The Square Life

With the number of people noticing Ryan Toolson lately, it’s hard to imagine that the 6’4’’ Utah Valley University basketball captain could be invisible to anyone.

The list of his accomplishments is long. He scored more than 2,000 points while at UVU— more than any other athlete in the school’s history. He has the second best free-throw average in the history of the NCAA —just .2 points away from having the all-time highest percentage. He scored the highest number of points in a single game against a NCAA Division 1 team in the last decade— the 10th highest in the NCAA’s history—and he’s been named player of the year for just about anyone he’s ever dribbled.

But a lot of those accomplishments will never be acknowledged. Sure, Toolson’s reputation at UVU is historic and he’s been the focus of sports features as far-reaching as ESPN, but because UVU isn’t yet part of an NCAA conference, those points, blocks, and shots will never be recorded. They’re like an invisible history. So all that matters now is how that history will shape Toolson’s future.

“Whatever we do now doesn’t count,” the Arizona native said of his team’s efforts.

“My 63 points that I scored, it doesn’t officially count. It would have been in the record books. The NCAA won’t even acknowledge it. It’s like I never played that game. It’s like I don’t exist to the NCAA. It’s pretty frustrating, but I’ve learned to cope with it.”

It’s hard to accept that kind of disappointment, but Toolson has a grasp on the bigger picture—professional basketball—and NCAA record formalities aren’t going to stand in his way.

“If you’re good enough, they’ll find you,” he says about the NBA scouts who, no doubt, have watched Toolson in action.

It was only a year ago that Toolson realized he was good enough to play professionally. Before that, he planned to graduate and go to dental school. But basketball is in Toolson’s blood. His cousin played for the Jazz. His uncle, Danny Ainge, is the general manager of the Boston Celtics. Both of those men are heroes to him.

And when his friend and old teammate Ronnie Price moved on to play with the Jazz, Toolson thought, “If he can do it, then I know I can also. I always look up to him and strive to do what he’s been able to do.”

Toolson is already busy building the kind of reputation and solid history from which NBA stars are born—regardless of if his points are recorded in NCAA records or not. That’s the same kind of drive that propels him to see the bigger picture and that sends him to the gym every day, even though his season just ended, to work out for hours. Then he goes to the basketball court to shoot 250–500 baskets.

“I don’t shoot just to shoot,” Toolson says. “I always shoot for a goal. I don’t stop ‘til I reach that goal.”

  As focused as he is, that doesn’t mean Toolson doesn’t have time to kick back with friends—and inevitably, that always involves shooting some hoops.

“All my friends who aren’t good at basketball always try to play me,” he says with a laugh. “I don’t know why. I always give them a few shots to keep things fun for them and let them think they can win, and then I always beat them.”

That’s part of the fun of the game for Toolson. No matter how many shots he’s taken or how many hours he’s practiced, basketball never becomes boring for him. Ever since he was a little kid, it’s been a sport he loves. And that’s something his uncle Danny has told him to hold on to.

“He told me, ‘You have to play and have fun while you’re playing. Otherwise the sport isn’t worth playing.’ But sometimes you’re such a competitor that if you lose, it’s not fun,” Toolson says.     

Toolson just got back from an invitational at Pourtsmouth, Virginia, where 63 other top seniors from across the country played scrimmages against each other in front of scouts from around the world. He concentrated on playing defense and dribbling, his weaknesses, and his team won.

Now he waits. The NBA draft is in June, and until then, Toolson isn’t saying where he wants to go or what he thinks will happen. He just plans on being ready to go wherever the opportunity arises—and once he gets there, he plans to stick around.

“A lot of people can make the NBA and not a lot of people stick,” Toolson says. “To be able to do that would just be a dream come true.”

So that’s how Toolson deals with the disappointment of not making an NCAA record. He knows what he’s accomplished. He’s made a lot of shots, but he’s missed some, too. In the end, he knows that what makes a good player is being willing to take another shot.

“When people ask me to talk to kids (in basketball) I usually just tell them to be able to accept failure,” Toolson says. “Everyone fails at something, but don’t accept not trying. If you want to be successful at anything, the one thing you can’t do is not try. I can successfully say I’ve tried my hardest in every single game, and I honestly think it’s showed.”

With all of that effort, we think that someday soon Toolson won’t be easily overlooked by anyone—and maybe then the whole world will watch him play his favorite game.