Ryan McMahon met with the media on Monday afternoon to talk about the abrupt end to his college career as well as what the future holds.
You can see the full video here, or check out these selected quotes from U of L ...
On the end of the 2019-20 season:
“How the season ended was just, for lack of a better phrase a shock. I would have never expected our season to end that way. I felt like we had a run in us. I know we have a special team. I’ve been on five teams here at Louisville. I know this one was very special.”
We were all just kind of shocked at the fact that this is the reality now. I think it hit me in a few different ways whenever Selection Sunday was supposed to happen and then maybe the first round games were supposed to be starting it just kind of reminded you like dang I’m really not playing. I’ll be watching games on ESPN throwback games and I’ll be like, we could have made history or we could have been making a blockbuster game that people would have been talking about for years and years. So it hits me in waves, but I’ve been trying to stay productive and then do other things to try to keep my mind off of it.”
On his daily life now:
“I’m still taking online classes right now. I’m just working out trying to stay in shape. I’m doing little chores and things around here to just stay productive. I’m talking to coaches, talking to agents to try to hire them. People are coming to me with possible job opportunities trying to cipher through those and figure out which ones are worth pursuing which ones aren’t for me. Different things every day.”
On what might be next:
“I don’t know what the summer is going to look like in terms of teams looking at players but at one point I’m going to hire an agent. Whoever I end up going with will try to get me the best offers or opportunities, whether it’s overseas or the G League if that’s a possibility, we’ll see. And then if I feel like those opportunities outweigh starting my career in something else, then I’ll keep playing basketball. If not, then I’ll have to hang up the shoes and start tearing up some men’s leagues. As of right now I think my option A would be a financial advisor with MassMutual, I’ve had an internship with them this year, just mainly so they could give me study materials if I wanted to pass the insurance exams. Start working on my Series 6 or Series 7, some of the credentials you need to become a financial advisor. I’d say that’s option A but I’m open to other options.”
On potentially getting into coaching:
“Our coaching staff all thinks I’m going to be a coach, one day, and I know I’m going to coach at some level at some point in my life. I don’t know what level that’ll be at. I’d love to coach my kids. I’d also like to coach middle and high school kids. If an opportunity comes in front of me I’d have to pray about it and think about it a lot and just see where that goes. I’d like to pursue other options and other avenues first to see if I can build a passion or a love for something else before I do something like coaching.”
On the legacy he hopes to leave behind at Louisville:
“I think most importantly, I would be a guy that was very loyal and stuck with the program and university through a lot of hard times, the good and the bad. I felt like I was one of the better shooters in Louisville history. I tried to give my all, every second out there on the court to help us get as many wins as possible, not worried about my own stats or my own personal accolades. Overall I feel like the adversity that I went through at Louisville will be my legacy.”