NCAA Tournament A Homecoming For Matt Ryan
On Selection Sunday, nobody in the Notre Dame locker room was repeatedly asked the same question more than freshman forward Matt Ryan.
He never grew tired of answering it.
“So, how excited are you go to home?”
The former Mr. New York basketball award winner averaged 20.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game in his senior campaign last year at Iona Prep, which is located in New Rochelle, N.Y.
That school is less than 30 miles from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., where Ryan and the No. 6-seeded Irish will take on either No. 11-seeded Michigan or Tulsa on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
“A bunch of us wanted to land somewhere warm, but the best alternative for me is definitely going back to New York City,” Ryan said. “I’m excited and I’ll know a bunch of people there.
“Just thrilled to be able to go home.”
Like most folks on social media Sunday afternoon, Ryan found out the Irish were potentially headed to Brooklyn prior to the official announcement on CBS via a leaked bracket that spread virally on Twitter.
He hoped it would prove true — and it did. That's when the texts, tweets and messages started flying in. Ticket requests from old friends back home. Folks wishing him good luck.
The number was so high, Ryan wasn’t able to guess how many people had already contacted him in just the initial minutes after the bracket reveal.
“I’m just scrolling through nonstop,” he said.
In addition to being close to home, Ryan also has previous experience playing in the Barclays Center. The Cortland Manor, N.Y., standout played in the Jordan Brand Classic as a senior, scoring 15 points for his team in the all-star game.
He still remembers it’s dim inside. Much darker than the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., and Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, which are the other NBA arenas the Irish have played in this year.
That experience could help him stay on his current rising trajectory with his three-point shot. Ryan’s hit 45 of 120 three-pointers (37.5 percent) this year, but he’s nailed 15 of his last 30 tries (50.0 percent) dating back to Notre Dame’s 89-83 win over Clemson Feb. 8.
That includes sinking 3 of 6 three-point attempts in Notre Dame’s 84-79 overtime win over Duke in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals March 10.
“Hopefully he doesn’t play too fast,” head coach Mike Brey said. “We just finally got him slowed down a little bit.
“He’s been a big impact guy for us really the last couple games.”
In spite of Ryan’s recent stretch of excellent shooting, the Irish have won only three of their last seven games. The freshman responded to that by echoing his team leaders, noting everyone in the NCAA Tournament is 0-0.
“I could care less how many games we’ve lost,” Ryan said. “Everybody is going into this with a clean slate.
“Everybody has to win their games and play their best basketball. I think practicing in our arena [this week] will be good for us. Some guys who were struggling with their shot might be able to see the ball go through the net a little bit.
“We’ll get ready.”
Just like Ryan is ready to play at home, in front of his family and friends.