Staff photo / Brian Yauger Warren JFK senior Nick Ryan lays the ball up during the Al Beach Classic on Tuesday in Canfield.

CANFIELD — When he was introduced at Tuesday’s Al Beach Classic, Warren JFK senior Nick Ryan’s list of accolades took almost a minute to read off.

And that’s just the basketball accolades.

Leaving a legacy a mile long, Ryan got to cap his high school basketball career off on Tuesday, representing the Eagles in the Al Beach Classic.

Before the game, Ryan received the MVCA Boys Player of the Year award, another accolade for the list.

“It’s definitely a big honor and accomplishment playing a game like this with all the best players in the area,” Ryan said. “It’s sweet being at one of your last games in high school playing with such great players.”

The Division VII All-District Player of the Year and All-Region soccer player has left quite an impact on both programs.

“He’s special,” Kennedy coach Mark Komlanc said. “He makes my job a heck of a lot easier and beyond basketball. He’s just a great kid. He picks everybody up. He makes everybody around him better.”

On the court this season, Ryan headlined a senior class that was stuck in the shadows of the class before them. They were so stuck in those shadows that people expected a down year. Making a point to chart their own path and create their own legacy, Kennedy’s seniors helped guide the program to a 17-10 mark and reach the regional finals once again.

So much for a down year.

“They wrote their legacy. I think a lot of people expected this to be a down year for us, but they just keep winning,” Komlanc said following the Eagles’ regional semifinal victory. “There was never any doubt in my mind that they could do it and that they would do it. Just for years, they were just kind of in the shadows. And we talked about that at the beginning of the year. This was a season about coming out of the shadows and all the hard work and the effort and the roleplaying that they had to do throughout their previous three years. They stepped out, and the spotlight wasn’t too big for them.”

Finishing the season averaging 26.5 points per game, Ryan was an all-around force for Kennedy. Ryan also led the team in steals (2.7), assists (2.5) and rebounds per game (11.8), and became the program’s all-time leading scorer back in February finishing with over 1,900 total points.

While he hasn’t settled on where to go just yet, Ryan plans on continuing his athletic career in college, pursuing a spot on the basketball team wherever he winds up.

Wherever that may be, Ryan will certainly bring the mentality that made him a Kennedy athletics legend with him.

“To be an Eagle means to be humble and it means to represent your school in a good manner,” Ryan said. “I like to think that I do that every time I step on and off the court.

“The last four years have been something very, very special. Playing for Kennedy was one of the best experiences of my life and I wouldn’t take it back for anything.”