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By Joseph Staszewski
Brooklyn Daily
Beating players half his age on the basketball court is nothing new to Jack Ryan, and him doing so is becoming an inspiration to others his age.
The 53-year-old John Jay High School alum — nicknamed “Black Jack” — was one of eight players of ages 45–60 who took on a team of much younger players in a new Centrum Vitamin web video titled “These old guys still got game?”
Streetball announcer and friend Bobbito Garcia recommended Ryan to Centrum. The team played four pickup games to 21 points at Manhattan’s Goat Park, one of streetball’s most revered playgrounds. His squad did not lose a single contest.
“Those young guys didn’t want to lose to us and we didn’t want to lose to those guys, ” Ryan said.
The video has gone viral. It has amassed more than 850,000 views as of last weekend. Other men his age have left comments on the video cheering them on and saying that they are going to try to get back in shape after watching it.
“It’s inspiring for older people to say, ‘I ain’t stopping. I’m going to keep playing. The heck with these young punks,’ ” Ryan said.
It is a motto Ryan lives by. He makes his living performing basketball tricks, motivational speaking and a little comedy at halftimes, camps, assemblies, and parties. When he is not doing that, the streetball legend is on his bike riding from park to park for pick up contests or to a league game.
“I still have that fire in me,” Ryan said. “I want to go out. I not only want to win, I want to score every basket and I want to make you look bad. I get such a thrill out that. It’s such a high, like no other.”
The sharpshooter was arguably the older guys’ best player in the video, though he joked that people thought it was fixed because he got a rebound. Ryan comes off a screen at the top of key to hit the game-winning shot in the team’s fourth and finally game. He proceeded to yell into the camera in celebration. There had been plenty of trash talking up to that point.
“We knew we had to get Jack Ryan the ball, because Jack doesn’t miss,” teammate and Cardozo boys’ basketball coach Ron Naclerio said.
He and his teammates are hoping they can get back on the court again together. If the video gets enough views they see a television commercial or even a reality show in their future.
“Is 100,000 going to be good, half a million, three million?” Ryan said. “What’s the number we need to make?”
One thing is certain. Ryan’s age is one number he isn’t concerned with.