Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Men's Basketball

No Headline




July 22, 2005

Just as quickly as it arrived, Summer 2005 is rapidly fading into what
should be yet another exciting school year in Huskie Country.
NIUHuskies.com had a chance to catch up with sophomore guard Ryan
Paradise to find out about his summer in DeKalb.


Q: Did you have a chance for a vacation or weekend get-a-way this
summer?
A: "My summer vacation has basically been the few days we haven't gone through our conditioning workouts. We do get a couple of weeks off at the end of summer school, so that will feel like a vacation, but the main part of my summer break has been to hang out with family and friends on the weekends.


Q: Outside of basketball and class, what are some of your favorite
summer activities?
A: "Definitely going to the pool and playing video games. I've gone to the pool a couple of times and I am also into the baseball season. I try to catch the (Chicago) Cubs on TV as much as possible. I also like going to Great America and I hope to get in a trip there by the end of the summer."


Q: Summer is traditionally a terrific time for catching a movie and this summer wasn't void of its blockbusters. Did you catch a movie this summer? And what was your favorite?
A: "I have seen a couple of movies. I saw Cinderella Man, which was awesome and I saw the Wedding Crashers last week. It was pretty funny. I also saw Mr. and Ms. Smith, it was pretty good too."


Q: How's is summer school going?
A: "It's going well. I am taking a couple of Spanish classes. I took Spanish 201 at the start of the summer session and I am taking Spanish 202 right now. It's great getting classes out of the way during the summer."


Q: Entering the off-season, what did you feel like you needed to improve upon before the start of the 2004-05 season? And what have you done to improve in that area?
A: "Obviously my strength. Coming off that injury, I had to get my whole body back in shape. In addition to that I have focused on ball-handling and defense. Switching over primarily to my right hand has been an adjustment. A lot of the moves that came naturally for me left-handed aren't the same with the right. I really noticed it during our first few open gyms once I got cleared to play. I have spent a lot of time dribbling up and down the court, working on moves, just to get that court instinct back."


Q: Chances are your family is going to read this or at least hear about
it, so outside of money, what do they need to send you?
A: "Food and care packages. We are getting ready to move into a townhouse and we can never have enough food."


Q: Obviously the team is getting plenty of court time during open gyms and workouts, who is standing out in your mind thus far?
"I would say Bryson (McKenzie) and Zach (Pancratz). Bryson always plays hard and Zach is constantly in the gym improving his game. He's worked on becoming a more well-rounded player on offense. He's not just a stand-still shooter anymore. He is taking the ball to the hoop and is playing hard on defense. He's doing a lot of little things that will help this team."
Print Friendly Version