In basketball being the leading scorer is typically associated with being the best player on the team, and for good reason, afterall basketball is about whoever scores the most points. However, this year Cormac Ryan could be the guy who changes that. The guard will make his debut for the Irish this year after a year of buzz coming out of Rolfs Athletic Hall.
The Massachusetts native didn't have the career he envisioned at Stanford but in his short stint there he showed us flashes of why he can be so good at the college level. The interesting thing is that a good amount of these flashes didn't result in him scoring the ball. When watching Cormac his scoring ability is impressive but it is the chase down blocks, the lazer passes, and the steals that blow you away. What's maybe even more impressive is that he was doing all of this through a Sports Hernia injury which Notre Dame Assistant coach Rod Balanis said he shouldn't have even been playing through. When talking about his game Ryan immediately talked about his playmaking ability, he also added that he can" shoot the ball, (I can) come off ball screens and create for others." the guard also added that he likes to compete on the defensive end and that he takes a lot of pride in his defense.
Cormac will be succeeding sharpshooting guard TJ Gibbs who was the teams 2nd leading scorer in 2019-2020 with 13.3 Points per game. It is gonna be tough for Ryan to score the way Gibbs did but many including myself think he could be an instant upgrade even if he isn't scoring the ball like Gibbs. In the first few weeks of watching the guard you will see him do things we have never seen TJ do, the amount of wow plays that Ryan will give you is a lot more than Gibbs gave which isn't a shot on Gibbs, he was just a different kind of guard. The way Cormac will effect all facets of the game is something that he does really well, probably already better than a guy like Gibbs.
In Cormac's year on campus where he was not eligible he said he bulked up, gained his love for basketball back, and got to focus on his grades but he also built a lot of relationships within the program and that leads to another reason why he could be so valuable to the program which is his leadership. It seems like I bring this up in every other article but the guard's leadership is very under appreciated. Although he has not played in games with the team yet it is clear to see how well liked he is in the locker room already. From all accounts it seems like Cormac is a guy who has infectious energy surrounding him which leads to the team feeding off of him. Whether it is hyping his teammates up after a huge shot from the bench or hyping them up in their Instagram comment section it dosen't seem like we will ever have to question Cormac's ability as a teammate. All of this was echoed by former Notre Dame captain Rex Pflueger in our interview with him when Rex said he looks forward to the Massachusetts native becoming a vocal leader on the team for years to come.
With the season quickly approaching Cormac Ryan is definitely a guy to keep an eye on as well as a guy to be excited about in the future on and off the court.
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