WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WTHR) - Purdue sophomore sharpshooter Ryan Cline moved into the starting lineup late in the season for the Big Ten champion Boilermakers. Cline hangs out around the three point line, taking 80% of his shots from long range. But last summer, he was hanging out in the wrong places.
“I was doing bad things with worse people," admitted Cline.
At 9:53 a.m. on June 27th, a Hamilton County Sheriff's deputy responded to a black Lexus parked near the intersection of State Road 38 and Dunbar Road near Sheridan. Cline was behind the wheel, unresponsive with his foot on the accelerator revving the engine. The deputy had to break the passenger side window to turn off the car and then physically wake up Cline. Less than 30 grams of marijuana was found in the console cup holder.
“Obviously what I did, it just hurt so many people that I love,” said Cline during his first extended interview about the incident. “It was something that was never worth it and I know that. Just being able to gain a lot of other people's perspective and just disappointing everybody that I did, it just wasn't worth it. But I know I've become a much better person from it. I should have been focusing more on basketball than those terrible things that I was doing is something that I've learned from and I never want to let my teammates and my coaches down like that."
Cline was arrested and charged with marijuana possession.
“I didn't really care what other people thought. It was just about the fact that I disappointed my whole family, just the fact that I let them down and put them in the public eye. Something that I did to disappoint them was just the absolute worst part for me."
The 19-year-old former Carmel High School star avoided a trial with community service. He did maintenance and grounds work at Northview Church, where he attends. He also visited with kids at the Lafayette Boys & Girls Club, playing dodgeball and billiards. He’s looking forward to going back, even though he’s not required to return.
Cline faced more public consequences as a Purdue basketball player.
"I had a little conversation with the team and I grouped them together and told them what happened and I completely just broke down in front of them,” said Cline. “I just lost myself. They saw how upset I was and how awful the situation. This was the lowest of the lows. They were really there for me."
Cline was suspended initially for a scrimmage, an exhibition and the season opener. Then Head Coach Matt Painter added three more games.
“It was obviously not the best time,” said Cline. “I remember sitting next to my trainer, Chad, during the Villanova game. I was just so edgy. I wanted to be in there so bad. I was telling him I would cut off my left arm to be able to play in this game."
Cline served his punishment, but says it was not a setback to his season.
“It was more of a motivator,” said Cline. “People thought I would come back and not be the player that I had been. Just being able to prove them wrong, now that I'm not paying attention to any of that kind of stuff, has really just made me focus more on basketball and just getting better.”
“When you make a mistake, you can learn from it,” said Painter. “You keep making a mistake it's a pattern of behavior and you have a different set of issues. But hopefully he has learned from that."
Cline has played in every game after his suspension, averaging five points and shooting almost 42% on three pointers.
“Just going down the wrong path is something that can be changed. I look back at it as a really positive story. It's really impacted my life in a very positive way. There were times when I was like, 'Man, I could lose it all.' But just the chances and the people that I have in my life gave me another opportunity and I cannot be more blessed for the situation."
Now Cline hopes to have a positive impact on the Boilermakers road to the Final Four.
“People might say, 'He did this. He did that wrong.' But it's in the past. They can think whatever they want about me. It doesn't matter. All I know is that I'm a great person and that genuinely really care about others, and I care about what my friends and family think of me. I think that they believe that I'm a really good kid."
