More than just a dunker: the scouting report on Wichita State signee Ricky Council IV
If you have heard of Ricky Council IV, the 6-foot-5 guard out of Durham, North Carolina who signed with Wichita State, there’s a good chance you know him from his collection of viral dunks.
Few players can explode through the air and dunk as viciously as Council, who has the type of raw athleticism and skills that make it hard to believe he was struggling to attract interest from high-major basketball programs before the Shockers came along.
In fact, Council’s best offer before WSU was from Hofstra.
“To be honest, I was kind of frustrated,” Council said. “I don’t think a lot of people could tell, but I was frustrated. My whole life I’ve felt like I was going to be a top player, a top recruit going to one of the biggest schools. And I was talking to those schools, but they just never threw me an offer. I knew the team that actually threw me an offer was the team that really cared about me and that was Wichita State.”
While those dunks turned Council into a viral sensation on the North Carolina prep circuit, his coaches suspect they might have earned Council a “just a dunker” label in the recruiting process. Council would have had the opportunity to dispel that notion this spring on the Under Armour Circuit, but the coronavirus pandemic prompted cancellation of the showcase opportunity.
Council says he doesn’t mind when people know him only for his dunks, but he’s eager to prove he’s much more than just a dunker.
“Usually the most exciting thing someone can do is dunk, so I don’t take it as disrespect,” Council said. “I just want people to know that I can do a lot more than just dunk. I think I’m a really good overall scorer and an underrated passer. I think I’m going to step up my defense, as well.”
The WSU coaching staff sees many similarities between Council and junior-to-be Dexter Dennis. Dennis also did not receive much national recruiting attention and was known mostly for his dunks but developed into the caliber of player to be currently testing the NBA Draft waters after his second season in college.
The two even share a similar build, as Council comes to Wichita at 6-5 and 200 pounds in a body that looks ready to compete right away in the American Athletic Conference. And that’s before he starts his work with WSU strength and conditioning coach Kerry Rosenboom.
“The biggest thing that Ricky is going to benefit from is going to be in a college weight room,” said Fred Cannon, director of Team Felton, the AAU team Council played with. “He’s already an NBA-type athlete. If you add 10-15 pounds of muscle, well let’s just say I think he could get paid a lot of money to play basketball some day.”
Another probable cause for Council’s lack of recruiting hype was that he didn’t regularly play on a shoe circuit until last summer with Team Felton on the Under Armor circuit. That meant he wasn’t playing in front of the right audience, which kept him in relative anonymity.
But what did help Council’s development was his senior year at Southern Durham, where he had to improve his overall game to help the team win. Council averaged 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists, led his team to the Class 3A quarterfinals and was named third team all-state in North Carolina.
“He’s coming from a situation where he had to carry the load,” Cannon said. “He’s an athletic slasher who can definitely fill it up. He’s a tough shot-maker. What I think is going to translate the most is his athleticism because it’s just off the charts and using that athleticism to become a versatile defender.”
WSU hopes that is where Council can also follow in Dennis’ footsteps: embracing the defensive end and using his supreme athleticism to become a lock-down defender.
His former AAU coach certainly sees that potential.
“What makes Ricky special is that he’s so athletic that he can recover,” Cannon said. “Most kids don’t have that. Once they get put on the hip, they’re out of the play. Ricky is never out of the play. If a guy gets a step on him, he can recover and contest shots very well.
“I can see him being a guy that can switch off one through three and depending on the four, he can probably do short stints there as well. I think he can be a four-to-five rebound guy and average a block a game and one or two steals a game.”
Defending and rebounding at a high level are two sure ways to earn playing time under WSU coach Gregg Marshall. That’s likely the route Council will take to see minutes his freshman season.
The WSU coaching staff is very optimistic about the type of offensive player Council can grow to be, but the Shockers won’t need him to do any heavy lifting during his first season. Council could still make an impact on the offensive end of the floor by turning his defense into offense and by running the court for transition opportunities in which he can exploit his hops and ferocious finishing ability.
Council will have time to develop his game, adjust to a much higher level of competition and fine-tune his skills. How quickly Council adjusts to that level will determine how big of an impact he will be able to make at WSU right away.
Cannon believes it’s a question of when, not if.
“He’s a gym rat and he doesn’t mind being coached hard and criticism, so I think he’s going to be a great fit at Wichita State,” Cannon said. “I think his biggest challenge will be adjusting to the experience of playing against 21-, 22-, 23-year-olds and just the size and speed of the game. It’s going to be up to him how fast he can close that gap. But I think he can end up being an all-league guy for Wichita State.”
This story was originally published May 18, 2020 at 10:28 AM.
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