By Rick Armstrong

The kid has always had a flair for the dramatic on the basketball court.

Anyone who saw him score 45 points to lead his East Aurora basketball team to a regional championship upset of Neuqua Valley in overtime last March knows that about Ryan Boatright.

Apparently those talents aren't limited to athletics, as 31 members of his family and this Beacon-News reporter found out Sunday evening.

We were invited by his mother Tanesha to their home on Watson Street on Aurora's east side for dinner and "the decision." She and Ryan had returned from an official visit to Providence College in Rhode Island earlier that afternoon.

He would be deciding between a scholarship offer to play for the Friars and West Virginia, where they had visited the previous week.

On hand were his great grandmother, 80-year-old Loraine Bedford; grandparents Tom and Linda Boatright as well as four aunts, Katrina Boatright-Smith, Lakeya Poston, Tenille Boatright and Tominque Boatright along with a bunch of cousins.

He had everyone gather in the living room then entered wearing a Miami Univeristy hat and black-and-white loosefitting hoody. Everyone knew the hat was a ruse. Even though the Hurricanes had long been in the mix recruiting him, they had cooled after receiving a verbal commitment from another high-profile point guard the previous week.

Declaring, "You know I gotta score, I've gotta have the ball," Boatright unzipped the sweatshirt to reveal a black Providence T-shirt with his name on the back.

The Americans are going home empty-handed from the biennial Albert Schweitzer International Youth Tournament for a fifth straight time.

The United States 18-under team, including East Aurora junior Ryan Boatright, fell to the German national 17-under team 79-68 Saturday in the bronze medal game for the tournament. The Americans had dropped a semifinals decision to the 18-under German national team on Friday night.

Australia later beat the 18-under Germans 68-51 for the championship.

Boatright had 18 points Saturday and averaged 19.6 points in the tournament, which included seven games in eight days.

Here's the Stars and Stripes account of Saturday's bronze medal game.

A tired Ryan Boatright still managed to score a game-high 19 points and pull down 10 rebounds but his U.S. 18-under team dropped a 64-59 decision the 18-under Germany team and was eliminated from title contention in the Albert Schweitzer International Youth Tournament in Germany.

The Americans will meet the 17-under German team for the bronze medal on Saturday while the 18U Germans meet the Australian team for the gold.

Here's the Stars & Stripes account of the U.S. semifinal loss.

Ryan Boatright had a game-high 27 points Thursday but his United States 18-under team dropped a 79-66 decision to Australia Thursday at the Albert Schweitzer International Youth Tournament in Germany.

The good news, though, is that the American still advanced to the final four of the event, along with the Aussies, thanks to the scoring differential tiebreaker. If the U.S. had lost by 14 or more points, Spain would have advanced.

The Americans were scheduled to meet the German 18-under team on Friday. Those two met in an exhibition before the start of the tournament with the Germans winning by 10 points in overtime. The Australians will met the German 17-under team with the two winners playing Saturday for the title.

Here's a report from Stars & Stripes on the Americans' loss to Australia.

The United States 18-under team playing in the biennial international Albert Schweitzer Tournament did it again Wednesday, handing Spain its first loss 91-81 in pool play that will help determine semifinalists for the tourney.

East Aurora's Ryan Boatright (19 points) was the second leading scorer for the Americans, who play Australia Thursday night in Mannheim, Germany. If they win, they move on to the semifinals, if not, advancement could be decided on a points differential tiebreaker.

Here's the report on the game from Stars and Stripes' reporter Rusty Bryan.

They're movin' on.

Ryan Boatright scored a team-high 21 points Monday to lead the United States 18-under men's team to a 61-53 victory over Argentina in their final game of pool play in the Albert Schweitzer international youth tournament in Mannheim, Germany.

The Americans went 2-1 in pool play and advance, along with Croatia, to the medal round featuring the top eight teams in the 16-team field. Here's the Stars & Stripes story detailing the game and what lies ahead.

The U.S. plays Spain on Wednesday and Australia on Thursday. The top two teams in this pool, which includes Croatia, advance to the tourney semifinals.

No word yet from East Aurora's Ryan Boatright on his American team's one-point loss to France on Easter Sunday. It drops the U.S. 18-under team to 1-1 in pool play of the Albert Schweitzer Tournament being played in Germany.

Boatright had 21 points in the loss, which is detailed in this story from Stars & Stripes.

Ryan Boatright and his USA 18-under teammates opened pool play in the Schweitzer Tournament in Germany on Saturday night, squeaking out a 70-69 win over Croatia.

Boatright, who finished with 12 points, scored his team's final seven after the Croatians had rallied to tie. He did, however, miss some key free throws late in the game. Here's the story from Stars and Stripes.

Keep checking here for Boatright's personal commentary on the tournament.

Ryan Boatright of the United States (left) drives to the basket against Croatia's Marko Ramljak late in the game at the Albert Schweitzer tournament in Mannheim, Germany, Saturday night. The United States beat Croatia 71-69 in its first game of the tourney.
(Stars and Stripes photo)

Ryan Boatright and the 18-under USA team open pool play in less than two hours (8 p.m. in Mannheim, Germany) against the Croatia national team. Tomorrow the Americans play France and Monday they meet Argentina before moving on to the "qualification round."

Boatright led his team with 19 points in Thursday's 76-66 overtime exhibition loss to the 18-under German team and followed it with this blog entry for the Beacon News:

"Well, I didn't even know I led the team in scoring, so that's good news. lol.

"The team is pretty good on sharing the ball and not complaining about pt (playing time). We understand it's about the gold medal and not individuals."

East Aurora's Ryan Boatright is as member of the USA Under 18 team playing in the 25th Albert Scweitzer Tournament that opens today in Mannheim, Germany. He's agreed to do a periodic blog, via email, exclusively with The-Beacon News.

The team is coached by former NBA player and Milwaukee Bucks coach, Larry Krystkowiak.

Monday:

"It was a long flight here, we were in the air for 8 hours (last Sunday). I'm dealing with the time OK, but it did throw me off.

"The coaches are cool. Coach Krystkowiak is a nice guy, very funny. I learned a lot of stuff already and had to actually study a playbook."