Mourning a rising hoops star

Updated: June 6, 2011 9:47PM

Despite hundreds of teenagers swarming a weekend birthday party at the Ho-Chunk Sports and Expo Center in Lynwood, nothing that occurred night would have predicted deadly gun violence, the club’s general manager said Monday.

That was until gunshots pierced the night, killing Country Club Hills teenager Ryan Royall.

“There were no indications of any problems. There were no fights,” general manager Robert Funmaker told the SouthtownStar. “Of course, I don’t think you can foresee a shooting,” he said.

The 17-year-old Royall, a rising basketball player at Hillcrest High School, was killed in the parking lot while leaving the party early Sunday morning. Another teen was shot, but police say it wasn’t life-threatening.

Between 300 to 500 attended the party Saturday night, but police don’t have any suspects and have not arrested anyone for the shootings, Lynwood Police Detective Jessie Hernandez said Monday. Witnesses are being interviewed, he said.

Because of the crowd’s size, police, “have a ways to go because there were so many people there,” Herandez said. It was too soon to tell whether the shooting was gang-related.

But Funmaker, at Ho-Chunk, said there was no trouble reported during the party. Alcohol was not served there, and employees who served as security guards noticed nothing amiss, Funmaker said. Ho-Chunk employees “are cooperating with the police in any way we can,” Funmaker said.

The center is equipped with security cameras on the interior, but not outside the building, Funmaker said. Footage from cameras has been provided to the police, Funmaker said.

There was a police presence at the party, about two hours before the shooting, Funmaker said.

“We do notify the police when we have a large party. One of the officers stopped by and wrote some parking tickets around 11 o’clock, so they were there during the party,” Funmaker said.

Police were summoned to the center at 12:47 a.m. Sunday, according to a news release. Royall was pronounced dead at 1:21 a.m. at Franciscan St. Margaret Mercy Health Care in Dyer, Ind., according to the Lake County coroner.

Royall, a promising player with the Hillcrest team, loved basketball.

On his Facebook page, he listed NBA star Kevin Durant, of the Oklahoma City Thunder, as his favorite athlete. He wrote: “when your young not much matters when u find something that u care about thats all u got.”

Royall was not just popular in the gym. He had 988 friends listed on his Facebook account.

He enjoyed listening to rap music, listing contemporary rappers Bishop City and Taylor Gang as his favorite musicians. But when it came to TV, he was old school.

“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” which aired from 1990 to 1996 and starred rapper-turned actor Will Smith, was listed as his favorite TV show.

The shocking news of Royall’s death swept through the Hillcrest High School community.

Ryan Troutman cried Monday when he and his teammates talked about the pal who won’t be there when basketball practice starts this fall.

Troutman was one of the first people on the scene after Royall was shot. He was standing outside the passenger side of a car and Royall was outside the driver’s side when they heard shots ring out.

Both hit the ground, but Royall did not get up.

“Ryan made fun things happen in my life,” said Troutman, who will be a senior this fall, just as Royall would have been. “When I didn’t want to go out, he would make me go out and we’d have fun. When I would get mad at basketball, he would calm me down.”

Royall’s teammates were “in a state of shock,” Hillcrest basketball coach Don Houston said.

“It hasn’t hit them yet,” Houston said. “We try to tell them to be careful what they do. You can’t shield them from everything.”

Several teammates said the incident has inspired them to be more cautious.

“You see something starting to happen, leave right there and then,” said Brent Buchanan, a senior this fall.

Royall’s death has taught Jovan Mooring, a junior this fall, to “live life to the fullest.”

“You never know what could happen,” Mooring said.

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