Johnny O'Bryant to Forego Senior Year and Enter Draft

Johnny O'Bryant has decided to forego his senior year at LSU and take his talents to the professional ranks. It is unlikely that O'Bryant will go in the first round of the NBA draft (which guarantees a roster spot), but still could make an NBA roster with a second round pick. Otherwise O'Bryant would look toward either the NBA Development League or overseas.

Johnny O'Bryant ends his LSU career with 1,157 points, 702 rebounds, 115 assists, and 72 steals. He made 447 field goals as a Tiger to go along with 257 free throws. He was named All-SEC First Team in the 2012 and 2013 seasons.

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While he had many memorable games, there are a few that come to mind. One of the most interesting may have been his first double double. His freshman year O'Bryant went for 11 points and 10 rebounds at North Texas against eventual LSU head coach Johnny Jones.

His sophomore year, he scored a career high at South Carolina when he went for 30 points and 10 rebounds on 13 of 19 shooting. His presence inside was the difference in a game that helped LSU turn around a poor start to SEC play.

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While each of those games have incredible story lines, none compare to O'Bryant's performance in the Ice Dome Game his senior season. Against #11 Kentucky, an eventual Final 4 team, O'Bryant helped the underdog LSU team win 87-82 in front of an intimate but rowdy crowd. Baton Rouge was frozen over and road closures allowed only those within miles of LSU to get to the PMAC.

Whether it was the 4k-5k fans in the PMAC or the nearly 1.9 million fans who watched on ESPN, O'Bryant proved to them he has NBA potential. For the first time all year, the 6'9" 262lb center was not double teamed, and a Kentucky team filled with future NBA players had no answers. In that game, O'Bryant went for 29 points and 9 rebounds.

Quotes about O'Bryant:

"O’Bryant, I think he’s the best offensive post guy in the country."
- Larry Brown, SMU Coach and Legendary NBA Coach

"Johnny O’Bryant killed us. We started the game, and I didn’t want to trap. I wanted to see what could happen. That was probably a mistake on my part. We should have trapped from the beginning of the game."
- John Calipari, Kentucky Coach

"O’Bryant established himself as the dominant player in the game. He was good throughout."
- Kevin Stallings, Vanderbilt Coach

"O'Bryant played hard. He's a good, good player. He's really, really good. He'll be playing for a very long time."
- Kevin Stallings, Vanderbilt Coach

“The thing that impressed me most was that he was really competing a lot better than he did last year – I thought there were a lot of times last year when he took plays off. And his consistency and his work ethic, it looked like he was connected to the team.”
- NBA Scout