The Rotunda will now be recognizing a Longwood student-athlete who doesn’t just excel on the court, field or course, but one who also excels off the court. This involves the classroom performance, community service or involvement around campus. The first ever Student-Athlete of the Month for the month of January 2015, is men’s basketball’s Ryan Badowski.
Badowski is a 6-3 freshman guard, Business major from Brunswick, Ohio. He averaged 10 ppg, while shooting 53.5 percent from the field and 53.1 percent from beyond the arc in the month of January. What seems to be more impressive in Badowski’s freshman season is his astonishing 3.95 GPA. In a semester where the average Longwood freshman male’s GPA was a 2.4 and the average student-athlete GPA was 3.07. According to Badowski, an A- separated him from a 4.0 and it “devastated” him.
“I’m honored that you came to me (as the Student-Athlete of the Month). It’s a big honor just to be represented as not just an athlete, but also as classroom etiquette and classroom performance is noticed and it’s highlighted,” he said. “I’m excited, and I’m thankful.”
On the court, Badowski shot into a starting role (has started every game in January), became a scoring threat for the Lancers offense, recorded his career high in points (22) and Field Goal percentage (87.5 percent) and has been recognized by the Big South Conference as Freshman of the Week for three out of the four weeks in January. All of his on-court success hasn’t come without a few growing pains. According to Badowski, his transition from high school to college wasn’t an easy one.
For Badowski, the on-court difference has been adjusting to the speed of the game, the athleticism and strength of his opponents, but he believes he’s adapted to these differences well. While off the court dealing with being away from home, time management and figuring out what to do socially have been his biggest problems.
“Outside of basketball and a classroom you have a lot more downtime, so it’s how you spend that downtime. You don’t have a lot of people telling you, 'you gotta get this done,' it’s all self-discipline; it’s how you use that time wisely,” said Badowski. “Finding what to do on the weekends (is difficult) because I’m not one to really go out to parties and stuff, so I would always have to find other things to do, and that’s where I dissolve back into my school work. If I’m bored, I’m just going to go and get some work done so I don’t have to worry about it on trips and stuff.”
Through the many struggles of being a freshman at a new school, Badowski has also had to deal with being in an entirely new state over 500 miles away from his home.
“Coming from a different state and pretty much starting over completely at a new school was challenging for me at first.(Being away from home) has been a huge challenge for me because I have a girlfriend back home in high school and that’s been really tough, and just being away from my family,” he said. “I’m really close to my brother and my family. My dad wants to come see every single game, he’s already traveled like five times just to see me play; that’s how bad he wants to see me play. So being away from them is very tough, but it’s getting easier slowly, but it’s still a huge challenge for me that I deal with every day.”
Since coming here, many of Badowski’s teammates and coaches have played a big role in his progress, but he credits Assistant Coach Jake Luhn with being the most impactful “father figure” in his on and off court production. Luhn has been someone Badowski has been able to talk with about anything. Whether it’s basketball or just life in general, Luhn’s been there for him.
Luhn, on the other hand, believes Badowski’s constant success in the classroom and on the court is based off his own “relentless work ethic.”
“He is a fierce competitor regardless of the arena. That is what makes him so unique -- he attacks everything he does 100 percent and strives for perfection. I don't have to separate the student from the athlete because the focus and determination to excel in both is equal. His success is a byproduct of that consistency. I am not aware of any hobby or activity he does except work on his game and hit the books. Most importantly, he does it all with great character, integrity and first-class representation of our university and program,” said Luhn on Badowski’s progress.
Badowski now plays a recurring role in the Lancers’ starting lineup; his playing time is only increasing as the season progresses.
Longwood will host UNC Asheville on Wednesday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. in Willett Hall before traveling to South Carolina to play Presbyterian College (lost 67-71 in first matchup) on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. Both games will be broadcasted on the Big South Network.
