Trailblazers sign Nashville’s Ryan Oliver to 2022 recruiting class

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Men’s Basketball program picked up their third signee for the 2022 recruiting class Monday afternoon in the form of six-foot-three guard Ryan Oliver from Cane Ridge High School in Nashville, Tenn.

Oliver averaged 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists this past season for the Ravens and was named Second Team Large Class All-Midstate in Tennessee.

“I saw him play. I went down and saw him play and that’s how we got on him,” VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. “During this recruiting tour, I’ve seen a million different guys and I went to the State tournaments at all the surrounding states and Ryan was a guy that stood out to me as a guy that we would want in here.”

“Everything about him. He’s just a good basketball player,” Franklin added. “He’s smart, sees the floor and is really a good shooter. Pretty good athlete, good size, 3.9 GPA student. I’m very excited about getting him. I think he’s a player that is always going to be able to fit in and play for good teams and good programs. We had him in here on a visit and it went really well. We’re super excited about getting him. Right now, I think he appears to be an excellent fit.”

Oliver played alongside McDonald’s All-American and Alabama signee Brandon Miller and together they helped guide Cane Ridge to the Quarterfinals of the Tennessee Large Class State Tournament this season and a berth in the State Finals as a junior.

Oliver was recently described as the Scottie Pippen to Brandon Miller’s Michael Jordan in an article by Tyler Palmateer of Main Street Nashville.

Cane Ridge head coach Marlin Simms told Clinger, “Is Brandon our best player? Sure. He fills the gym. We all appreciate it and love him for it. But Ryan is our glue guy. Rian is our most important player. If you understand basketball, you know that. He makes things happen.”

“You’ve got to have a Scottie Pippen, a great leader other guys look to,” Simms added. “Someone who acknowledges, ‘I can’t be Brandon Miller, but I sure enough can play my role.’ When you see a kid like Ryan buy into a role, you have no choice but to buy into a role, if you want to win.”

“He has been called, because the last two years Cane Ridge has been right at the very top of Tennessee and they always had Miller, so Ryan was the Pippen to Miller’s Jordan,” Franklin said. “Ryan really makes the team go and that was probably true as you watch him.”

“You could tell that he was the guy that other guys were looking to,” Franklin added. “He’s the guy that makes the pass to set up the next pass, he really knows where the ball needs to go. I really like that he is a guy that goes and finds the ball. He averages almost eight rebounds a game, but he goes out and finds the ball.”

“You could tell that he was a guy that, it didn’t matter how many he got, but his numbers are good and that’s with Miller taking a bunch of shots,” Franklin said. “Plus, they played great teams. They have been really good, so they were playing good level competition and they played in a lot of the National Tournaments. So those are legitimate numbers against some really good teams and players. He would take on some of the best guys to guard and just carried himself that way.”

“When he came in here and worked out with us it was the same way,” Franklin added. “He really shot the ball excellent when he was in here. I think that is a weapon that he brings that wasn’t talked about enough. He was a good player in AAU, but he has always been that guy who plays in the second kind of role. So maybe he got overlooked a little bit. He’s a top-five player in the Nashville-Metro Area, so I think it’s all there.”

“He’s like all of them, he has to come in here and work and do, but he was very excited about it and looks forward to being in here in the summer,” Franklin said. “I’m excited about getting him in here. We’ve got three guys that we’ve announced and one kid that we are waiting on him to do his signing before we announce it, but out of the four kids that we have signed so far, I think Ryan is a guy that helps good teams win. I think he fits in well with other good players. The fact that he can be a good player, with other good players and it does not hurt his game, is very important.”

“We are excited about him. He’s a really good student, his coaches love him. I think he’s a guy that will transition into playing with other good players very quickly and that’s what you have to do if you are going to play at a Championship level place.”