Alumni Update: Bryant, Lin, and Killorn

As the fall semester and the NFL season approach their midway points and the NHL and NBA regular seasons begin, it’s time to check up on three Harvard alums playing professionally.

While Cleveland fans wait for LeBron James to make his highly anticipated return to the Cavaliers, the Browns sit at 3-3 following their bye week. A win this week over the Raiders would give the team its best start since 2007. Desmond Bryant ’09 has been a starting defensive end for the Browns in five of the team’s six games. The 6’6” Bryant has 11 tackles and one sack this year for a much improved Cleveland front seven that has allowed only seven rushing touchdowns this season. Bryant was able to return to the field this year after missing the end of last season with an irregular heartbeat.

There has been no shortage of media attention this offseason for the Los Angeles Lakers’ backcourt, a unit that struggled mightily during last year’s 27-win campaign. The arrival of Jeremy Lin ’10 to Los Angeles became the third biggest story of the summer about a Laker guard behind Kobe Bryant’s return to basketball after an Achilles injury and Nick Young’s relationship with Australian rapper Iggy Azalea. Lin was traded to Los Angeles in July as part of a move intended to clear salary cap for the Houston Rockets. The Palo Alto, Calif. native is expected to start at point guard for the Lakers after averaging 12.5 points and 4.1 assists per game for the Rockets last season. The Lakers will have their hands full in a division that features improved Clippers and Warriors squads.

Alex Killorn ’12 has scored two goals in five games for the 4-2-1 Tampa Bay Lightning. The 25-year-old has been playing left wing on the Lightning’s second line with Valterri Filpulla and Tyler Johnson. Killorn, an ECAC first teamer during his senior season at Harvard, is looking to build off his 2013-2014 campaign in which he scored 17 goals and recorded 24 assists for Tampa Bay. The Lightning, which was swept in the first round of last year’s playoffs by the Montreal Canadiens, were recently picked to finish third in the Eastern Conference by Sports Illustrated.