#42 Ryan Ayers 2007-08 Men's Basketball Roster

HONORS AND AWARDS:

• Notre Dame Best Defensive Player Award (2009)
• BIG EAST Academic All-Star Team (2008-09, 2007-08 and 2005-06)
• Notre Dame Most Improved Player Award (2008)
• Team Irish Award (2007)

SENIOR SEASON (2008-09):

Served alongside teammates Zach Hillesland, Kyle McAlarney and Luke Zeller as captains during the 2008-09 season … played in 117 career outings and made 51 starts in those contests … finished with career scoring average of 6.5 points and 2.4 rebounds … concluded career eighth in three-point field goals made (80) and three point field goals attempted (401) and tied for third in three-point field goal percentage (.424) … started 33 of 36 games during the season … scored in double figures in 19 contests … led the team in scoring three times … posted career-best averages in points per game (11.1) and rebounds per game (3.5) … shot 43.8 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three-point range … scoring average placed him third on the team … blocked a career-best 25 shots, which ranked second on the team … in the season opener against USC Upstate, played 26 minutes while scoring seven points, grabbing three rebounds and blocking two shots … finished with nine points in win on the road at Loyola Marymount … netted double figures for the first time in win over Indiana in first round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational … also grabbed five rebounds in the game … had six points apiece in the final two games of the EA Sports Maui Invitational against Texas and North Carolina … recorded a then career-best of 19 points against Furman as he was 8-13 from the field and 3-6 from three-point range … became third different Irish player to top the 30-point mark in 2008-09 as he registered a career-high 35-point performance against South Dakota as he tied the school record for three-point field goals made by an Irish player at the Joyce Center with nine … finished 12-20 from the field and 9-14 from three-point range … in addition to his 35 points, had season-highs of six rebounds and three assists … scored nine points in loss to Ohio State … registered double figures in four straight games when he scored 10 points against Boston University, 18 versus Delaware State, 10 in the win over Savannah State and 14 versus DePaul … in the BIG EAST season-opening win over the Blue Demons, he shot 5-8 from the field and was 4-7 from three-point range … notched two points at St. John’s … scored eight points in a win over nationally-ranked Georgetown … tallied six points and four rebounds in a win over Seton Hall … had nine points and six boards at Louisville … reached double digits for the eighth time on the season with an 11-point effort at Syracuse … connected on 3-5 shots from the field and 2-4 from three-point range as he netted 10 points against Pittsburgh coming off the bench … shot six of seven from the field and two-of-three from three-point range in registering 14 points at Cincinnati … had six points at UCLA … was 7-9 from the field and made five-of-seven three-point attempts en route to notching 19 points against Louisville … scored 12 points against USF … produced eight points and a career-high tying four assists at West Virginia … tallied 28 points and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds while playing all 40 minutes in leading the Irish to a victory at Providence … shot 9-17 from the field and 7-11 from three-point range against the Friars … three points against Rutgers … began a career-best stretch of reaching double-figures in five straight games when scoring 11 against Connecticut … had 25 points, four rebounds and four assists versus Villanova … against the Wildcats, shot 8-12 from the field and 7-10 from three point territory … scored 15 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists against St. John’s … had 10 points and seven rebounds in a triumph of Rutgers at the BIG EAST Tournament … scored 11 points in a setback to West Virginia in the second round of the BIG EAST Tournament … notched nine points and four rebounds in a win over UAB in the National Invitation Tournament … tallied seven points and matched a career-high with eight boards in a victory over New Mexico in the second round of the NIT … reached double-figures for the 19th time of the season by scoring 14 points in a victory over Kentucky in the quarterfinals of the NIT … scored three points and grabbed three rebounds against Penn State in the NIT semifinals.

JUNIOR SEASON (2007-08):

Played in all 33 contests and started the first 17 games of the season before coming off the bench against Villanova … averaged career-best of 7.8 points and 3.2 rebounds … enjoyed best shooting performance of his career as he connected on 45.7 percent from the field and 45.1 percent from three-point range … notched 10th double-figure scoring outing of the season in Notre Dame’s first-round NCAA tournament win against George Mason as he connected on 5-10 shots from the field … netted a career-high 17 points in loss at Louisville connecting on a career-high six field goals (6-9) and personal-best five three-pointers (5-6) … also grabbed five boards in the contest … followed that contest up by scoring nine points in win at DePaul as he finished 3-4 from the field and 3-3 from three-point range … scored 10 points in win over the Wildcats, in addition to grabbing five rebounds and making three steals … followed that game up with a 10-point performance against Providence while playing a career-high 36 minutes as he connected on 3-5 shots from the field and was 2-4 from three-point range … netted 10 points (eighth game in double-figures of the season), grabbed six rebounds and dished off a career high four assists against Syracuse … scored nine points, grabbed three rebounds, dished off two assists and blocked two shots against DePaul … netted nine points and grabbed four boards in win over Seton Hall … had third straight nine point outing against Marquette and connected on key four-point play in the second half … scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds in win at Rutgers … registered back-to-back double figure scoring efforts for the first time in wins over Brown and North Florida … matched career-high with 13 points and then grabbed a season-high six boards in win over Brown … followed that performance up with 10 points and six rebounds against North Florida … made second start of his career in the season opener against Long Island and finished with eight points and four rebounds in 24 minutes … finished with a career-high 13 points and matched personal best with seven rebounds as he connected on 5-6 shots from the field and was 3-4 from three-point range in 32 minutes of action versus Monmouth … notched second double figure scoring effort of the season against Eastern Michigan as he finished with 12 points, connecting on 4-5 shots from the field and 3-4 from three-point range … reached double figures for the third time in three games versus Northern Illinois as he netted 11 points and grabbed four rebounds … hit 4-6 shots from the field and was 2-4 from three-point range … scored nine points against Baylor on three three-pointers and grabbed three rebounds … netted six points, grabbed three rebounds and dished off three assists against Youngstown State … scored nine points in 20 minutes versus Colgate … played a season-high 30 minutes in win over Kansas State and scored five points … connected on three three-point field goals and finished with nine points and three rebounds against San Francisco … played a career-high 36 minutes against West Virginia in the BIG EAST opener and finished with eight points and five rebounds … scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds against Cincinnati … netted five points and grabbed four rebounds vs. Connecticut in second meeting between the two teams … scored in double figures in nine games.

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2006-07):

Played in 30 games … averaged 2.9 points and 1.4 rebounds … connected on all four of his three-point attempts in registering a career-high 12 points against Cincinnati while playing a season-high 30 minutes … earned first career start in win over Providence as he played 12 minutes and scored five points … matched career-best with seven points in win over Syracuse … scored decisive five points in 66-63 win over Villanova … connected on key three-pointer that tied the score at 60-60 with 2:29 to play and then gave the Irish the lead for good after connecting on two-of-three free throws with 1:39 to play after being fouled attempting a three-pointer … scored six points and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds against Winston-Salem St., in addition to dishing off two assists and making two steals while playing 21 minutes … was 2-4 from the field after beginning the season 0-12 … also scored six points in win over Seton Hall as he connected on both of his three-point attempts and played 16 minutes … had six points in victory against Stony Brook … played 16 minutes against Seton Hall and converted on both of his three-point attempts and finished with six points … saw action in a season- high 23 minutes off the bench against Lafayette … grabbed two rebounds in both the Lafayette and Citadel games … scored four points, grabbed six rebounds and dished off two assists against Elon in 18 minutes off the bench and also had two points in win over Fordham … played double-digit minutes in four contests … did not play in the Alabama, Columbia and Wofford contests … dished off assists in the Florida International, IPFW and Fordham games … made key defensive play on final possession against IPFW that preserved 65-63 victory on the road … played nine minutes in win over Providence … made a career-high two steals in five minutes of action against Marquette … also played two minutes against West Virginia … connected on three-pointer (his only attempt the game) against Rutgers … scored two points in second meeting with Marquette.

FRESHMAN SEASON (2005-06):

Played in 18 games and in eight BIG EAST contests … enjoyed best outing of the sea- son in second-round loss to Michigan in National Invitation Tournament as he came off the bench and played a season-high 34 minutes and finished with personal bests of seven points and four rebounds … played 14 minutes against Florida International and scored a career-high three points … tallied first collegiate points in season opener against Lafayette when he scored two points in 12 minutes off the bench and also had two points in win over Fordham … played double-digit minutes in four contests … did not play in the Alabama, Columbia and Wofford contests … dished off assists in the Florida International, IPFW and Fordham games … made key defensive play on final possession against IPFW that preserved 65-63 victory on the road … played nine minutes in win over Providence … made a career-high two steals in five minutes of action against Marquette … also played two minutes against West Virginia … connected on three-pointer (his only attempt … scored two points in second meeting with Marquette.

HIGH SCHOOL: 

Named the 2005 Gatorade Pennsylvania Boys Basketball Player of the Year … recipient of the Markward Club Award, given to the top player in the Philadelphia area, as a senior … earned all-conference, all-city and all-state accolades as a senior after averaging 15.0 points, eight rebounds and four assists per game … led his Germantown Academy team to a 24-6 record and a top-five final state ranking in his last prep campaign … served as team captain and was named team MVP as a senior … enjoyed his best prep season as a junior, averaging 16.4 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists, while shooting 48 percent from three-point range … helped the team to a No. 5 national ranking and a conference championship as a freshman … finished his high school career with 1,370 total points, and averaged 17.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg and 3.0 apg … had single-game career-highs of 27 points and 16 rebounds … a three-time all-Inter-Academic League first team selection … earned first-team all-area mention from The Intelligencer, and garnered honorable mention all-city accolades from the Philadelphia Inquirer as a junior … participated in both the Charm City Challenge and the adidas Derby Festival Classic (played in same game as Luke Zeller) … scored 10 points, on 3-of-5 shooting, and grabbed six rebounds in the Charm City game … won the adidas Derby Festival Classic three-point contest in front of 10,000 people at Freedom Hall on the campus of the University of Louisville … earned all-tournament honors at the Lone Star Invitational in San Antonio, Texas and the Philly Hoops Classic in the summer of ‘04 … selected to the all-tournament teams at the Adidas Super 64 and Adidas Superstar Camp while a member of the PLAYAZ AAU squad in the summer of ‘04 … high school coach was Jim Fenerty … also lettered three times in track, clearing a top height of 6-0 in the high jump.

PERSONAL:

Full name is Ryan Vincent Ayres … older of two children … younger brother is Cam-eron … two-year member of Germantown Academy’s Board of Trustees, as well as a participant in Forum Council and All Cultures Together Club … his father, Randy, played basketball at Miami (Ohio) and is the former head coach of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and at Ohio State … son of Randy and Carol Ayers … two-year member of Notre Dame’s Student Advisory Council (SAAC) … born 7-16-86 in Columbus, Ohio … graduated from the Mendoza College of Business in May of 2009 with a degree in marketing.

CAREER STATISTICS: