Veteran guidance
Capers rookie Ryan credits teammates for helping in AUS transition
Rookie guard MacKenzee Ryan of Glace Bay has been logging some important minutes early in her university career, and helped the Cape Breton Capers to their first win of the season last weekend on home court.
She scored a game-high 15 points over 30 minutes of floor time in a 55-48 triumph over the Saint Mary’s Huskies at Sullivan Field House.
But the 18-year-old was quick to credit head coach Fabian McKenzie and fifth-year players like forward Alison Keough and guards Sandra Amoah and Valentina Primossi for helping her make the jump from local high school MVP to Atlantic University Sport regular.
“A big part for me has been fifth-year senior Valentina,” the 5-7 Ryan said of Primossi. “She’s taken me aside in practice and been able to explain to me how to see things on the floor and even watching her play, watching how she does things in the AUS . . . I just flow off of her and she’s been a tremendous help to me in guiding me step-bystep
on how to do well in this league.”
Ryan’s sharp shooting shouldn’t come as a surprise. As a member of the Glace Bay Panthers, she was co-MVP and top scorer in the Cape Breton High School Basketball League in 2015-16, and averaged 21.5 points per game.
She earned league MVP honours in her
Grade 10 season as well after scoring 20.7 points per game.
She led the Panthers to a pair of Highland Region Division 2 banners and a silver medal at the Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation championship as well. She also played for Basketball Nova Scotia’s under-17 girls team for two seasons and the U15 squad as well.
This season, she’s averaging 8.8 points over her first four games as a member of the Capers, a team she grew up idolizing.
“Having Alison (Keough) in the post and Hannah (Brown) as well, teams that we face are focusing on them as well as other guards, so me coming in as a rookie has kind of opened up a bit more room for myself,” said Ryan. “Fortunately, my teammates are getting me the ball and I’m finding those openings that I’m able to get to because they’re focused on Alison, Hannah or Val.”
Ryan is the daughter of CBU athletics director John Ryan, who was a star player with the Capers men’s team that captured back-to-back Atlantic conference titles in 1994 and 1995.
McKenzie said he’s seen some of the intangibles in his player that her father also possessed.
“She’s more athletic than people think, which is a benefit to her,” McKenzie said. “She’s got the good bloodlines and has the instincts you just can’t teach. I hate to compare her to her dad, but when he played, he did things that were outside the realm of what most people could teach. MacKenzee has that same intuition and smarts and that benefits her big time.
“Plus, she’s worked on her skills. She handles the ball well, shoots the ball well, she just now has to learn this level and what it takes to prepare every day and what it takes to practise every day at a high level. She’s learned a lot, so I would say she’s on the right track.”
The Capers (1-3) will look to add to the win column at home this weekend when they host the Prince Edward Island Panthers (2-2) on Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
“They have some great young players and they’re going to be a big competitor for us for sure,” said Ryan.
The Capers men will look to get into the win column this weekend after dropping both games to Saint Mary’s last weekend to fall to 0-4. They take on a Panthers team also looking for their first win (0-4) on Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.
Following this weekend’s set of games, the Capers will wrap up the term against their rivals from St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish on Nov. 25.