Ricardo Ratliffe

Ricardo Ratliffe
Free agent
Position Power forward
Personal information
Born (1989-02-20) February 20, 1989
Hampton, Virginia
Nationality American / South Korean
Listed height 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight 245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school Kecoughtan (Hampton, Virginia)
College
NBA draft 2012 / Undrafted
Playing career 2012–present
Career history
2012–2015 Mobis Phoebus
2015–2016 Seoul Samsung Thunders
2016 Star Hotshots
2016–2017 Seoul Samsung Thunders
2017 Star Hotshots
Career highlights and awards

Ricardo Preston Ratliffe or Ra Gun-ah[1] (born February 20, 1989) is an American-born South Korean basketball player who last played for the Star Hotshots of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Ratliffe played collegiately at the University of Missouri.

Early life and college career

Ratliffe, born in Hampton, Virginia, played at Kecoughtan High School and the College of Central Florida. While there, he twice earned first team National Junior College Athletic Association All-American honors. He averaged 27.4 points and 11.3 rebounds per game as a sophomore.[2]

To complete his college career, Ratliffe chose Missouri over Alabama, Clemson and Arkansas. He averaged 10.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in his junior season and was named Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Year.[3]

In his senior season, Ratliffe helped lead the Tigers to a 30-5 record and a Big 12 tournament championship. Ratliffe averaged 13.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game as the team's primary post presence. At the close of the season, Ratliffe was named second team All-Big 12.[2] On the season, Ratliffe attained a 69.3% field goal percentage, which led the nation for the 2011–12 season and was a Missouri and Big 12 Conference record.[2] Ratliffe spent much of the season chasing the all-time single-season NCAA record of 74.6%, held by Steve Johnson of Oregon State, leading the mark as late as February, 2012.[4]

Following the close of the regular season, Ratliffe competed in the 2012 Reese's College All-Star Game at the 2012 Final Four. He scored 21 points and collected 10 rebounds to earn the West team's "Perfect Player" award.[5]

Professional career

Following the close of his college career, Ratliffe was not selected in the 2012 NBA draft. However, he was the first American college player selected in the Korean Basketball League. He was selected sixth overall by Ulsan Mobis Phoebus and began his professional career with them in the 2012–13 season.[6]

In 2014, Ratliffe won the William Jones Cup MVP and joined teammates Chang Yong Song and Tae Young Moon on the tournament Best Five. At the William Jones Cup, He averaged 24.3 points, 15.7 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game.

On March 5, 2016, Ratliffe was signed by Star Hotshots of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) to replace Denzel Bowles who had to leave for the United States after the death of a relative.[7]

In January 2018, Ratcliffe became a naturalized South Korean.[8] Ratliffe played for the South Korean team against a North Korean team in Pyongyang Arena, Pyongyang, during a July 2018 friendly match.[9]

References

  1. ↑ www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20180629000590
  2. 1 2 3 "Ricardo Ratliffe Missouri bio". Missouri Tigers. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  3. ↑ "2011 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Men's Basketball Awards Announced". Big 12 Conference. March 6, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  4. ↑ Fallstrom, R. B. (February 14, 2012). "Ricardo Ratliffe chasing NCAA single-season accuracy mark". KSDK.com. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Marquette's Crowder Leads East All-Stars to Win in Reese's College All-Star Game". National Association of Basketball Coaches. March 30, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  6. ↑ Walentik, Steve (July 26, 2012). "Ratliffe drafted into Korean Basketball League". Columbia Tribune. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  7. ↑ Sacamos, Karlo (March 5, 2016). "Star Hotshots to field new import Ricardo Ratliffe in place of Denzel Bowles in game against TNT Texters". Spin.ph. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  8. ↑ Lee, Tae-dong (22 January 2018). "U.S. Basketball Player Becomes Naturalized Korean". The Chosun Ilbo. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  9. ↑ Denney, Steven; Abrahamian, Andray (July 17, 2018). "A Black Korean in Pyongyang". Foreign Policy.
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