Lang taking next step
JEFFERSON TWP — Ryan Lang’s basketball career at Knoch High School can practically be cut in half.
His first two seasons, Lang was a shooting guard on a veteran team that included seniors Jake Schiedt, Brady McKee, Jared Schrecengost, Scott Fraser and Adam Bajuszik, among others. Those teams finished 18-6 and 19-4, respectively, bowing out in the WPIAL quarterfinals.
Lang played with more inexperienced teams his junior and senior campaigns, switching to point guard as the Knights finished 7-10 and 6-16.
“Those won-loss records don’t indicate how well Ryan played for us and made the transition to point guard,” Knoch coach Alan Bauman said. “He had to be more than a leader. He had to adapt to a totally new role and position on the floor.
“When I took this job, I kept being told, ‘you’re getting a great shooter, you’re getting a great shooter.’ I knew Ryan had to develop into much more than that.”
And he did.
Lang averaged 25 points, nine rebounds and seven assists his junior year. He contributed 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists per game to Knoch’s cause this season.
“Ryan was directly involved in 60 percent of our points this year,” Bauman said. “He was outstanding.”
Lang admitted that moving to point guard midway through his high school career was a challenge for him.
“My first couple of years, all I had to worry about was coming off screens and getting open for my shot,” he said. “Moving to the point, I had to run the offense, help set up the other guys ... I had to make plays now.”
While doing so, he was chasing Aaron Faulx’s all-time basketball scoring record at Knoch. Faulx scored 1,474 points.
Lang wound up with 1,452, falling 22 points shy. The Knights played six fewer games in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“He would have easily broken that record had we played a full schedule,” Bauman declared. “But it can’t be overstated how well Ryan developed as a point guard. He consistently improved in his decision-making, knowing when to dish off, drive to the basket, take his own shot. He is such a versatile player.”
Lang admitted that his final point total “was bittersweet. I wanted that record and with a full (junior) season might have gotten it, but I am happy with the way I learned the point guard position.”
He will continue to learn that role as he is headed to Allegheny College to play point guard. Lang will be joining a Gators team that’s posted one winning season in the last 10 years, but is leaving the North Coast Athletic Conference to join the Presidents’ Athletic Conference next season.
The Gators were 8-14 this season, 6-9 in the NCAC.
“Their record is misleading,” Bauman said. “A team from the NCAC made the Division III Final Four. Allegheny beat Wooster, a natioally-ranked team, this season. The PAC is a good league, but it doesn’t have teams like Wabash, Wooster and Wittenberg.”
Allegheny had six freshmen and six sophomores on its roster this season. That doesn’t discourage Lang at all.
“My goal is to have a great career there, play a lot of minutes,” he said. “I want to work toward starting as a freshman, join the team for deep playoff runs and a championship run.
“I know I have to get stronger and faster, play better defense. Playing defense is always difficult. I’ll keep working on my ball handling,. shooting and passing, too. I have a lot of room to grow as a player.”
Bauman said if Lang was going to play college basketball, it would be as a point guard.
“He never wavered in his efforts to learn and grow into that position,” the coach said.
Lang plans to major in business, with a minor in biology.
