Joseph Alexander Ragland (born November 11, 1989) is an American-Liberian professional basketball player for Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League and the EuroCup. He played college basketball for North Platte Community College and Wichita State.

Joe Ragland
Ragland in 2013, while at Pallacanestro Cantù.
No. 1 – Hapoel Tel Aviv
PositionPoint guard
LeagueIsraeli Premier League
EuroCup
Personal information
Born (1989-11-28) November 28, 1989 (age 35)
Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
NationalityAmerican / Liberian
Listed height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Listed weight85 kg (187 lb)
Career information
High schoolWest Springfield
(West Springfield, Massachusetts)
College
NBA draft2012: undrafted
Playing career2012–present
Career history
2012–2013Murcia
2013–2014Cantù
2014–2015Olimpia Milano
2015Karşıyaka
2015–2017Felice Scandone
2017–2018Lokomotiv Kuban
2018–2019Crvena zvezda
2019–2020Cantù
2020–2021Hapoel Eilat
2021–2023Hapoel Holon
2023–2024Peristeri Athens
2024–presentHapoel Tel Aviv
Career highlights and awards

Early life

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Ragland was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. He played basketball for West Springfield High School, where he earned the Lahovich Award as a senior.

College career

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After graduating from high school, Ragland committed to North Platte Community College, of the NJCAA.[1] Ragland was named a First Team NJCAA All-American selection in 2010,[2] as he led his team to an NJCAA tournament appearance,[3] averaging 18.4 points per game, on 56% shooting from the field.[1] Ragland finished his career at North Platte, as the college's all-time leading scorer, with 1,286 total points scored,[4] with career averages of 19.5 points and 3.1 assists per game.[1]

Ragland's performances at North Platte caught the eye of Gregg Marshall, who offered him a scholarship at Wichita State.[3] As a junior with the Shockers, Ragland started 19 games, and led the team in assists. He helped the Shockers to win the 2011 NIT championship.[3] Ragland had a career-high scoring performance against UNLV, with 31 points, to go along with another career high of 8 three-pointers made.[1][5] In his senior college season, Ragland averaged 13.4 points per game, and ranked first nationally in true shooting percentage, at 70.4%.[6] For his performances in the 2011–12 season, he was voted to the First Team of the Missouri Valley Conference.[7] In total, over his two seasons with the Shockers, Ragland appeared in 69 games, and had averages of 10 points, 3 assists, and 2.3 rebounds per game.[8]

Professional career

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Following two solid years as the starting point guard for Wichita State, Ragland entered the 2012 NBA draft. However, he went undrafted. He next played in the 2012 NBA Summer League, with the Golden State Warriors' summer league squad; although he played in all 5 games for the undefeated Warriors summer league team, he was not able to secure an NBA contract with the Warriors.[9]

Murcia (2012–2013)

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In August 2012, Ragland moved to Europe, to start his professional career, after he signed his first pro contract with UCAM Murcia, of the Spanish Liga ACB. He signed a two-year contract with the Spanish club.[10] After accounting himself well for Murcia, who were not in playoff contention, nor in relegation danger, he was loaned near the end of the season, in April 2013.

Cantù (2013–2014)

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In 2013, Ragland was loaned by UCAM Murcia, to the Italian A League side Cantù, to play in the Serie A playoffs.[11] He proved to be an instant hit in Italy, as he played in all of his team's games, and contributed greatly to their run to the league's semi-finals.

Cantù then moved to secure him for the next season, and signed him to a one-year deal in July.[12] It proved to be a wise move for the club, as Ragland became an indisputable starter, and contributed greatly to the team, in both the Italian league, where he made the Lega All-Star Game, and in the European-wide second-tier level EuroCup, where he was the MVP of Round 4 of the competition.[13]

Olimpia Milano (2014–2015)

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Ragland's performances with Cantù caught the eye of the Italian EuroLeague club Emporio Armani Milano, especially after he scored a season-high 27 points against them in April 2014. Ragland signed a two-year contract with Milano in July.[14] Ragland and Milano agreed to rescind the player's contract in July 2015.[15]

Karşıyaka (2015)

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On July 29, 2015, Ragland signed a one-year deal with the Turkish Super League club Pınar Karşıyaka.[16]

Avellino (2015–2017)

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On December 9, 2015, Ragland left Karşıyaka, and he signed with the Italian League club Sidigas Avellino, for the rest of the season.[17] On June 15, 2016, he re-signed with Avellino for one more season.[18]

Lokomotiv Kuban (2017–2018)

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On July 21, 2017, Ragland signed a two-year deal with the Russian VTB United League club club Lokomotiv Kuban.[19]

Red Star Belgrade (2018–2019)

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On August 10, 2018, Ragland moved to Belgrade, and signed with the Serbian Adriatic League club Crvena zvezda (Red Star Belgtade), for the 2018–19 season, with an additional option for one more year.[20]

Darüşşafaka İstanbul (2019)

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On July 19, 2019, Ragland signed a one-year deal with the Turkish Super League club Darüşşafaka Tekfen,[21] but he never appeared in any games with the team, because of an injury.[22]

Cantu (2019–2020)

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On 12 December 2019, Ragland returned to Italy, to play in the Serie A, after he signed again with Cantù.[23]

Hapoel Eilat (2020–2021)

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On July 31, 2020, Ragland signed with the Israeli Premier League club Hapoel Eilat.[24] In the 2020–21 season, he was second in the Israel Premier League in assists, with an average of 7.5 per game.[25] [26]

Hapoel Holon (2021–2023)

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On July 21, 2021, Ragland signed with Hapoel Holon, of the Israeli Premier League. Ragland was pivotal in helping Holon win the Israel League championship in the 2021–22 season, which was the club's first league championship in 13 years. [27]

Peristeri Athens (2023–2024)

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On June 23, 2023, Ragland signed with the Greek Basket League club Peristeri Athens.

Hapoel Tel Aviv (2024–present)

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On June 19, 2024, he signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League.[28]

Personal life

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Ragland obtained Liberian citizenship in November 2012. Under the Cotonou Agreement, that allows him to be counted as an EU player in most European leagues, such as the Italian League and the Spanish League.[29]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

EuroLeague

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2014–15 Milano 24 9 18.6 .386 .346 .828 1.6 2.9 .6 .0 7.2 6.0
2015–16 Karşıyaka 7 5 25.0 .449 .357 .846 3.0 3.1 .7 .1 11.9 11.7
Career 31 14 20.0 .405 .349 .833 1.9 3.0 .6 .1 8.3 7.3

Domestic leagues

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Season Team League GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2012–13 Murcia ACB 25 23.0 .520 .417 .814 2.1 2.4 1.1 .1 11.2
2013–14 Cantù LBA 33 31.0 .558 .462 .821 3.5 3.4 .9 .2 16.2
2014–15 Milano 40 23.0 .597 .441 .829 3.0 3.2 .9 .1 11.1
2015–16 Karşıyaka BSL 6 30.0 .422 .321 .740 3.8 7.7 1.3 .0 13.8
2015–16 Avellino LBA 30 28.5 .473 .400 .855 3.4 3.8 1.4 .0 13.3

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Joe Ragland player bio". Wichita State Athletics. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  2. ^ "NJCAA Basketball All - Americans". North Platte Community College Athletics. Archived from the original on November 6, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Auerbach, Nicole (February 11, 2016). "Holding Court: Q and A with Wichita State's Joe Ragland". USA Today. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  4. ^ "Points Scored Records". North Platte Community College Athletics. Archived from the original on November 6, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  5. ^ Bern, Taylor (December 4, 2011). "UNLV doesn't match Wichita State's energy in loss". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  6. ^ Suellentrop, Paul (September 25, 2016). "Watch former Wichita State guard Joe Ragland make a game-winning triplazo in Supercoppa". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  7. ^ "Doug McDermott Named Larry Bird Player of the Year". Missouri Valley Conference. February 28, 2012. Archived from the original on March 26, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  8. ^ "Joe Ragland College Stats". Sports Reference College Basketball. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  9. ^ "Joe Ragland - 2012 Summer League Statistics", NBA. Retrieved on 17 March 2015.
  10. ^ "Joe Ragland, American point guard for UCAM Murcia". Archived April 2, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Liga ACB, acb.com, 26 August 2010. Retrieved on 17 March 2015.
  11. ^ "Joe Ragland has been ceded to Levono Cantú until the end of the season". Archived April 2, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Liga ACB, acb.com, 30 April 2013. Retrieved on 17 March 2015.
  12. ^ "Pallacanestro Cantù confirms Joe Ragland". Pallacanestro Cantù, 13 July 2013. Retrieved on 17 March 2015.
  13. ^ "Regular Season Round 4 MVP: Joe Ragland, FoxTown Cantu". EuroCup, 7 November 2013. Retrieved on 17 March 2015.
  14. ^ ""My Name is Joe": here we have Ragland!". olimpiamilano.com. July 17, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  15. ^ "Olimpia and Joe Ragland part ways". Olimpia Milano. July 8, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  16. ^ "Karsiyaka inks point guard Ragland". Euroleague.net. July 29, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
  17. ^ "Sidigas Avellino announces Joe Ragland". Sportando.com. December 9, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  18. ^ "Scandone Avellino officially re-signs Joe Ragland". Sportando.com. June 15, 2016. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  19. ^ "Lokomotiv Kuban tabs playmaker Ragland". Eurocupbasketball.com. July 21, 2017. Archived from the original on July 25, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  20. ^ "Joe Ragland mnovi plejmejker Crvene zvezde mts!!!". kkcrvenazvezda.rs. Archived from the original on August 10, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  21. ^ "Darussafaka joins forces with Ragland". eurocupbasketball.com. Archived from the original on July 19, 2019. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  22. ^ "Club Announcement". darussafakabasketbol.com. September 9, 2019.
  23. ^ "CINELANDIA REGALA JOE RAGLAND AI TIFOSI BIANCOBLÙ" (in Italian). pallacanestrocantu.com. December 9, 2019.
  24. ^ "החתמה מרשימה: ג'ו רגלנד מגיע לאילת" (in Hebrew). basket.co.il. July 31, 2020.
  25. ^ "Israel basketball stats, results, box score, scout report and video online | Scouting4U".
  26. ^ עדלאידע: הפועל חולון אלופה אחרי 74:90 על בני הרצליה | ישראל היום https://www.israelhayom.co.il/sport/israeli-basketball/article/11545696?amp=1
  27. ^ "Hapoel Holon lands Joe Ragland". Eurohoops. July 21, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  28. ^ "ברוך הבא, ג'ו רגלנד". hapoeluta.org (in Hebrew). June 19, 2024. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  29. ^ "kilometers in a day and a half to become Cotonou. ACB validate Ragland's Liberian passport". tubasket.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
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