Tag: Cormac Ryan

Four former UNC basketball standouts cut from NBA rosters over the weekend

Which Tar Heels failed to avoid their former NBA teams’ latest round of roster cuts?

The North Carolina Tar Heels are one of the nation’s greatest college basketball programs, having won six NCAA championships, plus nearly 70 combined ACC regular-season and tournament titles.

As a result of UNC’s success, the country’s top players want to play in Chapel Hill. North Carolina has put some of that recent talent into the NBA, such as Harrison Ingram earning the San Antonio Spurs’ final roster spot this season.

Some other recent former Tar Heels were not as fortunate as Ingram, though.

On Oct. 19, former UNC standouts Armando Bacot, Cormac Ryan, Nassir Little and Pete Nance were waived by their respective NBA teams.

In a sports world that has an extremely difficult nature of business, NBA teams needed to trim their rosters – by 4 p.m. Saturday – to avoid salary cap hits.

Bacot, who is North Carolina’s all-time leader in rebounds (1,715) and double-doubles (87), was waived from his Exhibit 10 contract with the Memphis Grizzles. Bacot played with the Utah Jazz in summer league action.

Ryan, who transferred from Notre Dame to Chapel Hill for his final season of college basketball last year, was waived from his Exhibit 10 contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Ryan averaged 11.5 points per game and shot a hair better than 35% from 3-point land.

Little, the Portland Trail Blazers’ first-round pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, was waived by the Miami Heat. Little started 36 of 237 regular-season games in his first five professional seasons, averaging 5.5 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.

Nance, who never lived up to his hype as Brady Manek’s “replacement” during the Tar Heels’ 2022-2023 campaign, was waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Nance played eight NBA games in his rookie season, averaging 0.4 points and rebounds per clash.

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Cormac Ryan signs deal in NBA

Cormac Ryan will stay in Oklahoma City, signing a new deal with the Thunder.

Former North Carolina Tar Heels’ wing Cormac Ryan only spent one season in Chapel Hill, earning his starting spot and helping the program win the Atlantic Coast Conference title. And now, he’s taking the next step in his professional career.

Ryan went undrafted in the 2024 NBA draft but did spend Summer League with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He’s now sticking with the Thunder as he’s signed a deal with the team.

Per Hoops Rumors, the Thunder have signed Ryan to a deal and while they haven’t disclosed terms, it’s likely an Exhibit 10 deal as Hoops Rumors notes:

The Thunder have signed rookie free agent shooting guard Cormac Ryan, the team announced today. While the terms of the contract weren’t revealed, it’s almost certainly an Exhibit 10 deal.

Ryan played in 36 games for the Tar Heels last season, averaging 11.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He played in 30.3 minutes per game becoming a key piece for Hubert Davis.

He had a career-high 31 points in a season-finale win over Duke that helped the Tar Heels clinch the ACC regular season title.

Ryan will likely head down to the Thunder’s G-League affiliate, OKC Blue, before the season starts.

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Former Notre Dame basketball standout signs with Oklahoma City Thunder

Good luck in the association!

The 2024 NBA draft has come and gone and no former Notre Dame players had their names called.

One did however agree to a short-term contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

[autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag], who spent for years at Notre Dame after transferring from Stanford, is headed to the Sooner State.

Ryan was a valuable transfer portal addition to the North Carolina Tar Heels last season as he averaged 11.5 points per game and shot 35.5% from three-point range.  His biggest game of last season was when he hit six three-pointers and scored 31-points in a road win over Duke to close the regular season.

Ryan averaged 31.2 minutes and 10.5 points per game during his time at Notre Dame.

Related: Ranking the ACC basketball arenas from worst to first

OKC Thunder sign North Carolina’s Cormac Ryan to Exhibit-10 deal

OKC Thunder sign North Carolina’s Cormac Ryan to Exhibit-10 deal.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed North Carolina’s Cormac Ryan to an Exhibit-10 deal. The 25-year-old went undrafted in the 2024 NBA draft.

Ryan spent five college seasons various stops from 2018-24. He spent his first campaign at Stanford before transferring to Notre Dame for three years. He then went to North Carolina for his final year last year.

In 36 games last season, Ryan averaged 11.5 points on 38.2% shooting, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists. He shot 35.4% from 3 on 5.9 attempts. At 6-foot-5, 195 pounds, he has decent size for a guard.

Ryan will likely get plenty of minutes to play in summer league, especially as the event draws to a near. If he impresses, expect him to be assigned to the G League’s OKC Blue roster for next season.

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Cormac Ryan signs exhibit 10 contract with Oklahoma City

Cormac Ryan will join the Oklahoma City Thunder after the 2024 NBA draft.

The 2024 NBA draft has come and gone with just one North Carolina Tar Heels’ player hearing their name called. After Harrison Ingam had to wait a day, he finally was selected by the San Antonio Spurs at No. 48 overall.

But following the draft, a pair of Tar Heels earned exhibit 10 contracts with the chance to prove they belong on a roster. First, it was Armando Bacot heading to the Utah Jazz and then on Friday, it was announced that Cormac Ryan would be signing a deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Ryan spent time with Stanford and Notre Dame in his college career before heading to North Carolina for his final season. In that one year with the Tar Heels, Ryan earned a starting spot right away and was one of UNC’s best perimeter shooters.

The guard averaged 11.5 points per game while shooting 35.4 percent from the three-point line. He gave UNC something they struggled with the season before and proved to be a valuable pickup for the Tar Heels.

In the season-finale at Duke, Ryan had a career-high 31 points in the road win and made six three-pointers.

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Former UNC sharpshooter Cormac Ryan works out with which storied NBA franchise?

UNC sharpshooter Cormac Ryan is hoping to making an NBA roster this coming season. He worked out for the Los Angeles Lakers last week.

Even though he played in Chapel Hill for just one season, Cormac Ryan embodied everything it meant to be a Tar Heel.

Ryan was gritty, passionate, and a team player. If there was a loose ball, Ryan dove after it. If North Carolina needed a hype man in the huddle not named Zayden High, Ryan was that guy.

Ryan slotted into UNC’s starting small forward spot last season, averaging 11.5 points per game. He provided some much-needed perimeter shooting North Carolina typically lacks, registering a 35.4 percent mark from deep.

With Ryan out of college eligibility, it makes sense for him to test the NBA Draft waters. He’s not anywhere close to a lottery pick, but with how much of an emphasis today’s game places on 3-point shooting, Ryan could easily carve out a role for himself.

A stop in the NBA might be closer than we think for Ryan.

Last week on Tuesday, May 28, Ryan worked out for the 17-time NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Playing for arguably the most storied franchise in professional basketball, I imagine, would be a dream come true for Ryan.

Not only would he be playing for a franchise with Hall-of-Famers Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and Magic Johnson up in the rafters, but Ryan would join the current NBA goat LeBron James. The Lakers have plenty of shooters on their roster – Austin Reaves, Cam Reddish and Gabe Vincent to name a few – so what’s one more?

Here’s to hoping Ryan enjoys a solid professional basketball career wherever he lands.

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‘He’s 27’: Duke signee Isaiah Evans takes a swipe at UNC’s Cormac Ryan

During media sessions for the McDonald’s All-American Game, Duke signee Isaiah Evans reminded some future Tar Heels how old Cormac Ryan really is.

Isaiah Evans won’t need any practice adopting the Duke-North Carolina rivalry.

The five-star Duke signee, who was named North Carolina’s Mr. Basketball for the second straight year this season, turned heads by jawing some fans in Tar Heels merch at one of his high school games.

Earlier this week, during media sessions for the McDonald’s All-American Game, it was Cormac Ryan.

Ryan, a fifth-year senior and a Tar Heels starter this season, scored 31 points and made six 3-pointers in the regular-season finale at Cameron Indoor Stadium this season. He’s also 25 years old, having begun his playing career with Stanford in the 2018-19 season, a detail Evans does not forget.

In a short social media clip shared earlier this week, UNC commit Drake Powell tried to remind Evans of Ryan’s performance. The future Blue Devil had none of it.

“Cormac Ryan, is he not a pro in your eyes?” Powell asked.

“He’s 27, bro, that’s what he is,” Evans responded quickly.

Evans and Flagg will get the chance to square off with Powell, UNC commit Ian Jackson, and the Tar Heels next season.

A classy Cormac Ryan stood up for teammate RJ Davis after a brutal Sweet 16 loss for North Carolina

UNC’s Cormac Ryan showed outstanding maturity following March Madness.

Despite a devastating loss, North Carolina Tar Heels senior Cormac Ryan showed outstanding maturity following the Sweet 16.

Although they were a No. 1 regional seed in the West, the Tar Heels were eliminated by Alabama in March Madness on Thursday night in Los Angeles. North Carolina lost, 89-87, in a close match against the Crimson Tide.

Following the game, UNC’s RJ Davis was asked about his performance on the court. Davis had 16 points but struggled with his efficiency, shooting 4-of-20 from the field and 0-for-9 on his 3-pointers.

Ryan noticed that Davis was having a difficult time answering the question, so he helped him out. It showed an incredible amount of thoughtfulness.

Here is what Ryan told reporters:

“I gotta chime in here. You guys can write whatever you want about tonight’s game. You can talk about RJ. You can talk about the stats. You can talk about whatever. But we would not be in this position today without RJ Davis and Armando Bacot. Carolina wouldn’t be in this position today without these two guys and so say what you want. There’s just not a true fiber in your being that could actually believe that anything that happened tonight could be the result of something RJ did wrong because RJ’s done something incredible for this team. He’s done stuff that’s never been done before. He’s one of the greatest Tar Heels of all time. For anybody to come and say anything negative about RJ is unacceptable.”

Those are incredibly strong words from Ryan and likely meant a lot to Davis.

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PHOTOS: Tar Heels lose in heartbreaker to Alabama in Sweet 16

We take a look at the photos from UNC’s March Madness loss to Alabama.

The UNC men’s basketball program dance ends in the Sweet 16, losing devastatingly to Alabama.

It wasn’t the ending Tar Heel fans hoped for, getting cold at the wrong time. In the first period, UNC was scoring at ease, hitting ten triples. A lot had to do with[autotag] Cormac Ryan’s[/autotag] hot shooting, who was responsible for four of those three-pointers.

UNC led it 54-46 at the half, in a game that felt like was there’s. However, the second half showed otherwise, with the Tar Heels shooting historically bad (25%), their lowest since 2012 in the elite 8. They also couldn’t stop Grant Nelson, who was everywhere for Alabama.

Ultimately, UNC season ends in heartbreak. In case you missed it, here are the best photos from the game.

WATCH: Cormac Ryan stands up for RJ Davis and Armando Bacot

Watch Cormac Ryan stand up for RJ Davis and Armando Bacot during the presser following their March Madness loss to Alabama.

The UNC men’s basketball program season came to a bitter end, losing in heartbreak fashion to Alabama in the Sweet 16.

Everything that could’ve gone wrong for the Tar Heels did in the second half, shooting 25% (tied for third lowest in a NCAA tournament half in UNC history). UNC couldn’t buy a bucket with leader [autotag]RJ Davis[/autotag] struggling, going 4-20 from the field and 0-9 from three, the usual flame couldn’t get a spark.

Following the loss, the team met with the media in the presser, and Davis was asked about his shooting struggles. After a few pauses, Davis struggled to answer, and that is where [autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag] interrupted, giving a heartfelt speech about Davis and [autotag]Armando Bacot[/autotag] being the reason UNC made it to the tournament in the first place.

 

Ryan showcased leadership and echoed the truth. Davis had one of the most memorable seasons a Tar Heel ever has, proving doubters wrong one step back at a time. It’s hard to see Bacot’s career end without the championship, but his Tar Heel legacy is stamped.

There’s no telling if Davis will be back next season, but if that’s how the story ends, it will be worth the read decades from now.

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