. Plus, when a team hasn’t experienced success, players can be reluctant to buy into things. But we are improving and showing signs that we can develop a program that can be around for a while. The Bryans and their determination on the court are helping us breathe something positive into this program.”
 
Contact Roger Lee @ 873-9424 ext. 213 or rlee@journalscene.com.