How Ricky Council IV has made an instant impact in his freshman season
Wichita State freshman Ricky Council IV cuts the net celebrating Wichita State first AAC regular season title on March 6 at Charles Koch Arena.
Despite his inexperience, Wichita State guard Ricky Council IV has made a strong impact in his freshman campaign.
Ricky is the son to Rick and Ruth Council and has three older siblings who have experience playing basketball at the collegiate level.
Ricky Council II, his oldest brother, played his college basketball career at Providence and UMBC. His middle brother, Ricky Council III played his college basketball career at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M junior college. His sister, Rhianna, is a redshirt senior guard at the University of North Carolina Greensboro.
Council said he received good advice from his siblings on what the collegiate basketball lifestyle is like, before stepping foot onto Wichita State’s campus.
“You have resources as far as the gym, trainers and weight training, all of that,” Council said. “Just use your resources that was the main thing I used to hear.”
Council, a North Carolina native, played his high school basketball career at Northern High School in Durham, N.C. Council was a 1,000 point scorer in his high school career and was a first-team all-district and all-conference player, averaging nearly a double-double as a senior with 23 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.
Council said the basketball talent in North Carolina is very impressive and the talent he played against had an impact on his improvements as a basketball player.
“We are known as one of the best basketball states in the country,” Council said. “Just playing there helped me get better. (I) played against some pros and college stars, I played against a little bit of everybody and it just helped me to get better.”
Council was rated as a three-star prospect according to Rivals and 247 Sports. Council was sought after by many other Division-I schools and received many offers outside of Wichita State.
“University of North Carolina Greensboro, Old Dominion, UMBC, Elon,” Council said. “Some schools on the east coast pretty much, not really the bigger ones, they were contacting me, but never gave me an official offer.”
Ultimately, Council elected to take his talents to Wichita State and believes the combination of the situation, coaching staff and the American Athletic Conference is what swayed him to be a Shocker.
“I felt like it would be a good situation, good league,” Council said. “I like the league . . . I felt like it would give me a lot of exposure if I played well and the coaching. I trust the staff.”
In his first year in a Shocker uniform, Council said he has relied on his teammates for advice on and off the court. “Dexter, Alterique, Tyson, Morris,” Council said.
“They’ve all been a freshman and they’ve been through what I’m going through. When I’m having a bad game or I’m not feeling too good, they’ll just be like stick with it, you got a bright future.”
On Feb. 26, Isaac Brown was officially announced as the Head Coach of Wichita State men’s basketball. Council believes that Brown has made a major impact on the freshman’s confidence and his game.
“He just pushes me and trust, that’s one thing I’m a freshman, to even put me out there is a big decision,” Council said. “The fact that he’s giving me the opportunity to play. I’m just happy about that.”
Council is averaging 7.5 points-per-game along with 4.1 rebounds per game. The freshman guard has scored double-digit points in six games, including a career-high 23 points against Cincinnati on Jan. 10. Council is having a great start to his Shocker career and he isn’t surprised to how quickly his game has translated to the Division-I level.
“Confidence is key and I’ve had that from the jump, my whole life really,” Council said. “I felt like I’ve put the work in for sure. I’m just glad that I was given the opportunity, because if I wasn’t given the opportunity then nothing would be happening.”
Council had many goals he set prior to stepping foot on the hardwood floor at Charles Koch Arena. The six-foot-six guard had high expectations for himself and his team.
“I just wanted to be productive, I feel like I’m doing that,” Council said. “I wanted to just help my team go the furthest that we can in the NCAA tournament, that’s coming up and I’m really excited for that.”
Next up for the Shockers is the American Athletic Conference Tournament on March 11-14 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. Wichita State is the tournament’s number one seed and will play Friday, March 12 at 11 a.m.
Joe Baker is a sports reporter with The Sunflower. Baker is a senior from Andover, Kan. Baker is majoring in communications with an emphasis in journalism....
Louis Daniels • Mar 9, 2021 at 1:36 am
Joe- spot on article on Ricky C. He is a player, that along with 4 or 5 others off bench if the come with the starters and keep tempo, shot making, pure defense and free throws, mark my words have a chance to play into 2 or three weekends.. Ricky and 3 bench teammates need to get double figure scoring. And a few double figures in rebounds. We’ll play deep.. due to its a different season unlike any other..so there’s a chance..I live in Sacramento but grew up 2 blocks away..still come for family visits and run bleachers. Always a wheatshocker!…sold popcorn, peanuts in arena as a boy. And played at friends university still love and follow shocker ball. Louis Daniels.