Carmel High School point guard Ryan Clevenger made his biggest strides in leadership this season.
“I had to take that role being one of the only seniors with experience from last year,” he said.
Greyhounds boys basketball coach Ryan Osborn said Clevenger filled the role quite well.
“Ryan was a vital piece to our team this season,” Osborn said. “He grew up in terms of leadership, accountability and production. Ryan brought a level of toughness to practice every day that challenged everyone in the gym. There aren’t many productive point guards out there that lead without saying a whole lot.”
Osborn said Clevenger learned how to lead the team when it mattered most.
“His teammates respected him and responded with the same level of competitive spirit,” Osborn said. “Watching Ryan grow into a humble leader over the last four years is one of the biggest joys I’ve experienced as a head coach. He takes pride in doing things the right way and it was important to him that he left an impression on our team and younger players that would resonate for years to come. He exceeded expectations.”
Clevenger averaged 9 points, 3.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game for the Greyhounds, who finished with a 12-11 record.
“Going 8-2 in our last 10 games was a fun experience as it turned our season around,” Clevenger said. “Especially with how hard those 10 games were, it was awesome to go 8-2.”
In that stretch, Carmel beat then-Class 4A No. 1 Fishers 54-46 Jan. 27 and then-4A No. 1 Lawrence North 42-35 Feb. 1. Both were home games for Carmel.
“Beating both two No. 1 teams back-to-back was a great experience for us as we had great weeks of preparation leading into that, so we had total confidence going into the games,” Clevenger said.
Fishers got revenge by topping Carmel 54-41 in the Feb. 27 Class 4A sectional opener.
Clevenger said he still hasn’t made a college choice. He plans to major in business and is considering playing basketball in college.
Growing up, basketball was always his favorite sport to play, Clevenger said.
“I have played it ever since I can remember,” he said. “I also played football and baseball but stopped playing both of them to focus on basketball.”
He stopped playing baseball going into his freshman year.
Favorite athlete: Paul George
Favorite TV show: “The Rookie.”
Favorite musician: Zach Bryan
Favorite subject: Business
Favorite vacation spot: Rosemary Beach, Fla.
