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Ryan Wittman

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Ryan Wittman
Personal information
Born (1987-10-26) October 26, 1987 (age 37)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolEden Prairie (Eden Prairie, Minnesota)
CollegeCornell (2006–2010)
NBA draft2010: undrafted
Playing career2010–2011
PositionSmall forward
Career history
2010Fulgor Libertas Forlì
2010–2011Fort Wayne Mad Ants
2011Stelmet ZG
Career highlights and awards

Ryan Scott Wittman (born October 26, 1987) is an American former basketball player, best known for his college career at Cornell University. As of 2024, he holds the record for the most three-point field goals in men's Ivy League history.

Early life

[edit]
Ryan Wittman is the son of Randy Wittman.

Wittman was born on October 26, 1987, in Atlanta, Georgia.[1] He is the son of Kathy and Randy Wittman and he has one sister, Lauren. Randy Wittman was formerly the head coach of the Washington Wizards and was previously head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers (1999–2001) and Minnesota Timberwolves (2007–2008). The elder Wittman was a player on the 1980–81 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team which won a championship under Bob Knight. Drafted 22nd overall in the 1983 NBA draft, Wittman played for NBA teams Atlanta Hawks, Sacramento Kings, and Indiana Pacers for nine seasons.[2]

Ryan was born when his father was a member of the Atlanta Hawks, but grew up in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and occasionally played pick-up games with Kevin Garnett at the Target Center.[3][4] Wittman attended Eden Prairie High School, where he posted an average of 11.5 points per game in his junior year.[3] He was named one of the preseason Top 30 players in Minnesota for the Class of 2006 by GopherIllustrated.com.[5]

In July 2005, Wittman played for the AAU team Minnesota Select. The team was 5–1 in the Las Vegas Classic, an AAU playoff tournament. He led Select scorers with 15 points in a quarterfinal loss to the Houston Hoops, 59–53. Their season record was 27–14.[6]

As a senior, his points per game average exploded to 20.5, and he hit 50 percent of his shots from three-point range and 84 percent from the foul line.[3] One of the highlights of that season was upsetting Braham High School on December 30, 2005, who had a 65-game unbeaten streak snapped by the 80–67 loss to the Eagles. Wittman scored 30 points in that contest, including five-of-six from beyond the arc.[7] After the season was over, Wittman was one of the five finalists for Minnesota Mr. Basketball and was listed as the sixth best Minnesota high school player by GopherIllustrated.com. In addition to being selected onto the First Team All Metro, he was a First Team All-State selection by the Timberwolves and a Second Team All-State selection by the St. Paul Pioneer Press.[3]

He was recruited by Air Force, Bradley, Cornell, Eastern Kentucky, and Indiana.[8] Cornell, which had recruited Wittman since his junior year in high school,[9] was unable to offer him an athletic scholarship due to Ivy League rules.[10] Nonetheless, Wittman inked his letter of intent to the Big Red on December 31, 2005.[8]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Ryan Wittman
Small forward 		Eden Prairie, Minnesota Eden Prairie (MN) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Dec 31, 2005 
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Cornell Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  • "2006 Cornell Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  • "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  • "2006 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 4, 2010.

College career

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In Wittman's first collegiate game, he broke the Cornell record for most points in a freshman collegiate opener with 18 points, also finishing with three rebounds and two assists. That game, a 64–61 road win against Northwestern, was Cornell's first victory against a Big Ten school in 39 years.[11] At Cornell, Wittman was a member of the Quill and Dagger society. As of 2024, he holds the record for the most three-point field goals in men's Ivy League history.[12]

Professional career

[edit]

He played in four games for the Celtics in the Orlando Summer League and then three games for the New York Knicks in the NBA Summer League.[13]

In the 2010 season, he played six months in Italy for the Fulgor Libertas Forlì,[14] then he went in D-League at the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.[15]

In the 2011 season he played for the Zastal Zielona Góra.[16]

Statistics

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NCAA

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College statistics[3][17]
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2006–07 Cornell Big Red 28 27 35.4 .438 .431 .887 2.8 1.3 1.0 0.3 15.6
2007–08 Cornell Big Red 28 28 33.7 .465 .459 .867 4.2 1.5 1.0 0.1 15.1
2008–09 Cornell Big Red 31 30 34.1 .452 .416 .818 3.6 2.6 0.9 0.2 18.5
2009–10 Cornell Big Red 34 33 33.9 .474 .426 .826 4.0 1.8 1.1 0.4 17.5

References

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  1. ^ "Cox cool to availability of Butler". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. NewsBank. October 28, 1987. p. D9. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  2. ^ "NBA.com Randy Wittman". NBA. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e "2009–10 Men's Basketball Roster – Ryan Wittman – #20". Cornell Big Red. Cornell University. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  4. ^ Thamel, Pete (February 18, 2008). "48 Hours on the Big Red Bus". The New York Times. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  5. ^ James, Ryan (October 31, 2005). "Minnesota Pre-Season Top 30 For the Class of 2006". GopherIllustrated.com. Rivals.com. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  6. ^ Monter, Chris (July 31, 2005). "Minnesota Select Finishes 5–1 in Las Vegas Classic". GoldenSports.net. Scout.com. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  7. ^ "Eden Prairie hands Braham first loss". Isanti County News. December 30, 2005. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  8. ^ a b "Ryan Wittman". Rivals.com. Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  9. ^ Thamel, Pete (February 26, 2009). "At Cornell, a Player Stands Out by Blending In". The New York Times. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  10. ^ "What is the Ivy League?". Ivy League Sports. Ivy League. Archived from the original on July 27, 2009. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  11. ^ "Ivy League Weekly Release Volume 1, November 20, 2006". Ivy League Sports. Ivy League. November 20, 2006. Archived from the original on August 13, 2007. Retrieved August 17, 2010.
  12. ^ "Men's Ivy League Career Leaders and Records for 3-Point Field Goals". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
  13. ^ "Ryan Wittman #20 Forward Celtics". NBA. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2010.
  14. ^ "È Ryan Wittman il secondo americano di Forlì!" (in Italian). sportando.net. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  15. ^ "Mad Ants Acquire Ryan Wittman". aroundfortwayne.com. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  16. ^ "Ryan Wittman – sylwetka" (in Polish). zastalbasket.pl. Archived from the original on April 16, 2013. Retrieved August 24, 2011.
  17. ^ "Ryan Wittman Stats, News, Photos – Cornell Big Red". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
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