After verbally committing to play basketball at Mizzou in October, all that was left for senior Ryan Rosburg, center, was to sign on the dotted line. That’s just what he did in the new Weight Room on Thursday, Nov. 10.
But Ryan is not the first in his family to have his name on the Tigers’ basketball roster. Earlier this year Ryan’s brother Andy, a senior at MU, was offered a spot as a walk-on after accompanying Ryan on a visit with the team.
Andy played varsity basketball at MHS for three years before deciding to attend MU and work on a degree in engineering instead of playing collegiate basketball.
“Andy was good enough to play Division II basketball, no doubt, but he had his mind set on getting an engineering degree,” Shane Matzen, varsity boys basketball head coach and Andy’s coach for three years, said. “He put his education before anything else, and you’ve got to give him credit for that.”
Given his time away from the game, Andy said he was in a state of disbelief when he was offered a spot as a walk-on, an offer usually made to prospective freshmen who may contribute to the team in later years.
“It was a very surreal time for me,” Andy said. “If you would have told me three months ago that I would be a part of a Division I basketball team, I wouldn’t have believed you. I realized that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I decided to take full advantage of it.”
What followed the decision to join the team was a test of Andy’s endurance both physically and mentally. While all the other players his age have been playing college basketball for three years, Andy has had to push himself to keep up.
“The first couple weeks with these guys were some of the hardest days, physically, that I have ever been through,” Andy said. “I have so much respect for these guys because they were here all summer working their butts off to prepare for this sort of thing. I knew when I agreed to do this that it was going to be extremely hard, but you never really know until you experience it. It was definitely a rude awakening for me.”
Matzen said he knows Andy will have a lot of catching up to do with the boys of Mizzou basketball, but if he’s learned anything from coaching Ryan and Andy over the span of six going on seven years, it’s that the Rosburgs have an incredible work ethic.
“Andy deserves the spot and he can’t let anyone take away from that,” Matzen said. “He works so hard and the coaches at Mizzou can see it, I’m sure. Division I teams don’t recruit anyone just because they’re somebody’s brother, Andy knows that. He deserves that spot.”
Ryan said he agreed Andy is a player well deserving of this attention.
“I was really happy for Andy when he got that spot because I know it was in a life time opportunity,” Ryan said. “He’s a very deserving person, and I’m glad he got a chance.”
While he already had his mind set on attending MU, Ryan said he got that extra push he needed to send him over the decisive edge when he heard about Andy’s recruitment.
“I knew I wanted to go to Mizzou,” Ryan said. “But what happened with Andy was definitely a tipping point that finalized it all for me.”
Ryan and Andy are five school years apart, meaning they’ve never played on the same team. Andy spent three years on the MHS varsity boys basketball squad setting records, and Ryan has spent four breaking them. Andy said he feels nothing but pride in his younger brother. There’s no sibling rivalry or any resentment between the two of them.
“Many people have asked me how I feel about my younger brother breaking all of the records that I set back in high school and they assume that I hate it, but I don’t” Andy said. “I tell them that if anyone were to break my records, I would want it to be my brother. I have always supported him in everything he does and I take just as much pride in his success as he does in himself.”
Ryan said he doesn’t feel any tension with Andy either.
“I’m sure he doesn’t like to see his records broken, as nobody does,” Ryan said. “But I know he likes that they’re staying in the family. If anyone’s going to break his records, he’d like it to be me.”
Now that Andy has a spot on the MU basketball team, he’s weighing two options: the first being to graduate in May and begin working and the second being to attend graduate school at MU and continue to play basketball. If Andy decides the latter, there’s a chance that the two towering Rosburg boys could share the same floor.
“I’m still going over my options, but the thought of playing with my brother is awesome,” Andy said. “Not many siblings ever get the chance to be teammates, let alone on a major Division I team. I’ve talked with him about and we both know how awesome of an experience that would be.”
Ryan said he really enjoys entertaining the idea of getting to stand side by side with his older brother in Mizzou Arena.
“[Being teammates] will be easier for us than most people,” Ryan said. “We have similar styles and we grew up together so we both know what each other can do and so we can play off of each other like that.”
Matzen said the two Rosburg brothers will have no problem meshing together on the court.
“I don’t care who you put on the floor with either of them, they’ll still play together as a team because they are so unselfish and such team players that they’re going to make that happen,” Matzen said.
Regardless of whether they get to play together, Andy said, he is overjoyed with Ryan’s success so far.
“I have always been [Ryan’s] biggest fan and I know he has always been mine,” Andy said. “Obviously, I am thrilled that he is going to Mizzou next year even if I won’t be here. I know he will succeed here and has the ability to do some great things.”