Malcolm Bryant is finding it more difficult than he expected to take on the job of team captain for the Auburn boys basketball team, especially with the hardships the team faced early in the season.

“Being a captain is quite hard, actually,” Bryant said. “There are more expectations placed on me from the coach, I can't let the team down, I'm somewhat of a role model which is really new to me.”

After losing three straight games to start the season, Bryant and his co-captain Leon Agee decided that it was time that they take their leadership responsibilities a little more seriously.

“The team was playing more selfishly,” Bryant said. “It was all about the individual success and not about the team. I had to step up, we decided to call a team meeting. Me and (Agee) told the team that if they wanted to start winning games and make it to playoffs this year, they would have to start playing together.”

That meeting took place right before the Maroons stopped their skid by winning five straight, possibly a testament to the team leaders.

“Now we are playing more together,” Bryant said. “We are more like a family and coming together even better than last year.”

“They are all starting to pull in the same direction,” Auburn coach Al Giannone added. “(Bryant) does a great job keeping everybody together in practice and he is a vocal leader more than before and that leadership is really important to this team.”

Giannone said that Bryant has several qualities that make him such a strong figure for the Maroons.

“He is willing to give the ball up instead of shooting on the floor,” Giannone said.

Second on the team in assists with 20, Bryant is willing to share the spotlight and the ball, exhibiting the kind of teamwork that the Maroons have been using to stack up the victories.

Giannone, who has been working with Bryant for four years - including the two that he has been his coach - said that the senior has a lot going for him on the basketball court.

“He is a heck of a player,” Giannone said. “He has come a long way. He is super athletic, he runs like a deer, jumps out of the gym and is such a strong guy all around. It makes him hard to cover. He is also a hard worker who keeps everyone together in practice, he knows how important it is to work hard for the game.”

“I learned that hard work and dedication is what it takes to be successful,” Bryant added. “Seeing players like (former Auburn basketball player) Damien Whitaker, who was a nobody and worked hard constantly and became a top player, that's what keeps me working hard.”

That hard work may just be contagious for the rest of the team, who Bryant says he tries to keep focused in practice, but not at the expense of losing his sense of humor.

“You can't always be serious or you lose the fun of the game,” Bryant said. “I'm always trying to keep it fun when possible.”

“One of his biggest strengths is his humor,” Giannone added. “It's a good thing for the team, he always has something funny to say but when it's time for practice or games he gets after them.”

The desire to succeed in the game came in his freshman year after playing basketball as an outdoor hobby, Bryant began to take it more seriously. Now that he has worked with Giannone, Bryant has learned more than just the rules of the game.

“(Giannone) is an outstanding coach,” Bryant said. “If you listen to him you are golden. Working with him as my coach has been a great experience, he is inspirational. I also get inspiration from all the people who doubted me though. All the people who said that I would never make it or never be able to play well are the reason that I am so dedicated and the reason that I will succeed.”