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Getting to Know Ryan Fazekas

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Roughly 900 miles separate Marquette Catholic High School and Providence College but Ed Cooley and his staff have once again pulled away another prized recruit outside of the New England region. On the morning of Wednesday October 29th, Marquette Catholic High School head basketball coach, Donovan Garletts, announced that junior Ryan Fazekas had verbally committed to Providence College.

The news of Fazekas’ decision quickly swept through Friartown and later that same day, Fazekas himself tweeted out, in his own words that he was prepared to become a Providence College Friar in the Fall of 2015.

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Fazekas, a 6’7 forward, averaged just over 14 points and 7 rebounds a game during his sophomore year with the Blazers of Marquette Catholic. When I caught up with Ryan, earlier this evening, he shared that during his last visit, which took place on the day of Late Night Madness, was when he knew that Providence College was the school that he wanted to play for. “I knew that night, that I was going to commit there [Providence], I had a great time and I just felt like it was the right spot.” He continued with, “I did commit early, but I went up there, took two visits and I just felt like family. The coaching staff is amazing, they are a great group of guys, and I just felt like it was the right school for me.”

Amidst his impressive sophomore season, it didn’t take Ed Cooley and assistant coach Bob Simon very long to take notice to the potential and talent that Fazekas possesses. “Providence sort of came in late on Ryan, but they came in hard and they came in strong,” Marquette Catholic coach, Donovan Garletts explained.

As of right now, you will not find Fazekas ranked on many of the national recruiting websites, however the Providence coaching staff saw past that. When asked if he felt as though Providence had made him a priority for the 2015 class, Fazekas said, “They were really high on me, they treated me like family and they expressed to me that I was one of their top guys.” Over the course of his high school career, he was also recruited by schools like Xavier, Northwestern, Illinois, Creighton, Michigan, Michigan St., Memphis, Marquette, Ohio St. and Northwestern.

He has already been labeled as a sharp shooter, and for good reason. Last season Fazekas managed to shoot right around 50% from the field including 40% from beyond the arc. According to his head coach, Fazekas took the second most threes on the team and knocked down 92% of the 200+ free throws that he attempted as a sophomore. Garletts went on to say, “I think the best way to describe Ryan’s game is that he is a very tall two-guard, he’s a scorer, a shooter and he can handle the ball better than most point guards.”

Like most teenagers, Fazekas has yet to fully develop. He currently weighs about 190 pounds but he has made it his goal to put on at least 10 more before he arrives on the campus of PC in September of 2015. In addition to gaining some weight, Fazekas also told me that the PC staff would like him to work on his ball handling skills this season.

In terms of which players, in the NBA that he models his game after, Fazekas noted, “I try to shape my game around players like Kevin Durant and LeBron James, I get moves from them all the time.” It is interesting that Fazekas points out that he pays close attention to a player like Kevin Durant. Durant, a 6’9 forward for the Oklahama City Thunder, is just two inches taller than Fazekas, and like PC’s newest recruit, he entered his freshman year at the University of Texas as a tall and lanky forward who could shoot and handle the basketball.

In addition to his promising basketball talent, Garletts added that Fazekas’ academics and off-the-court involvement are equally as impressive. “Marquette Catholic is a tough school, we are one of the highest rated schools, academically, in the state of Indiana and Ryan has been able to maintain a 3.7 GPA.” Secondly, Fazekas has also started his own small business outside of school, collecting rare, high end basketball sneakers, and reselling them online. “I mostly buy and sell Nike and Jordan sneakers and the nice thing is, is that it doesn’t take a lot of time out of my schedule, I do everything from home and I am able to make a lot of money doing it,” Fazekas explained.

Outside of basketball related activities and his sneaker business, Fazekas shared that he really enjoys spending time outdoors, “I am always in the gym, but I’ll leave the gym to go fish and I like to golf.”

Friar fans will have to wait several years before Fazekas suits up in a PC uniform, but for now, there is certainly a lot of excitement surrounding him as he prepares for his junior season at Marquette Catholic.

Below are several other tidbits that I gathered from Ryan and his coach.

Favorite NBA Team: Chicago Bulls

Favorite NBA Player: LeBron James

Favorite Television Show: Survivor

Better Indiana Based Movie – Hoosiers or Rudy: Hoosiers

As a sixth grader, Fazekas hit 80 MPH on the gun, pitching

Email Craig Belhumeur: craig.belhumeur@friarbasketball.com

Craig Belhumeur on Twitter: @Craig_Belhumeur

 

 

 

3 Comments

  1. ProviSwagDistrict

    October 31, 2013 at 3:31 pm

    Great article Craig. Excited to follow Ryan’s season this year to see how continues to get better.

  2. Craig Belhumeur

    October 31, 2013 at 3:37 pm

    Thanks Pete, appreciate the feedback

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