Head men’s basketball coach Jayson Gee has been described as a role model, father figure, leader and coach; but for redshirt- freshman guard Bryan Gee he’s also known as Dad. On and off the court, Bryan was raised with his father coaching him throughout his life.
Explaining his childhood, Bryan has always seen his dad as a coach. “The greatest advice he gave me is that ‘everything equals something, that there is a karma to the game and that what you do now effects you in the future, so with that what you do consequences.’”
Growing up Bryan spent most of his time shadowing his dad to games at Cleveland State University and summer camps in Ohio, where he found his love for the family sport and has not put the ball down since.
Coach Jayson Gee’s basketball players, whether they’re his son or not, are given a vision that lays out a road map to their potential and best course of action to their goals. According to Jayson Gee, Bryan Gee is currently working hard at filling his role as a student-athlete in his first semester on the team and is well on his way to fulfilling the coaches vision to step in the shoes of current guard Quincy Taylor, in two years.
Although Bryan Gee is redshirted this year he has remained positive and explains that his team is helping him become a better person on and off the court, and he believes in the vision given to him by his father. “He believes in the leadership and so when I say I believe you need to redshirt, he may disagree with that but he trusts and believes in me and knows that what I tell him is in his best interest,” stated Jayson Gee.
After being a three-year starter on the Cornerstone Christian Academy (CCA) varsity basketball team, he is making sure he works hard towards his father’s, and coaches’, visions to get on the court as fast as he can.
When looking at colleges his junior and senior year Bryan Gee was a first-team All-Conference player, averaging 15.5 points, 7.1 assist per game, and shot 48 percent from the three-point range.
“As a coach when you come to practice and you don’t have to worry about the energy level at practice that is a sign of great leadership, Bryan does a great job getting everyone involved,” according to an interview of CCA’s head coach Dan Selle earlier in 2014. By senior year Selle believed Bryan Gee was the best point guard in Ohio and was proven right when he was offered scholarships to Cleveland State, Cedarville University and Longwood University.
“When I was narrowing down the schools and my dad asked me to play for him I was like ‘well I’m set,’ I already know what he’s all about and that he’s going to take care of me, not just because I’m his son but [it’s what] he does with everyone else on his team,” explained Bryan Gee.
When being recruited by Longwood, Jayson Gee saw his leadership and work ethic as an asset to the Longwood basketball team. “I encourage him [Bryan] to follow his heart and I would always tease them when they were kids, when people would ask them, ‘are you going to play at Ohio State or North Carolina?’ and I said no I’m feeding him he’s going to play for me where ever I’m at,” stated Gee. “And selfishly speaking, I think it all worked out.”
Bryan and his father both agree that they have a great relationship and that they have embraced Longwood as a second home. “My dad and I are really close and we have been able to distinguish that he is my coach now and that he is my dad afterwards,” stated Bryan Gee.
The teams sophomore forward, Damarion Geter, explained that the team may have been a little skeptic at first at their coaches son coming to Longwood but realized they had no reason to feel this way. “With Coach Gee’s son on the team its not that big of a difference because in the way we try to run our program, coach Gee says that we are all his family so he tries to treat everyone like his son so having Bryan on the team is just like having any other player on the team,” stated Geter. “We are all brothers.”