NWADG Basketball

14 2022 NWA COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW | 11.6.2022 FAYETTEVILLE — Mike Neighbors said Rylee Langerman definitely grows on you with time. "She's what we affectionately call a fungus kid," the University of Arkansas women's basketball coach joked. "She just grows on ya. That's what happened in recruiting, too. We'd go watch'em play and we'd see that kid that had more points or rebounds (than Langerman). But Rylee would stand out. "That's the kid that made her team better." Langerman knows her role and how to fill it to the utmost, Neighbors said. "As coaches sometimes, we'll throw kids in and it's for the long haul and not the best thing to do," Neighbors said. "We were very cautious because I think we knew what we had with her. We had really high expectations for her last year and I've said this several times … if there was an award for who filled their role the best, she's probably the winner. "In college, you don't need five people on the floor all the time who want to shoot it, you really don't. You need someone who knows where it goes. The value of that gets lost in highlights. That's the danger of the society we're in when we're watching 2- and 3-minute clips. Because very rarely do you see the hockey assist or the defensive stop or the tipped ball. Maybe when she jumps over the bleachers and falls in the stands, they'll show that but there's just so much more to it. "But she had her more tangible moments, too. The 5-9 guard from Norman, Okla., hit 5-of-6 three-pointers and scored a career-high 17 against Missouri to go with five rebounds, a blocked shot and a steal. She also grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds against Texas A&M. It was also her tie-up against Auburn that led to Amber Ramirez's game-winning three-pointer." What she does for her group has already shown up in practice, Neighbors said. And those are times only her teammates and coaches see. "The lineup efficiency doesn't get reported in a boxscore," Neighbors said. "You wouldn't pick her for your fantasy team but everybody picks her for their competitive team. It's already starting to show out here. She gets two really tough offensive rebounds and kicks them out and Saylor (Poffenbarger) hits a long three She throws it to Sam (Spencer) there's a long bad close out, Sam racks it and gets and and-one. People that know the game know the value." Langerman said it helps that her coaches have always rewarded doing those small things, which in turn she's also worked to improve in all those areas. "I think that comes with me being secure out on the court with who I am because I know that I am better at rebounding or better at defense," Langerman said. "Better at those things, so I find pride in the little things like that. And I think especially in practice my coaches rewarding me for doing stuff like that, reminding me that's just as important as shooting the ball or scoring." Neighbors also pointed out she works as hard off the court as a 4.0 student with a pre-med major. "She does a lot of really hard things," Neighbors said. "She's never had a conversation with me that doesn't entail 'What more can I do to help our team?'" Langerman said her confidence grew as she got more time on the floor a year ago. That experience should pay dividends this season as her role looks to expand. ARKANSAS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL LANGERMAN GROWS ON THE RAZORBACKS PAUL BOYD NWA DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Rylee Langerman File Photo

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