Lucas: Ryan Ready For New Era

By Adam Lucas

Cormac Ryan has a knack for explaining things in exactly a way that makes sense to Tar Heel fans.

"I have played college basketball games," he says, "against Luke Maye and Cam Johnson and Coby White."

Wow.

"I know," he says with a grin. "I sound like a dinosaur when I say that. But I've been very familiar with the Carolina basketball family for a long time."

Can that really be accurate? Yes—Ryan was in the Stanford starting lineup at the Smith Center on Nov. 12, 2018. Carolina won that day, 90-72, and Ryan went 4-for-12 but also had six assists and five rebounds (for the record, Johnson had a game-high 17, Maye had 16 and White added nine).

The Johnson/Maye/White trio feels like a different era of Carolina basketball. Since then, Ryan has made multiple other trips back to the Smith Center with Notre Dame. And now, he's a Tar Heel—which it kind of feels like he should have been all along.

"Carolina made a lot of sense for me for a lot of reasons," he says. "The coaching staff and their vision for me and how they saw me helping this group. The team we have put together for this year. And Carolina basketball is self-explanatory…The legacy of this program is world class, the best in the nation. To be part of the Carolina family is special. It's a privilege and blessing to be part of it, and I hope to further the greatness of this program however I can."

It was assumed that much of that assistance to the program would come in the form of long-range shooting, since Ryan arrived with a well-earned reputation as a marksman. And he is indeed a valuable asset to stretch the defense around the arc, preventing it from collapsing inside on Armando Bacot or paying too much attention to RJ Davis.

But he's also proven to be a willing driver and an unexpectedly good defender. Even on an off shooting day against Lehigh, he still won the team's individual defensive award.

"I consider myself a playmaker," he says. "I can put the ball on the floor and create for my teammates. I take a lot of pride in defense. I love guarding the other team's best player whenever possible…I love to impact the game. I want to make winning plays, whether that's taking a charge, diving on a loose ball, or picking up a teammate who is down. I take pride in doing those things."

Indeed, Ryan's intangibles have been just as valuable as his measurables. His willingness to be vocal, whether in practices or games, has been a welcome addition. And it never stops; when he had to miss a couple of practices after tweaking his ankle in Carolina's exhibition game, he frequently paused his sideline workout with Jonas Sahratian to exhort his teammates who were going through drills.

There is admittedly a scenario in which Ryan's brand of vocal leadership could have been a dangerous mix with a team that already had two established cornerstones in Davis and Bacot. That's part of what makes Ryan an effective leader: he took the time to assess the situation before he injected himself into it. And he knows exactly how to explain it in a way that makes it seem like an asset rather than a potential problem.

"I know when to speak up and when to dial it back," he says. "Especially in a locker room with guys who have been there. There is a time and place to share that ownership of who will speak up and who will not. Having guys like Armando and RJ who have been here longer and have amazing careers under their belts, I'm happy to share in the leadership journey with them. Having guys like Paxson and Harrison and Jae'Lyn who have played a lot of college basketball is a huge strength. It's awesome that we have so much perspective and experience and we can share and build each other up."

And then Ryan shows exactly what a perfect fit he is in Chapel Hill. He quotes a thought for the day that—of course—dates back to the Roy Williams era, and remains the thought for the day before every first practice of the season.

"I want to win and make winning plays," he says. "I want to help the team win. The famous thought for the day is, 'It's amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit.' That's what it boils down to, an unselfish sharing in collective success. I've seen the good that can come of that and the bad that can come from not following it. I think we have guys who really understand that and a coaching staff that embodies that. For me to contribute to that in any way possible is what I want to do."

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University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Armando Bacot

RJ Davis

Cormac Ryan

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