Player Preview: How Can Ryan Mela Build Off a Solid Freshman Year?
Not much went right for Providence after losing Bryce Hopkins in mid-December. The Friars enjoyed an uptick shortly after New Year’s Day — winning four out of five games before the bottom eventually fell out over the final month of the season.
While the loss of Hopkins (and subsequent games played without veterans Wesley Cardet and Jabri Abdur-Rahim) proved too much for the 2024-25 Friars to overcome, it also paved the way for a freshman to exceed the expectations of many.
Ryan Mela spent the first month and a half of his career looking to carve out a role. Even with Hopkins sidelined early, Mela was not a part of Providence’s rotation. He eventually produced his way into a bigger role after a few weeks, but the return of Hopkins on Dec. 3 meant Mela was largely sidelined.
In three games with Hopkins back in the lineup, Mela played six minutes total, including a DNP at URI.
Undeterred, Mela made the most of the minutes that opened when Hopkins went out again.
Mela’s December included steps in the right direction (9 points, 5 rebounds in 18 minutes vs. St. Bonaventure; 7 points, 6 rebounds in 22 minutes against St. John’s; and 5 points, 8 boards at Marquette), but he started to really emerge in January.
He went to work in the first half of an 87-84 loss at UConn, while getting where he wanted to inside against veteran Alex Karaban.
Then PC won the aforementioned four out of five games, with Mela showing particularly well in an 84-65 win over Butler (10 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists) and Seton Hall (7 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists). He added 10 points, seven rebounds, and three assists at Creighton in the only loss during that stretch, and remained a fixture in the lineup from that point on.
“He’s an everyday guy,” Providence head coach Kim English said of Mela following the win over Butler. “He didn’t get to work with us this summer at all. He was rehabbing from a back injury. He’s just gotten better, and better, and better every day. He’s a sponge.”
Few outside of the program saw Mela cracking the rotation — in part due to the lack of high major interest he received outside of PC, and also because of the time he missed in the summer with a bad back.
In fairness, few who followed this program had seen him play prior to last November. Mela consistently produced against the best talent in the country, regardless of his high school ranking — or the opponent.
The 6’6 freshman always had a scoring knack around the rim, hit the defensive glass at a high level, and showed some playmaking chops once given time last year.
By season’s end, Mela and fellow freshman Oswin Erhunmwunse were both named to the Big East All-Rookie Team — a highlight in an otherwise challenging season.
“Both of them are so coachable,” English said of his freshmen last January.
“They’re just such good kids. They’re so coachable, and those kids, those are the Kam Joneses, those are the Eric Dixons, those are the Tyler Koleks, those are the Devin Carters, those are the Baylor Scheiermans, those are the guys that are going to go like that (motions upwards with his hand). They are just all-in on doing whatever they’ve got to do to help the team.”
Mela hit a small bump in the road in late January, but he really came on over the final month of the season. He scored in double figures in five of PC’s final eight contests, including a 14-point, six-rebound, three-assist effort against Butler in the Big East Tournament, an 18-point, six-rebound, four-steal performance in the home finale, and 12 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in the final regular season game at Xavier.
Now Mela enters his sophomore season with a year of Big East experience, the understanding that he can produce at this level, and a healthy offseason behind him. He’s one of the returning veterans on a team looking to blend talented newcomers with some of its more productive holdovers from a season ago.
He’s also one of the returnees who lived through the sting of last season.
What will Ryan Mela’s sophomore season look like?
For all of Mela’s production last year, there’s still plenty of room for growth. He ranked in the 10th percentile nationally in spot-up shooting, shot 9-30 from beyond the 3-point arc, and seemed to get in his head at the free throw line as the season wore on (35-61). He got himself in trouble dribbling into traffic at times, and had his pocket picked at inopportune moments as a freshman.
His Turnover Rate (20.2%) should come down with experience, and Mela will become a lot more difficult to scout if he ups his 3-point percentile this season.
Defensively, it seemed as though he struggled with quicker wings last year, but he was also outstanding on the defensive glass. He actually ranked 46th in the country in Defensive Rebound Percentage as a freshman at 24.5%.
He’s simply a player that helps you in a variety of ways. Mela averaged 7.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game in conference play.
He ranked second on the team in assists (3.8) and rebounds (11.1) per 40 minutes. Mela also was third on the Friars in +/- last year — and he has the highest +/- figure of any returning Friar this season.
Mela did damage in a number of ways offensively, ranking in the 60th percentile as a pick and roll scorer, 71st off screens, 74th on handoffs, and 89th in isolation. His numbers could dip a bit in the latter three categories with more possessions (he had 46 as a pick and roll scorer versus 16 on screens, 15 on handsoffs, and 10 in isolation), but conversely he could see a jump in efficiency in spot-up situations (10th percentile) and on the catch-and-shoot (26th).
While he may lack the shiny new toy appeal of some of the newcomers, Mela figures to play a critical part in the success of English’s team this season. He’s a constant on the glass, has Big East experience, brings a knack for scoring from 17 feet and in — and perhaps most importantly, his game is well-suited for playing with high-level scorers like Jason Edwards and Jaylin Sellers.
Mela can get shooters good looks, as he did in Providence’s win over Villanova in February. These decisions helped provide separation on that night — with the pass to Bensley Joseph the best of the bunch in this sequence:
How many minutes he plays will likely depend on just how far Mela has come at the free throw line and how much opponents will have to respect him beyond the arc. He produces in so many ways that he should play an important role as a sophomore, even on a team with greater depth and scoring options.
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Kevin- great article on Mela. I’m looking for great things from Ryan and the Friars this season. You know what they say: the best thing about Freshmen is they become Sophomores! How true. Go Friars!