If it wasn’t for the NCAA allowing players to return to campus for a fifth year in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Bryce Aiken’s college career would have ended on a down note.
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He was never fully healthy after undergoing knee surgery in 2020 and it showed. Hampered by ankle and knee injuries last season in his return to his home state after transferring from Harvard, the Randolph native averaged just 5.7 points and 1.5 assists when Seton Hall missed the NCAA Tournament.
“It was frustrating,” he said recently. “Every athlete wants to be out there and be able to play the game that they love, so for me it was tough, it was a mental battle. But I had to take it a day at a time and I tried to give whatever I could to the team on any given day that they called my name. It was inconsistent due to my health.”
Now in his second season with the Pirates (3-0), Aiken looks like a different player. Coming in with the second unit, he looks happy and healthy. And he’s been the straw that stirs the drink.
Entering Monday’s game with No. 19 Ohio State in the Fort Myers Tipoff Classic (6 p.m., FS1), Aiken is averaging 12.3 points while shooting 55% from the field and 55% from beyond the arc.
“I’ve been dealing with a lot of injuries so now that I’m healthy, being able to be back out here competing, I’m just trying to enjoy it every day, every game,” he said. “So that’s my main focus.”
After Seton Hall got down a quick 10-2 in the season-opener against FDU, Aiken came in off the bench and helped kick-start the offense. The Pirates seized a 40-20 halftime lead and went on to win in a rout, 93-49, thanks in part to Aiken’s 15 points, two rebounds and two steals. His good friend Kyrie Irving, who remains banned from the Brooklyn Nets until he gets a COVID-19 vaccination, was courtside clapping whenever his friend scored or made a play.
“I think that’s the summer BA had, he had a very productive summer,” Pirates coach Kevin Willard said after that game. “He was able to work out every day, he was able to practice every day. I just think he’s in a much better spot mentally about where his body is than where he was last year.”
Against Yale on Nov. 10, Aiken posted nine points, two rebounds and two assists in an 80-44 win.
When Seton Hall stunned No. 4 Michigan Tuesday in the Gavitt Tipoff Games in Ann Arbor, Aiken was brilliant down the stretch.
He was 4-of-6 at the line, including two clutch free throws with 32 seconds left that put Seton Hall up 65-64, and finished with 13 points.
With Seton Hall’s added depth this season, there isn’t as much pressure on Aiken to perform, either. Syracuse transfer Kadary Richmond starts at the point, and Aiken comes in off the bench. American University transfer Jamir Harris, senior wing Jared Rhoden and fifth-year wing Myles Cale provide plenty of depth and experience in the backcourt unlike last season when Shavar Reynolds had to shoulder the load at point guard while Aiken was banged up.
Still, as the Pirates navigate their tough non-conference schedule and eye an NCAA tournament resume, Aiken is as key as any player on the roster.
“I’m just having fun with it,” he said, “glad to be out here with these guys.”
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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter who covers Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media.
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