Longhorns Ex Courtney Ramey Talks Arizona, Big 12, & Bijan Robinson
After four years in Austin with the Texas Longhorns, Courtney Ramey is an Arizona Wildcat.
Following a second-round exit in the NCAA Tournament and putting his foot in the NBA Draft waters, Ramey announced on June 10 that he'd be heading to Tucson for his fifth and final collegiate season.
The 6-3, 170-pound guard met with the Arizona media for the first time Wednesday since his transfer decision and had no shortage of the fiery and humble approach that he became beloved for during his time at Texas.
"For me, I'm just gonna do whatever it takes to win," Ramey said. "I feel like if coach needs me on the ball, I can do that. If he needs me off the ball, I can do that and I think I've shown that throughout my career at Texas. I'm just ready to translate it here too."
Ramey, a St. Louis native, says the heat in Tucson has been even more scorching than in Austin. But inside the gym, there's already been a noticeable difference in the pace of the offense that second-year coach Tommy Lloyd runs.
"I've been in the gym a lot. I think the biggest thing is the playing style, the playing faster," Ramey said. "I think last year we played at a slower pace. And adjusting to the heat, I think it's way hotter here than it was in Texas."
Ramey played his first three years in Austin under former coach Shaka Smart before playing for the tough-nosed, defensive-minded Chris Beard last season. He sees similarities in Smart and Lloyd's offenses due to the "up-tempo style."
"I don't think it's exactly the same," he said. "I think Arizona plays a little bit faster, it's kinda similar. I feel like with Shaka we played a more up-tempo style where it was more free-flowing, a lot of ball screens. I feel like last year it was more in the slower pace where it was a lot more motion, but every coach has their own scheme."
Regardless of the scheme, Ramey admitted that playing in a conference like the Big 12 allowed him to add an extra level of physicality that he wants to bring to the Pac 12. The Big 12 has boasted the last two national champions and has proven to be arguably the best league in the country.
"Big 12 was a battle all four years I was in it, especially last year," Ramey said. "I think every team was good. So coming here, I feel like I can bring (physicality) to the team and just show them what I did in my league and they can show me what they did in their league. I think the Big 12 is a defensive league."
A surprising topic to arise during the presser was the friendship Ramey had with Texas star running back and Tucson native Bijan Robinson, who was one of the most highly-touted recruits in the class of 2020 out of Salpointe Catholic.
Ramey admitted that he and Robinson weren't extremely close, but their proximity to one another allowed for a steady friendship to form during the past couple of years.
"I wouldn't say me and Bijan were best friends, but me and him communicated - I wouldn't say regularly - but we communicated enough throughout my time at Texas, so I could say I'm familiar with him," Ramey said. "I would go to football games, he would come to basketball games. When we were at the dining hall together, me and him spoke to each other."
Robinson, who enters the fall as one of the most dynamic players in all of college football, shares a similar soft-spoken and humble personality to Ramey's. Even in two different sports, Ramey said Robinson's talented influence gave him something to learn from.
"It was a great respect," Ramey said. "When you see another great player, you want to pick his brain. He was just one of the people that I view at the university as doing the right thing, so why not be close to somebody that's living the same thing that you want to do?"
Now entering a program that just lost two guards to the first round of the NBA Draft with Bennedict Mathurin and Dalen Terry being selected, Ramey feels Lloyd can help unlock another level of his game that could ultimately lead him down an NBA path next summer as well.
"Dalen proved a lot of people wrong by going first round," Ramey said. "I think that Coach Lloyd had a lot to do with that. So for me, if he can do that for Dalen, I feel like he was gonna do the same for me. Having a coach believe in you as a basketball player goes a long way. I feel like that's the type of confidence that I needed from my head coach."
Ramey will be missed in Austin after four memorable years and over 1,200 career points. He averaged 10 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and one steal in 128 career games.
He joins an Arizona team on the cusp of title contention after the Wildcats earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament this past spring. The team officially begins the season on Nov. 9 at home against Northern Arizona.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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