Reggie Bryant will be back on the court for the Saint Louis University men's basketball team this season one year after establishing himself as the most feared offensive threat on the team.

The senior guard will be counted on to lead the Billikens men's basketball team as they begin their 2004-2005 campaign this month. Leading the team should be nothing new to Bryant, as he led last year's team in points per game and three-pointers made. Bryant's 16.4 points per game average was good enough to earn him second team All Conference USA honors and team Most Valuable Player, a distinction he shared with Josh Fisher.

This season, Bryant will be without the services of Fisher and three other key components to last year's team who were lost to graduation. Although a cast of young players may make up for the statistical loss, Bryant will be counted on to make up for the leadership within the team.

Senior forward Izik Ohanon said, "As a senior he realizes that more weight falls on his shoulders and he must take on a greater responsibility."

Returning as one of the conference's top players will place a lot of pressure on Bryant, but the smooth shooting guard showed last year that often his best performances are in the biggest games. Bryant notched 19 points in SLU's Second Round NIT loss last year to Notre Dame. The week before Bryant went for 18 points to give SLU their biggest win of the season, an 11-point Conference USA Tournament Quarterfinal win against 23rd ranked Memphis.

Bryant wasted no time acquainting himself with Billiken fans by playing his best game of the season against perennial powerhouse Arizona on Dec. 6. The seventh ranked Wildcats took a 3-point lead into the final 13 seconds before Bryant used an up-and-under move to draw two Arizona Wildcats into the air before drilling a dazzling 25-foot jump shot that appeared to tie the game. Unfortunately the replay showed that while stepping between the two airborne Arizona defenders Bryant's toe touched the three-point line. Arizona escaped with only a scare, winning 68-67.

Although SLU came up short, Bryant used the game as a preview of the rest of his season. He finished the Arizona game with a career-high 24 points on five three-pointers.

The Arizona game was Bryant's second career game in a Billikens jersey after he was forced to sit out the first three games of the 2003-2004 season for committing an NCAA violation. His first two seasons were spent playing for the Villanova Wildcats of the Big East Conference. The NCAA violation occurred at Villanova.

Bryant has been hobbled by ankle tendonitis in the preseason and was held out of last Saturday's game against Truman State. The injury first occurred this summer and although it is not serious, it is something that the team has shown they will treat with cautioun. With his pure jump shot and big-game mentality, why wouldn't they?