Ryle basketball star unable to defend state title, MVP due to COVID-19, looks to future at Oregon
UNION, Ky. (BVM) — “This is such an emotional time. I would’ve never imagined this is the way I’d go out. For this to be taken away right now, by something that feels so unfair, hurts. The heartbreak each of us feels on this team is I’m sure what every team and player feels as well. Isaiah 41:10.”
The March 12 tweet from Ryle High School’s guard Maddie Scherr said it all. That day, Scherr, along with all her teammates and the many other high school basketball players in Kentucky, found out the state’s basketball tournament would be postponed due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is such an emotional time. I would’ve never imagined this is the way I’d go out. For this to be taken away right now, by something that feels so unfair, hurts. The heartbreak each of us feels on this team is I’m sure what every team and player feels as well. Isaiah 41:10 pic.twitter.com/MlwzKDdMMe
— maddie scherr (@madd1escherr) March 12, 2020
“Of course right when we heard about the decision it was very upsetting and everyone was very sad and it is hard because it feels so unfair because this is such a rare thing to have happened,” Scherr said. “We understood it even at that time and even a couple of weeks out why they did it and that it was a smart decision, but it obviously stinks for all the seniors and not being able to finish out the year.”
Though it hurt for many players, it may not have hurt anyone more than Scherr.
Scherr’s Lady Raiders team was coming into the tournament as the envy of all the field’s teams, having won the state championship the year before, the school’s first. Ryle also entered the 2019-20 season as Kentucky’s No. 1 team in the state’s preseason rankings. They were a power and in the center stood Scherr.
Scherr is arguably the best player in the state and perhaps the best player, regardless of gender, the northern part of Kentucky has ever seen. Scherr’s basketball resume reads like a to-do list, long and daunting, and could be mistaken for a program’s accolades, not just one student. Two-time First-Team All-State, 2019 state champion, 2019 state tournament MVP and two-time Gatorade State Player of the Year. Scherr was also named a McDonald’s All-American, the first-ever in the northern part of the state, and was listed as a top recruit in ESPNW’s Class of 2020 with the 17th overall ranking nationally.
Her senior season was supposed to be a fruitful one and one that she would remember long after her career was over. But life had a different idea.
On April 21, the Kentucky High School Athletic Association announced the cancellation of the rest of the postponed state basketball tournaments and made an official end to the season. No back-to-back titles, no additional MVP honors. The only recognition Scherr received from the 2020 state basketball tournament was the announcement from the KHSAA saying her season, along with her high school career, were over.
“When I first heard I was kind of shocked and kind of like ‘Well, they’re just going to postpone right?’ because it’s such a rare and weird thing that is going on right now,” Scherr said. “Definitely when we first heard it was strange and there were a lot of emotions going around.”
A University of Oregon signee and part of the top recruiting class in the country, Scherr has a lot of basketball ahead of her, but what she might miss most is the basketball she was forced to leave behind.
“With my senior year ending I know for me I have four more years of basketball to look forward to. So when I was thinking about everything that happened, I really felt for seniors that don’t get to do that,” Scherr said.
The March 12 tweet said it all, even how Scherr will move through what may be the toughest part of her young life. Isaiah 41:10 reads: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
“I definitely wanted to get out there and empathize with how every other team and player is feeling and just the community as a whole, but also try to encourage and let everyone know this decision is what’s best and that it’s going to be OK and it’s not going to be the end of the world,” Scherr said. “I thought about putting out a verse and doing something that was very encouraging and for me (Isaiah 41:10) really comforted me a lot.”
Oregon “O” after committing to play for the team this coming season. (Courtesy: Rick Scherr)
Although Scherr would not be able to finish her high school career the way she hoped, she is not dismayed. Looking ahead to her time at Oregon, Scherr is excited to put her mark on the program.
“It means so much just to be able to see everything that the women’s team has accomplished over the past couple of years and just the legends coming out of that program,” Scherr said. “It is very exciting and an honor.”
Scherr’s newest coach at Oregon, women’s basketball coach Kelly Graves, is equally excited for the guard’s arrival.
“Maddie is one of the best two-way guards in the country. Her versatility is her strength – she can play point guard, she shoots over 40 percent from three-point range, and she is a great rebounder and post-up player. Maddie is one of the nation’s best defenders, as well,” Graves said in a University of Oregon Athletics press release. “She is a winner, a competitor, an unselfish superstar, and a great student and leader.”
Scherr wants to bring her winning ways with Ryle to Eugene.
“I want to win some championships at Oregon,” Scherr said of her goals with the Ducks. “Definitely just winning and getting better at basketball and just becoming the best basketball player and growing as a person too and just making some great relationships with those people.”
