After two seasons in the NCAA, Ryan Rollins will try his luck in the NBA. The player from Toledo, a small public college located in Ohio, announced today, on the occasion from an interview with Shams Charania of The Athletic, his entry into the Draft 2022.
A 1.93m fullback, a natural scorer with an excellent outside shot, he had two very good university seasons, posting good progress between his “freshman” and “sophomore” season: he went from 13.7 points (43.1% on shots ), 5.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists to 18.9 points (46.8%), 6 rebounds and 3.6 assists.
A particularly successful second season which notably earned him a selection in the “All-MAC First Team”, the five major which rewards the best players in the MAC conference, in which his Toledo team plays. At the end of March, he was even selected in the standard team which rewards the best players of the “Mid-Major” throughout the country, before being named among the finalists for the trophy for best player of the season.
Despite this consistent statistical productivity, which makes him one of the most complete forwards in the country, Ryan Rollins has not been as publicized as some other major players in the NCAA this season. Because his university is not part of the “Power Six”, also called “High-Major”, that is to say the six major conferences of the NCAA first division: ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big East, Big 12 , and PAC-12. Toledo belongs to the MAC (Mid-American Conference), which is a “Mid-Major”, a conference less important in terms of media than the six main conferences, mentioned above.
But for the rear, this is in no way an obstacle to his dream of joining the NBA. As he explains, others before him have managed to make a career in the Big League without going through a “Power Six” conference. The native of Macomb County, Michigan, notably evokes the examples of CJ McCollum and Ja Morant, selected in 10th position in 2013 for the first and 2nd position in 2019 for the second, after successful university careers in modest universities. of Lehigh and Murray State.
« I get a lot of inspiration from them. They come from an environment similar to mine, as far as an academic career is concerned. […] When we play in a Mid-Major, we rarely have the spotlight on us. I want to be the next player to show that we can still succeed in the NBA. »
Last month, at the dawn of the NCAA tournament, The Athletic placed him in 29th position in its ranking of the best players expected in the Draft this year. With the qualities of his outside shot on “catch-and-shoot”, and his profile as a creator of shots out of the dribble, Ryan Rollins is indeed an interesting choice for a team looking for a young scorer in the second half of the first round.
