Ryan Wittman

Ryan Scott Wittman (born October 26, 1987) is an American former basketball player, best known for his college career at Cornell University. As of 2024, he holds the record for the most three-point field goals in men's Ivy League history.

Early life

Wittman was born on October 26, 1987, in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the son of Kathy and Randy Wittman and he has one sister, Lauren. Randy Wittman was formerly the head coach of the Washington Wizards and was previously head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers (1999–2001) and Minnesota Timberwolves (2007–2008). The elder Wittman was a player on the 1980–81 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team which won a championship under Bob Knight. Drafted 22nd overall in the 1983 NBA draft, Wittman played for NBA teams Atlanta Hawks, Sacramento Kings, and Indiana Pacers for nine seasons.

Ryan was born when his father was a member of the Atlanta Hawks, but grew up in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and occasionally played pick-up games with Kevin Garnett at the Target Center. Wittman attended Eden Prairie High School, where he posted an average of 11.5 points per game in his junior year.

In July 2005, Wittman played for the AAU team Minnesota Select. The team was 5–1 in the Las Vegas Classic, an AAU playoff tournament. He led Select scorers with 15 points in a quarterfinal loss to the Houston Hoops, 59–53. Their season record was 27–14.

As a senior, his points per game average exploded to 20.5, and he hit 50 percent of his shots from three-point range and 84 percent from the foul line. After the season was over, Wittman was one of the five finalists for Minnesota Mr. Basketball and was listed as the sixth best Minnesota high school player by GopherIllustrated.com. In addition to being selected onto the First Team All Metro, he was a First Team All-State selection by the Timberwolves and a Second Team All-State selection by the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Cornell, which had recruited Wittman since his junior year in high school, was unable to offer him an athletic scholarship due to Ivy League rules. Nonetheless, Wittman inked his letter of intent to the Big Red on December 31, 2005. At Cornell, Wittman was a member of the Quill and Dagger society. As of 2024, he holds the record for the most three-point field goals in men's Ivy League history.

Professional career He played in four games for the Celtics in the Orlando Summer League and then three games for the New York Knicks in the NBA Summer League.

In the 2010 season, he played six months in Italy for the Fulgor Libertas Forlì, then he went in D-League at the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

In the 2011 season he played for the Zastal Zielona Góra.

Statistics

NCAA College statistics 2006–07 Cornell Big Red 28 27 35.4 .438 .431 .887 2.8 1.3 1.0 0.3 15.6 2007–08 Cornell Big Red 28 28 33.7 .465 .459 .867 4.2 1.5 1.0 0.1 15.1 2008–09 Cornell Big Red 31 30 34.1 .452 .416 .818 3.6 2.6 0.9 0.2 18.5 2009–10 Cornell Big Red 34 33 33.9 .474 .426 .826 4.0 1.8 1.1 0.4 17.5