Remembering Ryan Bost!!!!!!!!!!!

Ryan Bost, a former Class of 2019 Evanston High School basketball star was murdered on Monday night November 9th, 2020 by a gun shot wound to the chest. Evanston residents and others will mourn him for a long time, his family will forever. This story though is about Ryan Bost the young man and honoring his life. I can only tell this from my perspective and hope others saw the same as I did.

I have been an Evanston resident for over 20 years, I've gone to many games and sat on the South Side bleachers in Bearsley Gym to the right of the cameras. I am known as one of the hat crew along with Andrew Popp, Larry Daniels, and Albert(not sure of his last name). We've watched Evanston basketball players come and go for at least a generation. We've cracked on officials, coaches, and players. I think they can agree that Ryan Bost was one of the most memorable in the history of the school. This is not for the usual reasons, Ryan was not an offensive juggernaut, nor a big time sky walking dunk machine. Ryan was remembered for us for his defense. I had a name for him, I called Ryan Bost the King of Steals. He could have been Secretary of Defense, but that was reserved for Lance Jones. Watching the games from Ryan Bost's sophomore year to his senior year ending in the State Title game. It was at lot of anticipation for when he would pick a point guard's pocket, or when he would help down and strip a big man of the ball and take it the other way. He would also block a shot or two. Did I mention Ryan Bost was only listed at 5'8"? He may have been 5'6" but could guard anyone from point guard to center. You never felt he was overmatched guarding anyone. He could turn a game around with steals in bunches. He also had a set shot from three which we thought would be blocked repeatedly by defenders. He got the shot off more often than not and hit a bunch of them. He was also an excellent defensive back on the football field. I thought he could have played college football somewhere, but he stopped playing after his sophomore year.

Ryan Bost is the winningest player in Evanston history. That is over 100 years of basketball history at the school!!!!!!!!!! He shares these victory totals with his buddies Lance Jones and Jaheim Holden, both fellow Class of 2019 talents. These young men went to the State Finals in back to back years in their junior and senior years. Evanston finished third and then second, their senior year I thought was the grittiest high school team I've ever seen. Ryan Bost was a big reason for it, as he was intense without letting you see it on the exterior. He was even keeled on the court, never got too high, or too low. He knew how to be a quiet leader. I rarely talked to him outside of basketball, it was usually in the barber shop while waiting to get a cut. He was also quiet and reserved sitting in the shop waiting for a cut. He will always be a part of Evanston basketball history, a huge part. Most I'm sure thought he would be able to grow old and talk about those high school exploits like most former athletes do, but his life was cut tragically short this week.

Ryan Bost's death hit me hard, though not as hard as his family and his teammates Jones and Holden, who he played with since about third grade. It is ironic and terrible that the King of Steals on the basketball court was murdered by human beings trying to steal from him. For me and I hope others he's remembered as a quiet, reserved guiding light, who gave opposing point guards particularly nightmares when bringing the ball up the court. His family and close friends will remember much more. My condolences to all of them and hope reading this eases some of the pain for all of them. My prayers to the Bost family and the Evanston Basketball program.