BYU Basketball: Elijah Bryant signs Israeli league deal

Former BYU Guard Elijah Bryant will be playing professional basketball a long way from Provo, Utah this upcoming season. The Israeli Basketball League tweeted early Thursday morning that Bryant has signed with the team Hapoel Eilat.

Bryant transferred to BYU from Elon and played for the Cougars from 2016-18. After leaving BYU following his junior season, he worked out for several NBA teams including the Grizzlies, Jazz, Lakers, Bucks, Nets and Celtics. He was not drafted. He played for the Philadelphia 76’ers in summer league.

Bryant had a stellar junior year for the Cougars, showcasing exceptional offensive efficiency, averaging 18.2 points per game. He announced via his YouTube channel in April that he would be leaving BYU to pursue his NBA dreams and has since been running a “collecting pennies and connecting dots” campaign on his social channel, EB&J.

Here is Eilat on a map, where Bryant will be playing (The team represents the far-south region of the country):

https://goo.gl/maps/ZapVvLaqKCN2

There are 12 teams in the Israeli league. The team was founded in 1970 and began playing in their current division in 1990. They have never won a championship, but have been runners up twice. Their colors are “azure and dark blue,” and their mascot appears to be a fire-breathing shark, so that’s awesome.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hapoel_Eilat_B.C.#/media/File:Hapoel_Eilat_B.C._logo.png

Best of luck to Bryant and his wife Jenelle on this new adventure!