Published on March 10th, 2024 by Inside Carolina
DURHAM, N.C. — One thing was immediately apparent to Harrison Ingram the first day he met fellow transfer Cormac Ryan.
“I thought he was sick in the head,” Ingram said.
Ingram wasn’t alone in his thinking. Ask RJ Davis, and he’ll say Ryan is “insane.” Let Armando Bacot tell it, he’s “psychotic.”
The tales of Ryan punting basketballs in practice and challenging his teammates during scrimmages affirm his teammates’ characterization of him. And when facing the rabid assemblage of Cameron Crazies on Saturday, Ryan’s deranged attitude served as an energy deterrent for UNC.
Regardless of the constant taunts he received from the Cameron Indoor crowd — if he even heard any of it — Ryan was unflappable on Saturday. He scored a career-high 31 points while shooting 8-12 from the field, 6-8 from three and 9-10 from the free throw line in North Carolina’s 84-79 win.
After each made shot, the flame continually stoked greater inside the sixth-year senior’s furnace.
“That’s just who I am, man,” Ryan said. “I can’t control it. I love playing in these environments. I love being in front of the fire. I love it.”
The victory secured the No. 1 seed for UNC in the ACC Tournament and gave it its first outright regular season title since 2017.
Ryan set the tone early on with two 3-pointers in transition from the right corner on two consecutive plays. He knocked down a third 3-pointer from an Elliot Cadeau pass just minutes later, forcing Jon Scheyer to call timeout. Right after the whistle blew, he strutted towards mid-court and delivered a glaring mean mug to the Duke fans in attendance.
On the fourth and fifth 3-point makes, he took off running down the other end of the court, letting out a scream as he went back on defense. After knocking down his sixth 3-pointer of the game over Jeremy Roach, he looked at the UNC sideline and delivered a big smile to his teammates.
His last made shot from distance put UNC up by nine with 1:37 to go, effectively icing the game.
“He was huge,” Hubert Davis said. “Obviously, his ability to be able to make shots, but just as important (was) his experience. Having a guy that’s been at this stage, even though it was at another school, he’s played here. He’s been on the stage, he understands what it takes in order to make plays to even have a chance to win in this type of game against this type of team.”
Saturday was Ryan’s third career game in Cameron Indoor. He scored a then-career-high 28 points at Duke in his first season with Notre Dame in 2021 before setting a new career-high in the NCAA Tournament the following season. Last year with the Fighting Irish, he scored just seven points in a loss to the Blue Devils.
But in his final game in Durham, the veteran delivered his best offensive output yet. The 31 points and six 3-pointers Ryan netted were both the most by a UNC player in Cameron Indoor since his now-coach Hubert Davis dropped 35 in 1992.
“He almost had the same amount of points as how old he is,” Ingram said jokingly of the 25-year-old Ryan.
In Ryan’s last eight games, he’s averaging 14.5 points per game and shooting 45.6% (26-57) from three.
Entering the season, Ryan was a 35.2% career 3-point shooter. Though he struggled with consistency in the early going this year from the perimeter, he’s been able to find the range as of late. And with the ACC and NCAA Tournaments starting soon, Ryan’s offensive input is proving timely.
“It’s big time for us, especially the way he came out tonight and was able to just shoot it from three and be aggressive early,” RJ Davis said. “That’s the type of player Cormac is, and that’s what we’re gonna need going down the rest of the season.”
After a full game of antagonizing the Duke crowd, Ryan was the first Tar Heel to make his way over to the student section — pointing and waving at them in exchange for boos and obscenities. His teammates followed him over there to join the heckling.
He said there wasn’t a specific fan he was pointing at, nor were there any comments he heard pregame that set him off.
“It’s not personal, that’s just who I am,” Ryan said. “I’m a fiery guy. That’s what you come here to do, play in front of these fans in these environments and just feed off that. I sure do, and I know these guys do too.”
It’s hard to pinpoint what makes Ryan as animated as he is. Ryan himself simply believes that it’s in his nature.
Perhaps the everlasting intensity Ryan displays on the hardwood and beyond is unexplainable. Maybe it doesn’t need to be explained. What is apparent about Ryan’s edge, though, is that it never goes away.
“Man, I just love to compete,” Ryan said. “I love to play hard. I’m a little wild at times.
“We knew what was at stake, and to walk out of this building with a W is always nice.”
Jeremiah Holloway 