Seeing significant playing time off the bench, Pella High boys’ basketball freshman, Ryan VanWyk has proven he will be a fun player to watch over the next four seasons. VanWyk was a key contributor in Pella’s come-from-behind victory over Ballard on December 10, scoring nine points, with the majority of them coming from the free throw line down the stretch to help ice the game. The freshman even had chants from the student section of, “He’s a freshman” after driving past several defenders into the lane for an easy lay-up. But VanWyk says he’s learned a lot from Coach Mark Core about how to improve his defending skills. VanWyk is normally joined by sophomore Payson Vande Lune as the first two players off the bench, and the tandem has combined to score almost 11 points per game.