26 ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 3
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BY BRIAN NEUBERT
BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com
I
t was overtime and Ryan Cline stepped to the foul
line to take shots millions of other kids had tried
in vain to put themselves in position to attempt, the
ultimate pressure-cooker situation with a national
championship hanging in the balance.
To add another layer to the scene, he's
in Springfield, Mass., where the game
was invented and its Hall of Fame located.
"It's dead silent," Cline said. "All you
could hear was the bounce of the ball.
You've got people and kids all around
watching you, your family watching, the
ref throwing you the ball. Everyone's re-
cording."
Cline stepped to the foul line, all eyes
on him, and achieved perfection in a
mettle-testing moment, one in which a
championship was won.
By the way, Cline was 13 years old,
and this was the final round of the Elks
National Hoop Shoot national free throw
competition back in 2010.
Countless kids entered in the 12- to
13-year-old boy's division.
It came down to Cline and two others
in a five-shot overtime session after all
three had gone 23-of-25 in "regulation."
One boy made just two of his shots; the
other made four.
Cline made 'em all.
"It was a big stage," recalled Cline,
who'd won three other competitions to
get to the final. "There was a lot of pres-
sure."
When pressure hits, one can always
fall back on technique, and that's likely
what Cline did in those moments.
It's what he always does, the Carmel
High School star relying so much on the intricate oper-
ation that's made him one of the finest shooters in his
class nationally, a strikingly consistent jump-shooter
who sometimes throws the ball in the basket with such
ease, it seems, that it's almost comical.
"It's something special," said former Cline AAU
teammate and future Purdue teammate Grant Weath-
M E N ' S B A S K E T B A L L R E C R U I T I N G
MARKSMAN
Mechanics, pedigree have made Boilermaker recruit an elite shooter
Tom Campbell
Ryan Cline has worked tirelessly to perfect his shooting stroke, getting the
release over his head and in line with his right eye.
