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player ready...One moment, New Trier senior point guard Will Ryan is battling an opposing center for position in front of the basket at the bottom of the 1-3-1 zone. Then the ball swings, and Ryan races across the court, suddenly in his opponent’s face before he can put up a shot.
The would-be shooter starts to dribble, and Ryan is all over him. The opponent tries to cross over, and Ryan pokes it away, then is off to the races on a fast break.
Ryan usually draws the most attention when New Trier is playing defense. His coach loves it.
“He is all over the place. He goes corner to corner quicker than anybody,” New Trier coach Scott Fricke said after a 58-34 win against Lake View on Dec. 16. Ryan had four steals and forced another turnover in that game.
“He guards the other guy as hard as he can. … He’ll guard anybody.”
Ryan, the youngest of five children, said he got some of his toughness and energy from his role in the family. Teammate John Carragher said the two have played together since sixth grade, and Ryan has always been this way.
“I hate going against him in practice,” Carragher said. “Even when we’re just shooting around together on the weekend, he’s always going all out, trying to win.”
Still, Ryan said he’s a different player this season. He and most of the current roster rarely played a season ago because the Trevians had plenty of talented seniors.
He said there’s no doubt that he wants to prove something this season.
“I play with a chip on my shoulder,” Ryan said. “I think I’ve been overlooked a little bit. I didn’t really play much last year, and I just want to show people that, me and my team, we can play really well.”
With the graduation of Sam Silverstein, Ryan spent the offseason preparing to go from the end of the bench to being the starting point guard. He said he spent the offseason working on his shot, his ballhandling and getting stronger. Ryan led the team in assists heading into the holiday tournament schedule.
“Everything he has, he’s worked his tail off for,” Fricke said. “In the offseason, I’d walk into the school at 7, 7:10, 7:15, and he’s getting shots up. Everything that is coming his way, he deserves and he’s earned.”
The Trevians are confident in themselves even though people outside of the program weren’t expecting too much compared to last season. New Trier (5-4) has not lost by more than 10 points, and three of its four losses came against teams that are undefeated.
The Trevians have drawn some attention through their solid play, and Ryan hopes to do the same to boost his recruitment. A Division III coach scouted him against Lake View, and Ryan said he feels like it could be a good fit to play at a smaller school.
Still, he said he is surprised to be having those recruiting conversations when he thinks back to his junior year.
“Last year, I didn’t think I could play at the next level, but I just kept going,” Ryan said. “It’s shocking, I didn’t expect it. But I’ve been told by so many people to just keep working and the hard work will pay off, so that’s what I did.”
Jakub Rudnik is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press