Beyond the Game: Centralia point guard Ryenn Gordon

CENTRALIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Centralia point guard Ryenn Gordon went 'Beyond the Game' with ABC 17 Sports Director Nathalie Jones, as the junior hopes to help guide her team the state championship stage in 2026.

You can find the full transcript of the interview below.

Nathalie Jones: "What's up everyone? We're at Centralia High School going beyond the game with point guard Ryenn Gordon. Ryenn, when did you start knowing that, hey, basketball is kind of my thing, I'm kind of good at this thing?"

Ryenn Gordon: "I first started playing in 4th grade. My dad was my basketball coach, played for the rec league, and we played some girls that my dad's buddies knew and they got me into playing summer ball. So, then I started playing summer ball, realized, oh this is actually kind of fun, I could do this all year round, so it's kind of when it started."

Nathalie: :Well, I have to ask, I mean, what sport would you play if it, if it wasn't basketball? Where do you think you fit?" 

Ryenn: "Definitely volleyball. I have a lot of fun playing that in school."

Nathalie: "Okay, Game winning assist or game winning bucket, I have to ask as a point guard?"

Ryenn: "A game winning bucket."

Nathalie: "Game winning bucket, okay, have you, have you had a game winning bucket yet? Is that still on the list one?"

Ryenn: "Just one."

Nathalie: "Okay, tell me about that moment."

Ryenn: "I was 15 and I was in the Nike Nationals tournament, the championship.

Nathalie: "Okay, slight flex."

Ryenn: "[Hit the] game-winner there, yeah."

Nathalie: "Slight flex. Well, I know you're committed to Murray State. What stood out about that school? What did you like about going there?"

Ryenn: "Great community, great atmosphere. There's so much support from the community. Like, their bank buys out all the home games, so everybody gets in for free. It's always packed.

Nathalie: "What do you, what do you like about this year's team? I mean, it seems like you guys have so much fun together. What do you like about this year's group?" 

Ryenn: "We always keep it light and we have a great bond all together, so we just always have a fun time with each other."

Nathalie: "Any personal goals for the year?"

Ryenn: "Just getting my teammates good shots, getting all my teammates involved."

Nathalie: "Where would you like to see this team end up? What do you feel like you learned from last season's postseason and just everything all together there?"

Ryenn: "Just working together and getting to a state championship." 

Nathalie: "Mhm. Well, when you look back at your high school career, I mean, I know you're, you're a junior. Here, but what do you hope your legacy with Centralia is here?

Ryenn: "My biggest thing is hanging out with the younger kids, like showing them that they need to do that when they're older too, because it really inspires them to do better."

Nathalie: "What's one of your favorite memories about this too? Do you have, do you have a funny memory that you can share about this group? What do you like?" 

Ryenn: "I don't know. Every practice has its own thing, so nothing specific that I'm allowed to talk about." 

Nathalie: "Well, also, we just went beyond the game with Ryenn Gordon. Ryan, thanks so much for hanging out with us you." 

Ryenn: "Thank you."