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When she transferred from Prep Charter High School, 1928 Point Breeze Ave., to Ss. Neumann-Goretti High School, 1736 S. 10th St., in 2013, Ciani Cryor brought a revered pass-first mentality to the basketball team. Discovering the fun of complementing teammates’ buckets with her own, the gutsy guard began to shoot more, with proof of her respectable range coming Jan. 7 when she reached 1,000 career points.
“It’s definitely not something I had thought of years ago because as a leader, I saw myself as someone who needed to set people up,” the 17-year-old said Tuesday at her East Passyunk Crossing-based school. “I learned to like scoring and now that I have started to shoot the ball more, I feel I’m more of an asset.”
The Southwest Philly inhabitant hit the four-digit milestone in the Saints’ 78-15 home court annihilation of Little Flower. Needing 18 points for the mark, she generated them in the frenetic first quarter, with the historic figure coming via a fastbreak layup.
“I have to confess that even though scoring isn’t my main thing, I wanted to hit 1,000 that game because I wanted it out of the way so I could focus on team goals,” Cryor said. “I feel blessed to have an individual honor, but that’s not what I’m all about.”
The 5-foot-5 force found herself so committed to capturing more glory for the club, which last year won the Catholic League and District 12 City title on its way to a 29-1 haul, that she entered this campaign not knowing her proximity to the mark. Former Saints’ coach Letty Santarelli suggested Cryor contact ex-Prep Charter head man Paul Reiser for her tallies when she hoisted jumpers at the West Passyunk institution. Despite not having ledgers from every contest, Cryor took the agreed-upon total and viewed adding a comma to her scoring column as a secondary yet no less satisfactory element of her senior season.
“We have a very strong team, and I love having such a role in what Coach P. is looking to get us to believe,” she said of first-year leader Andrea Peterson. “For a long time, everybody only talked about the boys’ team here, so it’s been great to have us develop our swagger, too.”
Cryor especially enjoys that she is gaining more renown as a reliable presence through playing parochial foes, as she admitted that Public League opposition did not often require that she and the Huskies put out intense effort.
“At Neumann-Goretti, I feel there’s more preparation and execution,” she said. “My motto is ‘Go hard, or go home,’ so I’m definitely getting more out of this, with all due respect to my time in the Public League.”
Because of the immersion and her constantly evolving maturity and focus, Cryor contends that the Saints have formed a tight circle and have even more camaraderie and commitment than last year’s championship roster.
“We’re accountable to one another, and we love getting a better feel for how to become even more in sync,” the perpetually positive floor general said. “Frankly, I think other teams should be scared to play us because we’re so focused on our mission.”
Cryor has been crafting her tenacious mindset since her early grade school days, with her three older brothers playing pivotal parts in her hoops journey.
“I’ve never gone light on myself,” she said. “I’ve had great motivators in my life, especially my mother, so I’ve developed great faith in myself.”
Devoting herself to developing mental and physical fortitude, Cryor called on her Prep Charter tenure and Amateur Athletic Union involvement to reflect her appreciation for great mentors, with becoming a successor to those voices an unplanned boon.
“I do appreciate that my teammates look to me to be a motivator,” she said. “I love seeing us improve, and I love winning.”
Early on, her skill set and ambition brought interest from colleges and universities but not the amount that she felt she should have merited from being a selfless and tireless performer. Joining the AAU’s Philly Belles, she earned even more looks, with last year’s success for Neumann-Goretti, for whom she averaged 12.5 points in earning First-Team All-Catholic honors and Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association District 12 AA MVP kudos, helping suitors such as Georgia Tech University and Rutgers University, where former Prep Charter standout Kahleah Copper stars, to take notice. In November, Cryor announced her decision to head to Georgia Tech, whose personnel she commends as “lovable” and enthused about the squad’s prospects with her helming the point.
“Coach [MaChelle] Joseph sees a lot in me, and I want to be a great competitor for the Yellow Jackets,” Cryor said of looking forward to matriculating in the Peach State and playing Atlantic Coast Conference behemoths such as Duke University and the University of North Carolina. “Beyond basketball, though, I’m interested in becoming a better person, too.”
Though Cryor, who intends on majoring in business administration with a minor in sports, science and technology, anticipates a fantastic career at Georgia Tech, which has generated high marks from evaluators for its recruiting class, she wants to arrive on campus with even more memories from her high school sojourn. The Saints advanced to the State Class AA final a year ago, falling 58-50 to part with their pursuit of perfection. Due to this year’s improved cohesiveness, she expects her unit not only to return to the championship duel but to walk away the victor.
“We want to do this for one another,” Cryor said. “It’s great to think about last year, but we have unfinished business.”
Contact Managing Editor Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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