Ryley Beaumont is unassuming, in a word.

When I met with him at the end of the basketball season to interview him for our season-in-review story, he greeted me with a handshake and brief grin.

We're in the same World History class this semester, and our midterm was four days from the date of our interview. Our teacher had gone over what was going to be on the test.

"Ready for the midterm?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Nope. You?"

"Not even close," I replied, looking up.

Beaumont is 6-foot-7, 215 pounds, turning 21 this fall and probably the best rebounder for the Phoenix. He averaged a team-high 5.8 boards a contest this past season and chipped in seven points per game in 31 starts.

He said this year was especially crucial for him in a team aspect.

"The big thing for me was getting my role on the team," he said. "I think that started happening towards the end of the year, getting a role of what I need to do to help the team to win, and be more successful."

Beaumont averaged 10.1 points per game in the last seven games of the regular season, scoring 20 points for the Phoenix in the final game against UNC-Greensboro Feb. 25. We named him as the Most Improved player on the men's basketball team.

Head coach Matt Matheny, however, looks to Beaumont's down-low play as his biggest attribute.

"I think he’s the toughest guy we’ve got," he said. "I think it shows up in rebounding numbers, I think it shows up on winning plays, and I think it shows up with the way he communicates to his teammates."

Beaumont is part of the big recruiting class of 2014, Matheny's first real recruiting class as head coach. It includes guard Jack Isenbarger, Koch and Troutman. He sees the group's chemistry as probably the biggest asset the Phoenix will have going into next season.

"The core of my class, me, Jack, Sebastian, Lucas, we’ve been playing with each other for two years now," he said. "We’re really starting to click with each other, know what we’re going to do. And that’s really important, especially with losing just one guy. It’s definitely going to help, going into practice next year and knowing exactly what each other does, it’s definitely going to be good."

That "one guy" they're losing is guard Drew Spradlin to graduation. Beaumont said that Drew has been a "mentor" to him.

"Drew is a great leader," he said. "Since I’ve been here, he’s been a mentor to me, telling me what I need to do on and off the court, off-days, how I’m getting better, and on the court, little tiny things to get better. He’s always been talking a lot to me and to the entire team.

"That’s something that we, as a unit, have talked about, just taking over as more of a leadership role because we are going to lose Drew as a leader and that’s something we need to replace."

Beaumont will be one of those people that Matheny will look on to provide leadership.

"It was an interesting team this year that Drew was the only senior," he said. "We had very good team chemistry. But we also had sophomores that were leaders. It was a feeling-out process of, ‘Can the sophomores step up and lead? When should they lead?’ and how all that works out. Now with Drew going, he leaves behind the baton and says, ‘Take it over.’"

One of those key players that will join Beaumont in making an impact on the leadership side of things is Isenbarger, Beaumont's roommate and a player about whom the tall forward has great things to say.

"Jack is a great shooter, one of the most pure shooters I’ve played with in a long time," he said. "That’s what he brings, his offense and we really need that."

He displays in talking about his class of recruits that he loves to praise others more than himself. And he talks in "we."

"Even though we won some, we lost some," he said. "We were playing better as a team. We’ll take what we did into next year. And I think that’s going to help fitting into next year."

From the top, all about the team.

We part ways with a handshake and a "good luck" for studying.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first in a series of five pieces about the Elon men's basketball team and their 2011-2012 season written by sports editor Zachary Horner. Other pieces will talk about freshman guard Austin Hamilton, sophomore guard Jack Isenbarger, team chemistry and the class of 2014 and senior guard Drew Spradlin.