Ryan Atkins knows plenty of ways to score on the basketball court.
The WVU Tech sophomore guard thrives in the mid-range game, is skilled at driving to the hoop, has made more free throws (137) than any other player in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and has also hit 15 3-pointers.
Yet, when the KIAC's leading scorer was a player at Miami (Florida) Norland High School, putting the ball in the basket wasn't so easy.
"To tell the truth, in high school, I wasn't good at all," he said.
Atkins took a circuitous route both to Montgomery and to becoming a skilled scorer, but the Golden Bears have valued his arrival. He'll have to wait a little longer than originally expected, though, to showcase that talent.
Tech's home game versus Carlow, scheduled for Saturday, has been postponed because of the winter storm. The new date has yet to be announced. Tech's next scheduled game is at 8 p.m, Tuesday versus Rio Grande at the Baisi Athletic Center.
If Atkins struggled at scoring in high school, Tech coach Bob Williams got no inkling of that when he faced the guard last season when Atkins played his lone semester at Barber-Scotia College in Concord, North Carolina. Williams watched Atkins torch his Golden Bears for 41 points. Barber-Scotia didn't offer athletic scholarships, so in Atkins' search for one, he came to WVU Tech.
That short stop in North Carolina was just one step in Atkins' long journey to find a basketball home. He said he never had the confidence to be a dependable scorer at Norland. He wanted to play college basketball, and attempted to walk on to Florida A&M University. That didn't work out, and Atkins' started struggling in school after that.
He attended tryouts and exposure camps to try and latch on to another school, but no one was interested. He also needed to get over his apprehension of shooting, something he finally was able to do playing pickup games at a gym in Pembroke Pines, Florida.
"Playing every day against good competition, if you can score there, you can score anywhere," he said. "That's where I learned how to score. I shot my way out of the fear."
He's shown no fear offensively since becoming a Golden Bear. He averages 23 points, and his 47.2 shooting percentage is 11th in the league. He's been held to single-digit scoring just once this season, a nine-point game Nov. 28 versus St. Thomas, and has scored at least 29 points in four of his last five games, scoring 30 or more in three of those.
While it may have taken some time for Atkins to find himself as a scorer, Williams said Atkins has become a talented offensive weapon for WVU Tech.
"I think he's a late bloomer who's really worked hard on his mid-range pull-up jump shot," Williams said. "He's a strong kid and a good-sized kid who can get to the rim and finish very well. He's hard to handle offensively."
Atkins enjoys his role with the Golden Bears and the confidence the coaches have in him to produce points. He was named both KIAC and United States Collegiate Athletic Association player of the week this past week, his second such honor this season. But he also knows the responsibility, and the focus from opposing defenses, that brings.
"It's really exciting being that guy," he said, "but it can be kind of tough. You're the most scouted guy on the team. You're getting face-guarded a lot, so it can be tough."
Atkins is thriving, though, and Williams would like to see his role in the offense expand even further. While he leads the team with 63 assists, he also has 66 turnovers, and Williams would like to see Atkins become a more effective distributor.
But Williams is confident that can happen. He feels Atkins will be able to transfer the work ethic he showed in becoming a premier scorer in the KIAC to other areas of his game.
"He's been great," Williams said. "He's a hard worker who loves the game. He's very talented. He listens and he's coachable."