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It is now official, Carmel senior Ryan Cline is now a Boilermaker:
Carmel shooting guard Ryan Cline has signed with #Purdue pic.twitter.com/mbEL7H2fEW
— GoldandBlack.com (@GoldandBlackcom) November 12, 2014
Cline comes to Purdue from one of the best programs in the state over the last few seasons. He did not play much as a freshman when the 2012 Carmel team that won the state championship (he got in for a single minute of the title game), but he played a large role in their 2013 repeat. He had 11 points and connected on three 3-pointers as Carmel beat Cathedral (and Jalen Coleman) 57-53 when he was a sophomore.
The greyhounds have been very impressive in his three years with them. in addition to two state titles they have gone 69-8 and been ranked No. 1 for a large part of the last few seasons. Unfortunately, they knocked out my beloved Wildkats in 2012 and 2013 in the regional, but that means I have seen them quite a bit.
Last year Carmel was 21-2, but was upset by Hamilton Southeastern in the toughest sectional in the state. Cline's Carmel teams have been impressive to watch because they truly play together as a team. They play stifling team defense, are solid fundamentally, and if they have a 3-5 point lead in the fourth quarter it becomes death by papercuts as they don't miss free throws and they wear you down defensively.
Cline has been an excellent sniper in all this and will be a great addition as a shooter with Dakota Mathias and Kendall Stephens. Do not underestimate his defense, either.
I will be seeing Cline play in person later this year, first in the November 26 opener against Zionsville, then on January 17 when they host Kokomo.