What's in store for Ryan McMahon's future?
There's only one word to describe how Ryan McMahon felt whenever he and so many other student-athletes across the country had their seasons were cut short: shock.
"Once they cancelled the ACC Tournament, I couldn't see them not cancelling the NCAA Tournament," he said to reporters in a teleconference on Monday. "That's when I broke down. We were all just kind of shook at the fact that this is the reality now."
It didn't come all at once either, as the he felt various amounts of grief during moments where he and the rest of his Louisville teammates should be either celebrating or competing.
"Whenever Selection Sunday was supposed to happen and then when the first round games were supposed to be starting, it just kinda reminded you that 'Dang, we're really not playing' ", he said.
One of three captains of the Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team, he has been keeping himself occupied by working out and communicating with coaches, players & agents to try and take his mind off the fact that there was no March Madness in 2020.
But once the dust settles and COVID-19 no longer has an impact on daily living, what will the fifth-year senior's future hold? He certainly has the potential to have plenty of options, even though it seems up in the air as of now.
"Everything's kind of in limbo and a bit delayed just because of the pandemic going on," he said.
As far as his playing career goes, he says he does have plans to hire an agent that will get him the best offers and opportunities, whether that's overseas on in the NBA G-League. He's also keeping his options open away from the basketball court, saying that "plan A" would be a financial adviser with Mass Mutual.
"I had an internship with them this past year, but I'm open to other avenues whether it be medical sales, pharmaceutical sales, anything that's competitive and I think I could be good at."
He also didn't rule out a potential coaching job, mainly because the current coaching staff at Louisville is so convinced it's going to happen.
"Everybody, even our coaching staff all thinks I'm going to be a coach one day," he said. "I know I'm going to be a coach at some level at some point in my life. I know I'd love to coach my kids, I'd also like to coach middle and high school kids."
He added that coaching at the collegiate level is less likely and that it would "depend on if an opportunity come in front of me and if I think that's the best opportunity for my future".
But what about a potential return to Louisville? The NCAA could vote to give athletes who had their careers cut short an extra year of eligibility, so suiting up for the once more for head coach Chris Mack could be in the cards. However for McMahon, it doesn't seem like a viable option.
"I would have to consider it, but I honestly don't see that happening at all," he said. "I think there is way too much behind it in term of, if you guys think of all the freshmen and underclassmen, they wouldn't be getting an extra year of eligibility. If they are, would they want to spend another year in the same role behind another guy all over again?"
Regardless where Ryan McMahon chooses to go from here on out, whether that is in the realm of basketball or not, it seems that he is destined for a bright future.
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