Player Profile: Ryan Boatright

Looking Back: Ryan Boatright’s 2012-2013 season could be summed in one word: inconsistent.  There were games when he looked to be that scoring 2-guard that everyone expected him to be and then there were times when he looked lost out on the court.  Boatright’s offense was dependent on his jumper and when it wasn’t working his game struggled.  When it was working, he was as good as it gets and was a great compliment to Napier.  Overall it was a successful season and an improvement over his freshman campaign.

The Good: Ryan has a tremendous first step and plays well off a solid pick.  He also has deceptive athletic ability and attacks the rim with authority like that of Jerome Dyson.  He is a great on the ball defender and rarely lets his man beat him off the dribble.  One aspect to Boatright’s game is his ability to pass the ball.  He led the team in assists last year with 131.  He’s a scorer and knows how to put points on the board.

The Bad: His offense is too dependent on jumpers and he needs to find ways to get to the line more.  He also turned the ball over way too much, 33 more times then in his freshman year, and he needs to mitigate the unforced errors.  One of his major issues last year was dribbling out the shot clock and putting up horrible or more difficult shots.  He also needs to help out more in the rebounding department.  Only Evans, Nolan, Tolksdorf, and Wolf had less rebounds than Boatright.

Looking Ahead: Boatright needs to trust his stuff.  If he does then he should have a good season but this is an important year for him to show that he can depend on other aspects to his game other than his jumper.  If he can get to the line more, play within the offense, and focus on ball control then he will have a solid season, but it will all depend on the work he put in this summer.