Player Profile - Ryan Kiernan
1/29/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 29, 2001
By MU Media Relations
When Ryan Kiernan runs onto the Hearnes Center court today, it is just another part of a dream becoming part of reality.
A sophomore guard from St. Charles, Kiernan knows he is not going to see 10 minutes of playing time but he is fine with that, particularly considering where he was last season and even when practice opened this year.
After graduating from St. Charles High in 1998, he went to Rockhurst University. Despite being a scholarship member of the basketball team, something was not right. He wanted to chase his dream of playing for the Tigers and do whatever it took to make it happen.
"Coming out of high school, I knew I wasn't going to get a scholarship to a Division I school. I was just being real with myself," said Kiernan. "Things were fine at Rockhurst but the thought of doing this kept popping in my head. The more I thought about it, the more excited about it I got. I told my parents three-fourths of the way through the year I wanted to transfer. I knew if I didn't try the Mizzou thing, I'd regret it for the rest of my life and that's the last thing I wanted."
So Kiernan packed his bags and headed to Columbia. However, that move did not guarantee him a spot on the roster. He wanted an opportunity to be a part, any part, of the program. He showed his playing abilities during an open tryout and was approached as serving as a student assistant. But yet, there was something still out there for Kiernan.
"(Former assistant) Coach (John) Hammond approached me about practicing with the team," said Kiernan. "It got to the point where I had a practice uniform on underneath my manager's outfit. Whenever they needed someone in a drill, I throw my manager's gear off and run out there and practice. I was like `Wow', I'm going against Kareem (Rush), Clarence (Gilbert) and Keyon (Dooling). I was awestruck."
While he dutifully did whatever was asked, there were no guarantees made for this season. "I hadn't spoken to any of the coaches particularly about being on the team. I wasn't sure about how I should approach it," said Kiernan, who was ready to accept his manager's role. "They came to me the day after Mizzou Madness and asked if I would like to practice with the team. They didn't say `Yes, you're on the team or anything' but of course I said yes.
"From that next day on I was told not to do any of the manager's duties but to do what the players were doing," he continued. "I still wasn't sure if I was on the team or if I was going to be just a practice player again. People were asking and I wasn't sure what kind of answer to say until the first game (Savannah State) when I walked in and they had a uniform in there for me."
It was a moment he'll never forget.
"It was the best feeling ever," he said. "It was my one goal that I had been trying to do for two years. I transfered from another school particularly for that reason, to play basketball at Missouri. All of the hard work I had put in to get to that point came to fruition.
"Running out with the team the first time was really cool," he said, shaking his head and smiling like it was yesterday. "The first time I suited up, stretching out on the floor, being under the lights and looking up at all of the people was when it really hit me. It was kind of like `look at me now. I'm here.' "
And then he had to deal with playing in a game. He got that opportunity in the closing minutes in the Tigers' season-opening victory over Savannah State.
"I was pretty nervous," he said. "Things were going 100 miles-per-hour. I knew the opportunity was coming since we were up a lot. I had friends and family in the stands. It was awesome."
And the feeling still carries over to today.
"I told myself if I ever I made the team, I wouldn't ever have any worries since this is the best feeling I've ever had and what I've always wanted to do," he said. "If I ever have a bad day, I say to myself, `Look where I am.' They say, `if you're patient, things will come.' And it's true. It's easy for me to realize where I was before this and appreciate what I have now."
Tigers' head coach Quin Snyder appreciates what Kiernan adds.
"Ryan embodies what college athletics is all about," said Snyder. "He's a very hard worker and is always striving to make himself and his teammates better. It's a pleasure to coach the type of person that Ryan is - someone who gives his all for the team."
