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Exit Interview: Ryan Cline

For the better of three seasons, Ryan Cline was a solid, important player for Purdue.

For his fourth, he was outstanding, a driving force behind the Boilermakers' surprising success during his senior season.

Quite an experience it was, his Purdue career, after he arrived in West Lafayette figuring he might redshirt, perhaps even wanting to. Instead, he played right away, won a game for Purdue at Pittsburgh, and gave the Boilermakers valuable minutes in the years that followed, but not as many as he might have otherwise, because standout Dakota Mathias occupied the majority of them at his position.

Cline had to wait, and when his time finally came this past season, he delivered, and then some.

Here in this GoldandBlack.com Exit Interview, Cline recaps his career, the ups and downs, highlights and dark moment.

GoldandBlack.com: How do you want to be remembered at Purdue?

Cline: “That’s a great question. I really want to be remembered for the team that was supposed to be rebuilding, and the team that won the Big Ten championship, and the team that made it to the Elite 8. It’s something that not a lot of people expected us to be where we were and that was something that we came in with a chip on our shoulder and I remember pictures like (players holding the Big Ten trophy) and me holding up the Big Ten trophy and just people doubting us and you know that just gives me extra motivation. I just love the spirit of competition and the spirit of proving doubters wrong.”

GoldandBlack.com: Did you, on any level though, surprise even yourselves?

Cline: “In a sense, yeah I think so. When we were 6-5, I keep saying that after we won that Wisconsin game, we had some eyes opening, like, 'Hey man, if we can beat a really good Wisconsin team on the road in overtime, when it shouldn’t have even been an overtime game — they bank in a three, then hit another three — we can put ourselves in position to win these kind of games and we did that.”

GoldandBlack.com: What made your team successful this year? What changed that reality?

Cline: “We finally started playing a little bit harder and we started playing a lot smarter. You’ll notice that I think our turnovers went down a pretty incredible amount, throughout maybe like the last 75 percent of Big Ten play and we took care of the ball, we finally listened to the details of what Coach Paint was saying, and then after that I feel like we kind of just took off and we realized that, especially offensively, we were one of the best teams in the country. We can shoot the ball with anyone and on the defensive end it started to pick up, especially toward the end of the year when it really mattered.”

GoldandBlack.com: You and Eifert seemed to have this sort of quiet competitiveness, this quiet confidence, that really mattered. Where does that come from and what did that mean to this team?

Cline: “I feel like deep down I want to win everything and that just came from high school and throughout my years growing up in Carmel playing on these younger pups teams and playing for a coach like Coach (Scott) Heady in high school. I didn’t know what it felt like to lose and I wouldn’t say I was scared of losing, but I loved winning just because we did it so much and to the point where I know that life’s just better when you win. And just that feeling that I get when I’m going out on the court and we’re whooping someone’s ass, you know there’s no better feeling in the world that I have then going out there and just whooping someone.”

GoldandBlack.com: That’s the most Carmel thing I’ve ever heard someone say.

Cline: “It’s just funny because a lot of people were against us when I was in high school. Everyone hated Carmel, then I come to Purdue and everyone hates Purdue. It was just the perfect fit coming out of high school and you know I couldn’t be happier with the four years that I’ve endured in this journey.”

Q: GoldandBlack.com: The season you had personally, did you know you were this player all along or did you have to prove yourself even to yourself that you were this level of a player?

Cline: “No, I feel like I always had it. There were just guys in front of me that were handling the ball more, making more decisions and this was the year that I got to step up and I got to handle the ball and I got to make decisions and I feel like it finally came out and this summer going into this year, I was playing really well, and open gyms and summer practices I was playing really well and I always knew that I had this in me and I knew that there was going to be my time to step up. It was obviously this year.”

Q: What does this mean for your career moving forward the way you played this year?

Cline: “It means a lot. I just have a lot of confidence in myself and I just feel like that my potential isn't reached yet and I feel like I have a lot higher ceiling that I’ve shown even this year.”

GoldandBlack.com: Did you come to Purdue wanting to redshirt. How do you view that issue now?

Cline: “I look back and I wish I did to a certain extent but there were a lot of moments, even my freshman year that I stepped up and I won some games and not a lot of people expect that from a little scrawny 175-pound kid that comes in and can just shoot the ball. I feel like I just shot us (into) some games and I look back and I do wish I did it, but I think I made the most out of my opportunities.”

Q: How did the arrest and suspension to start of your sophomore year shape you from then on?

Cline: “It shaped me in an incredible way that I didn’t realize until probably the beginning of this year just because I was on a path that I didn’t want to be, and then it completely reshaped my thinking and my thought process of what I need to be doing, what’s hard work, that I don’t want to have to look over my shoulder and have to worry about, 'Am I doing the right thing?' I don’t have to worry about that anymore and that’s something that I’m really proud of myself for. I know that I made my family proud and they were so happy the last couple weeks watching me play. I honestly don’t think it’s a bad thing that happened. I think it’s a good thing and I think it’s something that I needed.”

GoldandBlack.com: The competition you had there for awhile with Kendall Stephens and Dakota Mathias your sophomore year especially, how did that shape you, just having to fight for everything you got?

Cline: “Yeah, I mean it’s competitive nature. There were days when we'd go into practice and one of us would have a good day and the next day someone else would have a good day. But at the end of the day it’s all about how you’re playing in games and it’s all about how you take care of the ball and what you do when the ball is in your hands and it’s just something that I feel like I did a very good job of, but my junior year Dakota was just a little bit better, and obviously he played really well his senior year, and it’s just something I had to deal with and learn from.”

GoldandBlack.com: What’s your favorite shot you made in your career?

Cline: “Man. Nothing really beats that shot against Tennessee. That was a pretty incredible moment. I had a bunch of family and friends in the stands, which was awesome, but I would have to say too that I’ve never gotten a friendlier roll than when I was at IU and it was like a minute-and-a-half left and I come off a down screen and I’m fading real bad to the right and it hits the front of the rim and I’m like, 'Oh man, that’s not going in' and I think I’m on the ground watching it go in and you know, I’ve never gotten one of those bounces and you know it came at a pretty pivotal time.”

GoldandBlack.com: That was what that whole game was about.

Cline: “Yeah exactly. No one could friggin' score.”

GoldandBlack.com: What win will you remember the longest? What was the best win for you during your career?

Cline: “It’s a little selfish just because I played really well but that Tennessee game was incredible. You look back and there are a lot of what-ifs in that Virginia game, and it’s just how it played out and they were kind of a Cinderella story thing and I’m happy for them. I’m happy that we lost to the national champs but there were a lot of things I’d like to take back but I’d have to say that Tennessee game was pretty special. And only losing to IU once. I think this rivalry is very special and I think it’s one of the best, if not the best, in college basketball and only losing to them once is pretty special to me.”

GoldandBlack.com: We ask everyone what the most difficult loss was, too. Am I wasting my time asking this year?

Cline: “Yeah. “

GoldandBlack.com: How did you deal with the nature of that Virginia game?

Cline: “It’s just tough for those next couple days but it’s something you’ve just got to live with and you be happy for them and I was happy for Kyle (Guy), obviously, being one of my friends but it was tough. It was… it was really you know…

GoldandBlack.com: Like, can't-get-out-of-bed tough?

Cline: "Not quite can't-get-out-of-bed tough, but it's just something always on your mind and you’re always rethinking, ‘Hey, what if I did this what if I did that?’ You know, there were times when you're thinking about it and there were times when you're just like, ‘Hey. You know, no one expected us to get to the Elite Eight and no one expected us to win a championship so you've got to look at the positives too.”

GoldandBlack.com: Who was the best player you played with at Purdue?

Cline: “That’s a great question. I’d have to say either Carsen or Biggie. They were just so dominant and there would be some shots where Carsen would put up and you would be like, ‘Dude, what are you doing?’ and then it would be like, ‘Oh! There’s another three points.’ It’s just so unexpected and it’s really hard when teams are focusing on him so much and he really wants to get those shots and I feel like there were games where they were doing it to me, too. So I kind of felt for him in those certain games where everyone was all over me, but it was happening to him every single game. So I got where he was coming from but I mean Biggie was just so dominant. If you ever need someone to score you’d give it to him in the low post and he’d make something happen."

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GoldandBlack.com: Tell me about that Villanova game. Seems like the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games sort of overshadowed what was practically a perfect game.

Cline: “Exactly. People forget about that. That was the defending national champ. They won two out of the last three national championships and at one time we were doubling their points when we had 70-something points. People will forget about that but that was just so much fun and something that I definitely will never forget.”

GoldandBlack.com: The Tennessee game, for you personally, now that you've had time to reflect on it ...

Cline: “It was just something.iIt was awesome, just because I was so happy for our fans and this team but I had so many people in the stands up there supporting me and a couple of my buddies that only live an hour or two away were able to come watch me for the first time. And my sister and my nieces were up there and my brother and his wife were up there and it was just so much fun.

"But the person that I was happiest for was Coach Paint. There is no one more deserving and it blows my mind that not a lot of, like, top-100 players want to come play for a guy like that just because he’s such a special coach in the sense that he makes such a connection with you personally and you can tell that he cares about you not just as a basketball player but as a person. And he just does such an incredible job of leading teams and knowing which direction the team needs to go in order to win.”

GoldandBlack.com: Your team seemed extremely loose in March.

Cline: “Absolutely.”

GoldandBlack.com: Why?

Cline: “It was just (Painter) giving us the confidence that we were out there to have fun and we were out there taking in the moment and we were out there to make memories and it was something that we did.”

GoldandBlack.com: Who was the best player you played against at Purdue?

Cline: “That’s a great question. I thought Denzel Valentine was a very good player when I was a freshman. He was just so tough coming off the ball screens and him being that size and him being a point guard is so tough to ignore. I remember when PJ was trying to guard him and it’s tough for a guy his size. Miles Bridges was tough. I remember when I guarded him at their place he just hit two really tough shots on me and then he ended up hitting that game-winner. Those are probably the two that I would point out. I’d have to say that Maryland team was the most talented that I ever played against with Jake Layman and Diamond Stone. They had incredible first five and I think sixth man coming off the bench. That’s just incredible that I got to play against a team like that.”

GoldandBlack.com: What was that Pittsburgh game like when you were a freshman? That was the game that year where you were the singular difference probably.

Cline: “I’ve got like a crazy head of hair and I come in and you’re young and you hit one and you’re like, ‘Oh shoot maybe I can hit another’ and then I end up hitting like four or five, so being able to do that in the second half was great. First of all, I love when people play zone, just because a shooter just drools when he sees a zone in front of his face.”

Q: So what’s next for you now?

Cline: “I’m going to continue playing. My next step is graduating. I’ve only got two weeks of school left and I’m excited to ride out these last two weeks of being a college student and kind of enjoy it but I’ve been working out every day five times a week. I’m excited to be able to sit down with some of these guys and figure out who I’m gonna pick as an agent but…”

GoldandBlack.com: Did this season for you sort of confirm to you or show you that you can do this for a living?

Cline: “Yeah absolutely.

"If I came back my junior year and averaged two more points, it would be a lot different but I came out and I proved that I can play with the best of the best so that’s just something that I’m really excited to have proven, and I just love playing this game and I’m excited to do it for a living hopefully.”

GoldandBlack.com: You also would seem to have a skillset where you might be able to do it for a long time.

Cline: “Yeah absolutely.

"Especially shooting, yeah. It’s very tough to find a place that doesn’t (want) a great shooter nowadays. Especially in today’s NBA, in today’s Euro League and wherever I'd want to go it's something that I feel like I have the skillset to be successful.”

"It was something where I really didn’t know what to expect coming into this season. And I think I shocked a lot of people, shocked myself in a way. But I knew I always had this in me and I was excited that I was finally able to show it.”

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