O’Bryant keeps word to mother, finishes degree at LSU
By Andy Collier, The Bolivar Bullet
Johnny O’Bryant is a young man that has accomplished many things in his life.
O’Bryant, 31, a Cleveland native and a East Side High School graduate, has made a great living as a professional basketball player as he will be entering his 11th year in the pros. During his time, he’s played at the highest level of basketball as he suited up for Milwaukee, Denver and Charlotte in the NBA for four years from 2014-18. Since his NBA days, he’s been playing basketball in different countries all over the world and is currently signed to play basketball with the Ibaraki Robots in Japan.
Despite all the success he has had in his life, there was one thing that had always lingered in OBryant’s mind. When he played college basketball at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, he suited up for three years but skipped his senior year as he was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of the NBA draft in 2014. He had left LSU without receiving his college degree.
O’Bryant came from a family that was big on him getting his education as his mother Angela Moore Hemphill wanted him to put those studies first. On Aug. 14, a promise that O’Bryant had made to his mother was finally fulfilled as he received his bachelor’s degree from LSU. His degree is in sports administration and sports management.
O’Bryant’s road to earning the degree has been a long but fulfilling one.
“When you’re young and early on in your career, you’re focused on basketball and trying to be the best player you can,” said O’Bryant. “I think as you get older, you start to see over the mountain so to speak. There’s something you want to go for after basketball. That’s something my mom has been pushing me toward my whole career. I finally decided to sit down a couple of years ago, and I buckled down to get it done.”
O’Bryant finished up his degree by taking online classes. He was thrilled with the help he got from LSU.
“LSU has been great working with me, facilitating everything and helping me navigate,” said O’Bryant.
Hemphill was overjoyed when she recalled seeing her son walk the aisle to get his degree.
“It was a like dream come true,” said Hemphill. “I’ve been preaching it. I’m like sports and schooling go hand and hand. If he’s going to do sports, get a degree behind it. I always told him,’ Son, if you don’t go pro, let it pay for you a good education.’ That’s the same it was when he was in high school when I took him off the basketball team because of his grades. He was lacking in his grades (early in his high school career). It all goes hand and hand. He started it and finished it. I”m just hoping for other athletes to to go back and finish it.”
O’Bryant said focusing on his academics kept him on the right track during his high school and college career.
“One thing my mom always emphasized on was grades ever since I was a little kid,” said O’Bryant. “It enabled me to go play at LSU where I watched a ton of athletes have to kind of go other routs. They’d start at junior college and then fizzle out because of a lack of grades. It was always a focus for me, and it allowed me to take a necessary jump to the college level.”
In the time O’Bryant has been playing professional basketball, he’s delved into other things he has a passion for that will keep him working when his basketball days are over.
O’Bryant, along with Marcus Johnson, founded Noir Caesar which publishes manga and produces anime. Manga are comics that originate in Japan and anime are cartoons that originate in Japan.
O’Bryant found his love for animation at a young age.
“It’s something that when I was kid, I grew up watching cartoons,” said O’Bryant. “They would come on right after school when I was in elementary. I took a liking to it as a kid, and I stuck with it.”
O’Bryant said the business itself is thriving.
“It’s been going really well,” said O’Bryant. “We’ve got some comic books and some TV shows and TV stuff in development. It’s kind of what I want to transition to next after basketball.”
O’Bryant is married with four children. The chance for his children to watch him graduate is something many parents don’t get to experience.
“For me, it was cool,” said O’Bryant. “They’re still young so they process everything different, but for me I just wanted them to see that moment. It’s rare that kids get to see their parents graduate. Normally when kids are young ,their parents are well into their careers. For me, education is very important, and I want to lead by example with everything I do. If I’m on them about graduating and finishing school, they got to see me walk down the aisle.”