Through the sheer power of effort, junior guard Ryan Basham has emerged as a bastion for Hobart.
It truly is a case of actions speaking louder than words.
“He’s so shy, quiet and reserved, it’s ridiculous,” first-year Hobart coach Devon Key said of Basham. “But he’s the captain of the team. He’s the first one here every day. He’s always in the gym even if it’s just by himself. He’s in here shooting every day. He works the hardest. He’s the last one to leave.
“He lets his work speak for him, and they follow him because of that. He doesn’t talk much, but when he does, they listen. It’s not often that he has to say much.”
The 6-foot-2 Basham has impressed Hobart senior guard/forward Felix Lopez.
“I’ve noticed in the past two years playing with him, he’s made a humongous jump from freshman year to sophomore year to now junior year,” Lopez said. “You can tell he’s put the work in when no one else is looking, behind the scenes. … He’s just been really locked in.
“It’s all about consistency, and that’s something he shows, especially to this program, which is very notable to me to say. You don’t always notice that with all players. He’s one player I really noticed, and I’m really glad he’s made the jump to help this team because without him, we wouldn’t be where we are now. He’s been doing a great job.”
Basham is leading the Brickies (4-6) in scoring, averaging 14.4 points along with 3.7 rebounds. Such production is a far cry from last season, when he averaged 0.5 points after earning a midseason promotion to the varsity team.
“I didn’t get many minutes,” Basham said. “I didn’t have much impact. But I put in the work every day and stayed consistent with that work. Our new coach has opened up a lot of opportunities for me.”
Key, who graduated from Hobart in 2008 and went to Calumet College, has long believed in Basham. Before taking over the Brickies, Key was the freshman coach for one season, including for the first three games of Basham’s high school career, was the JV coach last season and was a varsity assistant throughout.
“He didn’t get enough time, and I used to fight for him all the time, like, ‘You need to play Ryan. You need to play Ryan,’” Key said. “It was always like, ‘We don’t think he’s ready. We don’t think he’s ready.’ I was like, ‘He’s a gamer.’
“He’s running with his opportunity.”
The Brickies, who opened Northwest Crossroads Conference play with a dramatic overtime victory against Lowell, believe they have an opportunity to compete for that championship.
“If we stay tough, we could eventually win our conference,” Basham said. “That’s our goal right now. That’s what we work toward every day.”
That work for Basham typically starts early in the day.
“Most mornings, I come in before school and work on my shot every day,” he said. “I try to put up at least 500 every day. That’s been the key for me, putting reps up and being consistent.”
Basham’s efforts have paid dividends. He has developed a more diverse repertoire on offense.
“He shoots the 3-ball,” Key said. “But he’s transformed his game into being able to score at all three levels. That was a big change for him. When he first got here, it was just three, three, three. That’s all he could do. But now he can score everywhere. He can get to the basket. He can shoot the midrange. He can get to his pull-up. He can shoot the three at a high level. He’s just playing at a really high level right now.
“He shows up every day. He never misses a day no matter what’s going on. He hasn’t stopped working, and all of the work he’s putting in is starting to show.”
