Golden 1 Center has been pretty good to men’s basketball senior guard Ryan Langborg .
In 2019, as a senior at La Jolla Country Day High School (La Jolla, Ca.), he scored 23 points while registering 17 rebounds and six assists en route to a California Division III state title over San Francisco University High School (San Francisco, Ca.) and game MVP honors.
Fast-forward four years, and Langborg has found success in Sacramento once again; this time, as a member of the Princeton men’s basketball team. Last weekend, the Tigers recorded two upset wins in Golden 1 Center over Arizona and Missouri, en route to the school’s first Sweet 16 appearance of the modern tournament era.
“At the time, the state championship was one of the coolest moments of my life,” Langborg told The Daily Princetonian. “It was great to go back there and have repeat success. I’ll always have great memories of Sacramento and that gym.”
Langborg has been instrumental in the Tigers’s historic Sweet 16 run. He played 32 minutes against Arizona, helping shut down the Wildcats guard Courtney Ramey and scoring the go-ahead basket with just over two minutes to play.
Senior guard Ryan Langborg attacks the basket against Arizona in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Wilson Conn / The Daily Princetonian
Against Missouri, Langborg picked up where he left off with his heroics at the end of the Arizona game, leading the Tigers in scoring and hitting a number of deep three-point baskets. He finished the game with 22 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
“I felt good in warmups, and tried to be as aggressive as I could,” Langborg said. “The ball was going in and my teammates set me up really well.”
This year’s tournament success is the culmination of a lifelong love of basketball for Langborg.
“I’ve been playing basketball since before I knew what it was. I used to put a ball through my parents arm on planes,” he said. “I fell in love with the competition and grew up a big Richard Hamilton fan.”
Later in his childhood, Ryan had one of the best high school careers one could imagine. He was a four-year starter at La Jolla Country Day, winning not only the state championship his senior year, but also the 2016 San Diego CIF Championship his first year.
He holds the school record with 2,456 points scored in his career, and the single-game record with 42 points. He ranks eighth all-time in San Diego CIF Section history and was the 2019 California Division III State Player of the Year. Langborg committed to Princeton in the summer after his junior year.
The Ivy League is in Langborg’s bloodline. His father, Kurt swam at Yale, and told him from a young age that “at some point, the ball is going to stop bouncing,” and that he must be prepared for life after. Langborg said this is the reason why he chose to play at Princeton, where both academics and athletics are valued.
“This school has given me so much. It’s made me grow up in such a short period of time,” he said. “It’s not only about athletics, it’s about academics as well, and this is a place where I can get the best of both worlds.”
“We believe we’ve shown this year that you can play at an Ivy League school and still be competing with the top basketball schools in the country, whilst coming out with a great degree at the end,” he added.
During his first year with the Tigers, Langborg saw action and was an impactful player from the beginning. He featured in 20 contests, starting nine of them, with his season-high in points coming in a defeat to Big Ten powerhouse Indiana.
Senior guard Ryan Langborg had 22 points in the 2023 NCAA Second Round matchup against Missouri.
Wilson Conn / The Daily Princetonian
Unfortunately for the Tigers, the Ivy League canceled the entire 2020–21 athletic season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was a major decision, considering the fact that most other conferences were going ahead with their season.
“Covid was hard on all of us,” he said. “Watching other universities play while the Ivy League sat out definitely fueled my fire.”
“It made us all appreciate the game, appreciate being together, [which is] something that we can’t take for granted. [This] translates to our play on the court.”
Coming out of the canceled season, Langborg was a big contributor to the squad in the 2021–22 year. He finished the season ranked third in the Ivy League in three point percentage (40.5 percent) whilst averaging 2.3 made three-point shots made per game.
Langborg’s senior season has arguably been his best yet. He has featured and started in all 31 games, averaging 12.3 points. However, prior to the NCAA tournament, Langborg was “snubbed” from the All-Ivy teams.
“I don’t need the individual accolades,” Langborg said. “I’d rather the team succeed and I’m proud of the guys, [senior forward Tosan Evbuomwan and junior guard Matt Allocco] they deserved it”.
Langborg has undoubtedly proved his deservingness of an All-Ivy spot with his tournament play, which has also recently earned him a bit of celebrity online. After the big win against Missouri, Langborg was trending on social media due to his LinkedIn profile. Last summer, he interned as an acquisition analyst at a commercial real estate company in San Diego.
“I’ve had 500 to 600 LinkedIn requests this past week,” Langborg said jokingly. “A guy on TikTok said, ‘You just lost to an acquisition analyst.’ It’s all just jokes and fun.”
Right now, Langborg is uncertain whether he will pursue real estate or professional basketball after graduating in May. For now, he is focused on enjoying the team’s March Madness.
“We’re just overjoyed with the opportunity, but also trying to be as tough as we can on the court,” Langborg said.
“It’s a great feeling to have the whole university behind us.”
Hayk Yengibaryan is an assistant editor for the Sports section at the 'Prince.'
Please direct any corrections requests to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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