North Carolina's Cormac Ryan partners with BreakingT following Duke performance
Cormac Ryan has only been at North Carolina for eight months.
But on Saturday, he became the latest Tar Heel to etch his name in Duke-North Carolina lore. The former Stanford and Notre Dame transfer scored a career-high 31 points, becoming just the seventh Tar Heel to ever score 30 points or more at Duke.
The grad transfer’s 31 points were also the best scoring total by a UNC player since February 1998, when Antawn Jamison dropped 35 points. The win sealed an ACC regular season title for the Tar Heels, who were the preseason No. 1 last season but failed to make the NCAA tournament.
Ryan was part of the offseason rebuild. Unlike Jamison, the guard can profit from his name, image and likeness. To commemorate his performance against Duke, he’s partnered with BreakingT to release special edition Cormac Ryan T-shirts.
“This place is so special, and I’ve only been here for eight months,” Ryan said after Saturday’s win. “So to be able to leave a mark, get a win, hang a banner for the regular season all by ourselves, it’s tremendously special for this group.”
While BreakingT declined to go into specifics on the deal, the grad transfer will turn a profit for the use of his NIL similar to standard licensing deals. A spokesperson for the company told On3 its team was already throwing around ideas about Ryan-themed merchandise when analytics proved the fan base was “fired up.”
BreakingT has been working with North Carolina athletes since March 2022, when the Tar Heels went on their run to the Final Four. Ryan’s 35 points were also the most points by a North Carolina player at Cameron Indoor Stadium since his coach, Hubert Davis had 35 in March 1992.
In the win over Duke, Ryan shot 6 of 8 from beyond the arc. One of the BreakingT shirts released Monday reads “Cormac Ryan just hit another three” with the North Carolina logo. T-shirts are on sale for $34.
Cormac Ryan, North Carolina building up for NCAA tournament
For the first time since 2019, North Carolina has the ACC regular season crown. The Tar Heels are set to be the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament, which begins Tuesday at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. North Carolina is slated to play the winner of No. 8 seed Virginia Tech and No. 9 seed Florida State on Thursday.
UNC also has a legitimate shot at earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, depending on how the week plays out. A strong run in the conference tourney and a top seed could be within reach.
Ryan and fellow transfer Harrison Ingram will be credited in part for helping spark North Carolina’s turnaround this season. Both starters averaging more than 30 minutes per game were key portal pickups last offseason.
“Having a guy that’s been at this stage, even though was from another school, he’s played here,” Hubert Davis said about Cormac Ryan last weekend. “He’s been on the stage, he understands what it takes in order to make plays to even have a chance to win in this type of game against this type of team. He did step up, knocking down 3s, but defensively, his presence, his poise. His leadership in the huddles, during halftime (and) before the game. It’s just meant so much to this team and this program.”