Ryan McMahon delivered despite adversity
It’s hard not to consider the adversity Ryan McMahon dealt with during his career for Louisville men’s basketball.
After being an unheralded recruit from Sarasota, Fla., McMahon’s career abruptly ended with the cancellation of the ACC and NCAA Tournament amidst the outbreak of COVID-19 (coronavirus). The moments in between resulted in McMahon ending his career with the eighth-most 3-pointers in program history.
“I think most importantly, I would be a guy that was very loyal and stuck with the program and university through a lot of hard times, the good and the bad,” McMahon said. “I tried to give my all, every second out there on the court to help us get as many wins as possible, not worried about my own stats or my own personal accolades.”
McMahon, who ranks sixth in Louisville history on 3-point attempts at 39.5%, made 182 shots from behind the arc in four seasons. The 6-foot guard's perimeter shooting won’t be the only thing that defines his career.
While redshirting as a true freshman in 2015-16, McMahon and the Cardinals missed out on the NCAA Tournament due to a self-imposed postseason ban. The following season, McMahon played 6.3 minutes per game for a Louisville team that lost in the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.
Before McMahon’s redshirt-sophomore season began, Rick Pitino, who recruited McMahon, was fired amid an FBI corruption and fraud investigation. McMahon made 42 3-pointers on 40.8% shooting for interim coach David Padgett, but the Cardinals’ couldn’t earn an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament.
McMahon’s role expanded in his final two seasons after Chris Mack was hired as the program’s head coach. McMahon averaged 7.2 points and made 53 shots from behind the arc last season.
“I came in not really knowing what my role would be in this program, how I would make an impact on winning, if I would be able to make an impact on winning,” McMahon said. “That diminished every single year. I found my own personal area in every single team I was on, whether I was redshirting, playing a lot or playing a little, I tried to find my role and do my role really well.”
In his final season at Louisville, McMahon started 15 times and played nearly 25 minutes per game. He shot a career-high 43.6% on 3-point shots, hitting 68 shots from behind the arc on his way to averaging 8.7 points per game.
McMahon’s career free-throw shooting percentage of 91.3% is a Louisville record.
With three different coaches and a self-imposed postseason ban, McMahon said his final season seemed to finally have consistency and things out of his control appeared to be gone.
“We were going to finish off this last season the right way, kind of a crescendo to my career,” McMahon said. “Even if we didn’t finish it off the right way, it having a conclusion and closure, would have been a little easier to swallow.”
After going 24-7 in the regular season, Louisville never had a chance to compete in postseason play as the coronavirus pandemic halted sports.
“People can look at all the adversity throughout my college career, I hope that doesn’t overshadow all the other good things I got to experience in college because it really was a dream come true,” McMahon said. “I couldn’t imagine playing ball anywhere else.”
