Boat Show reaches its series finale

Storrs — Every day Tom Boatright checks in on his grandson.

He’s not only Ryan Boatright’s grandfather, he’s also his personal trainer.

“I call him at night and ask him, ‘Ryan, where you at, man?’ ” Tom said. “Just to hear him say, ‘walking from the gym,’ I’m like, wow, that’s what’s up. … To be a good ball player you’ve got to be in the gym and put in a lot of extra work.”

Ryan Boatright will walk to Gampel Pavilion tonight for his final regular season home game as UConn hosts Memphis (17-12, 9-7) at 9 in American Athletic Conference action. The Huskies (17-11, 10-6) will clinch a first-round bye in next week’s AAC tournament with a win.

Pat Lenehan and Dan Guest also will be honored during pregame Senior Day festivities.

“It’s kind of surreal,” Boatright said Wednesday. “I knew it would come to an end eventually, but it went so fast. … I learned so much and I’ve grown so much.”

Tom Boatright will watch tonight’s game for his home in Aurora, Ill, planning to attend the AAC tournament

in Hartford. He’s extremely close to Ryan, who grew up living with his grandparents and his mom, Tanesha, who’ll attend the ceremony tonight. His father, Mike McAllister, also will be in attendance.

He takes great satisfaction that Ryan is in position to get a degree.

“It will be rewarding, to know that he went through the duration,’ Tom said. “(The end) has to come. It’s going to be joy and it’s going to be sadness.”

Earlier this season, Ryan talked about the impact that his grandfather has had on his basketball career and life.

“My grandfather made me who I am today as far as an athlete,” Ryan said. “I wouldn’t be here at all. He forced me to do things that honestly I did not want to do. He took a lot of summers away from me to be a regular kid training. Without him, I wouldn’t be at UConn.”

Tom runs his own personal training business. He’s developed his own unique set of drills, from making Ryan toss a 10-pound medicine ball against the wall, to running a big hill near Patterson Lake in Aurora.

“He’d think of all types of crazy stuff,” Ryan said. “Even if I didn’t agree with it, I’d just do it because I know that it would make him happy. It never hurt you to do any type of training. As long as you’re working, it always helps you.”

Ryan, an AAC player of the year candidate, has helped fuel UConn’s late-season surge. The Huskies are shooting for their fourth straight win.

Coach Kevin Ollie regularly praises the senior guard for his leadership and poise under fire. He appreciates that Boatright remained loyal to the program during a tumultuous period when the Huskies dealt with a postseason ban.

“There were a couple of opportunities where he could have given up and bailed out on the program,” Ollie said. “He stayed committed. It was a beautiful thing to see him mature. … That’s the most powerful thing that he’s done, he’s changed his mindset from the first day he came in Storrs until now.”

“He’s just got a great future ahead of him. I thank him and his family for letting me be a part of it.”

The best way to send off the seniors is to beat Memphis, which won the first meeting, 75-72, but will be without its best player, Austin Nichols.

“We’ve got to come out and play,” Ollie said. “They’re a desperate team and we’re a real, real desperate team, so we’re going to have to play like that from the tap.”

The season will extend deep into the postseason if Boatright has his way. No matter what happens, Boatright has built an impressive legacy.

“I think I left a big enough mark for me to be appreciated by the fans and by the state of Connecticut every time I come back,” Boatright said. “I gave them a national championship. I played hard every single time I stepped on the basketball floor.”

Lenehan, who graduated from Xavier served as a walk-on for two seasons before receiving a scholarship for his final year.

“This has been probably, to me, the most important part of my time at UConn,” Lenehan said. “When I came here, I wasn’t expecting to be involved with the basketball program at all. … Being able to be part of it, even the small role that I play, has meant a lot to me.”

Lenehan, an academic standout, learned Tuesday that he had been accepted to Harvard Medical School. g.keefe@theday.com Twitter: @GavinKeefe