Les Nicholson Photo
This time there was nothing Ciara Byars could do but sit, watch and try to encourage teammates when George Rogers Clark lost 57-46 to three-time defending state champion Sacred Heart in the girls state tournament Thursday night.
The junior had amassed 1,615 points and 952 rebounds before a knee injury in early January sidelined her for the rest of the season. She was GRC’s leading scorer (14.1) and rebounder (5.3) again when she was injured.
She is a top 40 prospect nationally who has made unofficial visits to Louisville, Kentucky, Maryland, Miami and Michigan already.
“Once we found out she was out with the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) we knew we would miss her rebounding and scoring and passing and defense but the biggest thing was her leadership. She is such a leader and has such a high IQ for basketball,” GRC coach Robbie Graham said.
Graham said Byars talks to players at halftime before the coaches do and points out what she has seen.
“Even injured, she is such a value to our program and team,” Graham said.
Byars admits the first few weeks after her injury were really hard, especially when she was not around the team. However, she knew her team would be “okay” without her.
“Our program is used to going to state. I was not surprised at all when we cut down the nets (after winning the 10th Region),” she said.
Byars said she assumed a “mediator” role between players and coaches after her injury. She’s also kept busy with her physical therapy. She’s been doing some drills while seated in a chair, including some finger shots.
“I am itching to be able to get back out there,” Byars said.
Her injury actually gave her more free time to talk to college coaches and said many checked on her often.
“This might actually make my decision easier in the long run. I will probably decide during my senior year so I have the whole summer to get back healthy and really make sure I am making the right decision. So much can happen over the summer that I don’t want to rush,” the GRC junior said.
Her sister, Brianna, averaged 14.6 points per game at GRC and now plays at the University of Cincinnati. She’s been helping her younger sister a “little bit” with recruiting.
“We have the same values in what we look for in a school. We both want a family-feel, good player-coach relationship and great tradition,” Ciara said. “As far as a specific school, she just wants me to be happy. She does try to get me to come play with her (at Cincinnati) but she understands it is my decision.”
