Player Profile: Ryan Boatright

Looking Back: Ryan Boatright had a rough start to his freshman season.  His eligibility was in question for the first couple of games and didn’t get on the court, but when he did finally see action, he made an immediate impact,  hitting some clutch free throws to pull out a victory in the waning seconds of a tight ballgame against Florida State.  Throughout the year he never fully gelled into his sixth man role though he did have a team high in points in three games, but he wasn’t that sparkplug off the bench that the team needed on a consistent basis.  His outside shot was streaky and he struggled to find the right times to take his shots.  Not wanting to disrupt Lamb and Napier’s offense, he barely took over ten attempts a game.  It wasn’t until late in the year that he finally took control of stretches of the ballgame, but it was far too little to help right the sink ship.

The Good:  He has an uncanny athletic ability added with superior speed and can get to anywhere on the court that he wants to.  He is a better defensive player than what he showed last season, only having 29 steals, but did do a good job of not fouling while defending.  He is most potent in open space and has a great stroke, hitting .377 from deep and can stretch the floor which opens up driving lanes.

The Bad: Ryan tends to settle for difficult shots by either driving too deep or taking an unnecessary deep three.  He should of had more free throw attempts then what he did, because he shied away from contact instead of going into shot blockers.  He also needs to do a better job of knocking down shots when he gets to the line.  He only hit 69% from the free throw line.  His court vision isn’t his strongest asset and he passed the ball too early and to the wrong spots, ending with too many turnovers, 56.

Looking Ahead: With a solid freshman year behind him and this team needing ten to fifteen shots a game from him, Boatright should have a great opportunity to become an offensive threat.  He just needs to mix his game up a bit more, develop a mid-ranged game to his arsenal and get to the line more and he should be a great compliment to Napier.  A lot will be asked of Boatright in his second season and if he puts in the work that everyone expects he will, then he should have a great year.