Page 65 - Flathead Beacon // 1.27.16

Ryan Edwards
battles for the ball.
COURTESY GONZAGA ATHLETICS
SPORTS
CONTINUED FROM BACK PAGE
C oming o their best season in school history, the Gonzaga Bulldogs have high hopes again this year as a contender for the NCAA men’s basketball champi- onship. The perennial March Madness team even garnered the attention of HBO, which began following the Spokane squad in November for a ve-episode reality
series that is premiering Feb. 16. Kalispell fans may recognize a tower-
ing presence emerging down low.
Ryan Edwards, a 2013 graduate of Gla- cier High School, has seen an increased role this season after the team’s star cen- ter, Przemek Karnowski, was sidelined inde nitely in December with a back
injury.
Head coach Mark Few has called on
the redshirt sophomore from Kalispell to help ll in more often for the Bulldogs (15-5 overall) as they gear up for another run to the NCAA tournament.
Listed at 7-foot-1, Edwards scored 10 points with three rebounds, one assist and one block in 14 minutes of action against San Diego on Jan. 16. Against BYU on Jan. 14, Edwards scored six points with three rebounds and two blocks in 18 minutes.
“Ryan kind of nally seemed like he got comfortable,” Few told the media after the 88-52 win over San Diego, “almost like the way he was playing his freshman year, getting to his go-to moves, did a nice job protecting the rim. If he can come in and gives us that then we can rest (start- ers Kyle Wiltjer and Domantas Sabonis). In the past he hasn’t really been giving us that. That was a big step for him.”
From Glacier to Gonzaga, Edwards is reaching his potential as a physically gifted athlete who earned a shot playing for one of the best college basketball pro- grams in America. Gonzaga scouts, who 10 years ago famously recruited another well-known Kalispell standout, Brock
Osweiler, had their eye on Edwards early on. Edwards verbally committed to play in Spokane after his junior year, when he averaged 13.3 points per game and 10.7 rebounds. As a senior, he helped lead Glacier to a 19-5 record, the most wins in school history, and averaged 12.8 ppg and 7.9 rpg.
In high school, he was one of Mon- tana’s tallest college prospects in history, standing 6-11. But at Gonzaga, he joined one of the tallest lineups in the NCAA. Gonzaga has ve players 6-9 or taller this season. Edwards is now the Zags’ tallest
in the absence of the injured Karnowski, but that hasn’t made it much easier for him to hold his own.
“It was hard in the beginning,” he told the Beacon recently. “It’s a lot more physical, of course, than what I was used to in high school. Now when I’m play- ing against people my size, people who are NBA prospects, I have to be more physical. You just learn how to play against them. It’s a lot harder than I was expecting.”
Edwards played in 17 games during his freshman season in 2013-14, appear- ing o the bench. He scored a career-high ve points on two occasions. He redshirted last year and took the oppor- tunity to focus on his tness. He has shed over 30 pounds, going from 310 down to 278.
His goal is to reach 265.
“I’m working out every day,” he said. “I had a good o season. In the back of my mind, I knew I could be a guy to go to. I knew that my time
was coming.”
Edwards said Few has
pushed him to grow as a player.
“He’s helped me grow a lot,” Edwards said. “He’s hard onmebutheneedstobeto make me the player I need to be. I’m working hard. That’s the best advice I got, was to play hard.”
There is more pres- sure now, but Edwards is
“WHEN I GET ON THE FLOOR, I’M NERVOUS TO CHECK INTO THE GAME BUT AS SOON AS I CHECK IN AND START PLAYING, IT’S JUST THE GAME I’VE BEEN PLAYING SINCE THIRD GRADE.”
- RYAN EDWARDS
embracing the opportunity.
“When I get on the oor, I’m nervous
to check into the game but as soon as I check in and start playing, it’s just the game I’ve been playing since third grade,” he said. “You don’t think about the crowd or people watching on TV. You just play your game and you can’t psyche yourself out.”
Edwards is con dent that the Bull- dogs will make another run at the NCAA tournament. A year after nishing 35-3 andfallingjustshortoftheFinalFour, the team is seeking its 18th consecutive NCAA tournament berth this year. With a month left in the regular season, the team — and Edwards — appears ready to rise to the challenge.
“We just want to give all we’ve got in the tournament because you never know when you’re going home,” he said. “I think we’ll make a good run.”
dtabish@ atheadbeacon.com
Ryan Edwards as a junior at Glacier. BEACON FILE PHOTO
JANUARY 27, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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