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R. J. Cole

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R. J. Cole
No. 20 – Rytas Vilnius
PositionPoint guard
LeagueLKL
BCL
Personal information
Born (1999-08-24) August 24, 1999 (age 25)
Union City, New Jersey, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolSt. Anthony
(Jersey City, New Jersey)
College
NBA draft2022: undrafted
Playing career2022–present
Career history
2022–2023Lavrio
2023Löwen Braunschweig
2023–presentRytas Vilnius
Career highlights and awards

R. J. Cole (born August 24, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for Rytas Vilnius of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the BCL. He played college basketball for the Howard Bison and the UConn Huskies.

Early life

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Cole attended basketball powerhouse St. Anthony High School. He was ranked a three-star prospect and maintained a 4.0 grade point average. Cole turned down offers from Boston University and Monmouth to play at Howard, where he believed he could make an immediate impact.[1]

College career

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As a freshman at Howard, Cole averaged 23.7 points per game and 6.2 assists per game, leading the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in both categories. He scored 42 against UNC Wilmington on December 22, 2017; one of his five games in excess of 30 points. Cole was named to the First Team All-MEAC and MEAC Rookie of the Year.[2]

As a sophomore, Cole was named MEAC Player of the Week on five occasions. He had a season-high 36 points in the regular-season finale versus Norfolk State.[3] Cole led the MEAC in scoring with 21.4 points per game. He was named the MEAC Player of the Year and was an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American. Cole led Howard to the College Basketball Invitational, where the team fell to Coastal Carolina despite 14 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals from Cole. After the season, Cole declared for the 2019 NBA draft but did not hire an agent, which left him with the option to withdraw from the draft and return to school for his junior year.[4]

After withdrawing from the draft, Cole transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn). He chose UConn over Alabama and Seton Hall.[5] As a junior, Cole averaged 12.2 points, 4.3 assists, and three rebounds per game in a complementary role to James Bouknight.[6]

On December 21, 2021, Cole reached 2,000 career points in a win against Marquette.[7] He was named to the First Team All-Big East.[8]

Professional career

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On July 22, 2022, Cole signed his first professional contract with Greek club Lavrio.[9] In 20 GBL games, he averaged 13.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1 steal, playing around 30 minutes per contest.

On March 31, 2023, Cole moved to German club Löwen Braunschweig for the rest of the season.[10]

On July 26, 2023, Cole signed a two-year (1 1) contract with Rytas Vilnius of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL).[11]

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  Bold  Career high

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Howard 33 32 37.9 .394 .359 .770 3.9 6.1 1.7 .0 23.7
2018–19 Howard 34 33 35.6 .415 .387 .819 4.1 6.4 1.9 .0 21.4
2019–20 UConn Redshirt Redshirt
2020–21 UConn 23 21 31.1 .387 .386 .770 3.0 4.3 1.2 .0 12.2
2021–22 UConn 33 33 33.5 .415 .339 .858 3.4 4.1 1.1 .1 15.8
Career 123 119 34.8 .404 .366 .804 3.7 5.3 1.5 .0 18.8

References

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  1. ^ Kidwai, Aman (December 27, 2018). "Howard's RJ Cole Is Taking the Road Less Traveled to College Basketball Stardom". Washington City Paper. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  2. ^ "MEAC Announces 2017-18 Men's Basketball Postseason Honors" (Press release). March 2, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  3. ^ "MEAC Announces Men's Basketball All-Conference Honors" (Press release). Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. March 8, 2019. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  4. ^ Maisonet, Eddie (April 9, 2019). "Howard's RJ Cole, MEAC Player of the Year, declares for NBA draft". Andscape. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  5. ^ Borges, David (May 15, 2019). "Howard transfer R.J. Cole commits to UConn". New Haven Register. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  6. ^ Carroll, Charlotte (May 11, 2021). "A dozen thoughts on the UConn men's 12 scholarship players as they try to make another NCAA Tournament". The Athletic. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  7. ^ Borges, David (December 22, 2021). "UConn men top Marquette behind Tyrese Martin's career-high 25 points". The News-Times. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  8. ^ Borges, David (March 6, 2022). "UConn men's basketball team's R.J. Cole, Adama Sanogo, Jordan Hawkins honored by Big East". CT Insider. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  9. ^ "RJ Cole signs with Greek club Lavrio B.C. for his first professional stint". The UConn Blog. July 23, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  10. ^ "Aus Griechenland in die BBL: Löwen verpflichten R.J. Cole". Löwen Braunschweig (in German). March 31, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  11. ^ "Rytas ink RJ Cole, ex Braunschweig". Eurobasket. July 26, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
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