2021 Ryan Conway talks junior season and his final six leading up to commitment
In the Baltimore area there is a short list of players that you can go to watch on a routine basis and know that they’re going to give 100 percent effort in every game. 2021 Dulaney point guard Ryan Conway Ryan Conway 6'0" | PG Dulaney | 2021 State #111 Nation MD has been known for this since he stepped onto the varsity stage as a freshman. Conway was regarded as one of the top eighth graders in the DMV and as a result many of the top high school programs were recruiting him heavily. He decided to stay close to home and attend Dulaney High School, a Baltimore County Public School that has sent a number of player to respectable Division I programs.
Since day one he’s proven to be a crafty scorer from all three levels and an admirable competitor. Year after year, Conway put on scoring clinics that would lead to a breakout game. This past season was his 55-point outing in just three quarters of play against Hereford. Dulaney lost a few key starters who were Division I prospects to transfer before the 2019-20 season, which shifted every team’s defensive focus towards stopping Conway. It’s what makes his 27.3 points, 4.8 assists and 4.4 steals per game averages even more impressive.
Conway’s season was unfortunately cut short after suffering an injury against Pikesville at the back end of their regular season schedule. The foot injury would eventually keep Conway sidelined for the remainder of the season as the Lions fell to a determined Mervo squad in the regional semifinals.
“I faced a lot of double and even triple teams this season, but Coach Lochte helped me handle those pretty well,” Conway told Prep Hoops. “Sitting through that Mervo game and knowing I could help my teammates on the court was really frustrating. The season as a whole went great, though.”
The Lions would finish the season with a 16-6 overall record. Baltimore County had a few heavy hitters in the top of the standings and Dulaney reigned supreme against all but the eventual county champion New Town TItans. Their only other loss in county play was to Woodlawn by five, but that was without Conway’s services.
Although his season was cut short, Conway looked at this season as a growing opportunity from the point guard position.
“I took it as an opportunity to get my teammates more looks,” Conway said as he reflected on facing double and triple teams. “Parkville played a triangle-and-2 on me, so it was me just approaching the game differently. My teammates would basically play four on three. Once they came out of it and went straight man, I looked to attack.”
Conway credited his teammates for forcing their opponents out of their initial strategy to stop him. Without guys like Cameron Byers Cameron Byers 6'6" | PF Dulaney | 2020 State MD , Jaylin Webster Jaylin Webster 6'0" | CG Dulaney | 2021 State MD and others manufacturing production, teams would’ve kept the double-team on Conway. Instead, they’d have to play honest and that’s when Conway would go to work.
Building a reputation as a dynamic scorer has helped Conway earn offers from a number of high-major programs. Last Tuesday Conway released his final six schools consisting of: Marquette, Providence, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Stanford and Vanderbilt. With a commitment date set as May 2, we caught up with Conway to discuss his list of schools.
Marquette: My visit to Marquette was unreal. They were recruiting my teammate on Team Melo, Justin Lewis Justin Lewis 6'8" | PF Baltimore Poly | 2020 State #49 Nation MD (Marquette commit), and that’s when he saw me. They liked my game and we established a relationship. They saw me at Dulaney and we met and lined up a visit. Coach Wojciechowski put together a highlight film of me and Markus Howard comparing our shots and how we score. We were in the conference room watching that and afterwards he offered me. I just thought it was amazing how he broke down my film and made it similar to how they treated Markus within their offense. With a coach like that, I obviously had to put them in my top six.
Providence: They saw me play on the EYBL Circuit as well. They saw me play this season against Milford Mill and I didn’t have a great game, but they still wanted to have me up to campus and that’s when they officially offered. I met with Coach Cooley and he was great. He was very transparent. He told me a lot of things about how they run their program. I went to the game when they played Marquette and their point guard was killing. After that I looked at their track record and how they did well with small point guards.
Rutgers: Rutgers saw me play on the EYBL Circuit and that’s when our relationship started. After they saw me play, we had set up a time to visit campus when they scrimmaged Towson. I got a tour of their beautiful new facilities and then I got about two hours with Coach Pikiell which was great and after that they officially offered. Rutgers has been great. They’ve sent multiple coaches to watch me workout. Associate head coach [Karl] Hobbs came and watched a couple of my games this season.
Seton Hall: They were one of the first high majors to get involved with me. They’ve been there from the start. Coach Skinn came to Dulaney to recruit my old teammate Che Evans, but he saw me and liked my game. I played really well the first EYBL session and they saw me have a 30-point game. After that, they’ve really recruited me hard. They had me up for a visit. They didn’t offer me the first time, but when I went back up for the Maryland game when they got a huge win without their best player Myles Powell. The following morning they called me and officially offered. Seton Hall has been so transparent with me throughout the process and I have a ton of respect for them.
Stanford: They had watched me play at the Peach Invitational on the EYBL Circuit and after that they started recruiting me. I was supposed to go out there for a visit, but we never got the chance to. Once they watched more film and looked at my academics, they offered. Head coach Jerod Haase came out to see me this season and they always showed a lot of support. What they can offer academically for me is a big reason why they made my final six.
Vanderbilt: Coach Grace has been the one leading the recruitment. He was great with the process and came up to talk to me at school. They had me on campus, but they didn’t offer then and there. Coach Stackhouse wanted to see more film and wanted to see me play live before offering. When this whole pandemic happened, it meant they wouldn’t be able to see me play on the circuit, but they officially offered and Coach Grace has been great checking up on me. What appeals to me is the fact that Coach Stackhouse coaches them. On my visit him and I went out to breakfast which I thought was amazing. Being able to spend time with an NBA legend was really cool.