Ray Ragelis

{{Short description|American basketball player (1928–1983)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox basketball biography | name = Ray Ragelis | image = | width = | caption = | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 4 | weight_lb = 205 | birth_date = {{birth date|1928|12|10}} | birth_place = [[East Chicago, Indiana]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1983|09|19|1928|12|10}} | death_place = East Chicago, Indiana, U.S. | high_school = {{nowrap|[[Washington High School (East Chicago, Indiana)|Washington]] (East Chicago, Indiana)}} | college = [[Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball|Northwestern]] (1948–1951) | draft_year = 1951 | draft_round = 2 | draft_pick = 17 | draft_team = [[Rochester Royals]] | career_start = 1951 | career_end = 1952 | career_number = 18 | career_position = [[Small forward]] / [[power forward]] | coach_start = | coach_end = | years1 = {{nbay|1951|full=y}} | team1 = [[Rochester Royals]] | cyears1 = 1954–1955 | cteam1 = [[Lake Forest Foresters men's basketball|Lake Forest]] | highlights = * Third-team [[NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|All-American]] – [[Look (American magazine)|Look]] ([[1951 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|1951]]) * First-team All-[[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]] (1951) | stats_league = NBA | stat1label = [[Point (basketball)|Points]] | stat1value = 68 (1.3 ppg) | stat2label = [[Rebound (basketball)|Rebounds]] | stat2value = 76 (1.5 rpg) | stat3label = [[Assist (basketball)|Assists]] | stat3value = 31 (0.6 apg) }}

'''Raymond Ernest Ragelis''' (December 10, 1928 – September 19, 1983) was an American professional [[basketball]] player of Lithuanian descent. He played one season in the [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA) after an [[NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|All-American]] college career at [[Northwestern University]].

==Early years== Ragelis was born on December 10, 1928, to a family of Lithuanian immigrants.<ref>{{cite web |last1=McKinlay |first1=Archibald |title=Ragelis rewrote the record books at ECW without fanfare |url=https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/ragelis-rewrote-the-record-books-at-ecw-without-fanfare/article_65281d06-2b0d-5264-b112-d322c3f6584e.html |website=nwitimes.com |accessdate=March 6, 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306101003/https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/ragelis-rewrote-the-record-books-at-ecw-without-fanfare/article_65281d06-2b0d-5264-b112-d322c3f6584e.html |archivedate=March 6, 2019 |date=October 11, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title="Iš viršaus": pirmasis lietuvis NBA lygoje – 40 metų iki Marčiulionio? |url=https://www.delfi.lt/nba/is-virsaus/is-virsaus-pirmasis-lietuvis-nba-lygoje-40-metu-iki-marciulionio.d?id=79940667 |website=DELFI |accessdate=March 6, 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306101150/https://www.delfi.lt/nba/is-virsaus/is-virsaus-pirmasis-lietuvis-nba-lygoje-40-metu-iki-marciulionio.d?id=79940667 |archivedate=March 6, 2019 |language=lt-LT |date=December 25, 2018}}</ref> He attended the [[Washington High School (East Chicago, Indiana)|Washington High School]] in [[East Chicago, Indiana]],<ref name="basketball-reference">{{cite web |title=Ray Ragelis NBA stats |url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/ragelra01.html |website=[[Basketball Reference]]|publisher=Sports Reference, LLC |accessdate=4 August 2023}}</ref> playing for Johnnie Baratto; he led the Senators to the State Finals in 1947. He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ray Ragelis |url=https://www.hoopshall.com/hall-of-fame/ray-ragelis/?query=name.eq.Ray%20Ragelis&xsearch_id=HallofFame2_Last_Name&xsearch[0]=Ray%20Ragelis&back=HallofFame2 |website=hoopshall.com |accessdate=March 6, 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306102000/https://www.hoopshall.com/hall-of-fame/ray-ragelis/?query=name.eq.Ray%20Ragelis&xsearch_id=HallofFame2_Last_Name&xsearch[0]=Ray%20Ragelis&back=HallofFame2 |archivedate=March 6, 2019}}</ref>

==College and professional career== Ragelis played for the [[Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball|Northwestern Wildcats]]. He was the first player in university's history to score 1,000 career points, and led the team in scoring for two years.<ref>{{cite web |title=2018-19 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball media guide |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/nusports.com/documents/2018/10/10/1819_B1G_MD_Guide.pdf#page=96 |website=nusports.com |accessdate=March 6, 2019 |page=96}}</ref> Ragelis led the [[Big Ten Conference]] in scoring during the 1950–51 season, averaging 19.1 points, which earned him [[NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|All-American]] honours. He was the last player from university's basketball program to lead the conference in scoring until [[John Shurna]] in 2012.<ref>{{cite web |title=NU Sports - Ray Ragelis - Class of 1951 - Hall of Fame - Northwestern University |url=https://nusports.com/hof.aspx?hof=10&path=&kiosk= |website=nusports.com |accessdate=March 6, 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306104259/https://nusports.com/hof.aspx?hof=10&path=&kiosk= |archivedate=March 6, 2019}}</ref>

A {{height|ft=6|in=4}} and {{convert|205|lb|kg|abbr=on}} [[forward (basketball)|forward]] from Northwestern University, Ragelis was selected in the second round of the [[1951 NBA draft]] by the [[Rochester Royals]]. He played one season with Rochester, coming off the bench in 51 of the 66 games and averaging 1.3 [[points per game]], 1.5 [[rebounds per game]], and 0.6 [[assists per game]].<ref name="basketball-reference" /> The Royals lost to the [[Minneapolis Lakers]] in the Division Finals of the [[1952 NBA Playoffs]].<ref>{{cite web |title=1951-52 NBA Season Summary |url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_1952.html |website=Basketball-Reference.com |accessdate=March 6, 2019}}</ref>

==Later years== After his NBA career, Ragelis joined the military for two years and later started coaching. He first coached at [[Lake Forest Foresters men's basketball|Lake Forest College]], and later served as an assistant coach at Northwestern University. After three years as assistant coach at Northwestern University, he became the head coach at [[Washington High School (East Chicago, Indiana)|Washington High School]]. Ragelis died on September 19, 1983, in West Side Veterans Hospital in East Chicago, Indiana.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Heise |first1=Kenan |title=Ray Ragelis, NBA player, Obituary, Chicago Tribune, September 23, 1983 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13889009/ray_ragelis_nba_player_obituary/ |website=Newspapers.com |accessdate=March 6, 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306101438/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13889009/ray_ragelis_nba_player_obituary/ |archivedate=March 6, 2019 |date=September 23, 1983}}</ref>

== Career statistics == {{NBA player statistics legend}}

===NBA=== Source<ref name = "basketball-reference"/>

====Regular season==== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" |- !Year !Team !GP !MPG !FG% !FT% !RPG !APG !PPG |- | style="text-align:left;" |{{nbay|1951}} | style="text-align:left;" |[[1951–52 Rochester Royals season|Rochester]] |51 |6.6 |.260 |.621 |1.5 |.6 |1.3 |}

====Playoffs==== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" |- !Year !Team !GP !MPG !FG% !FT% !RPG !APG !PPG |- | style="text-align:left;" |[[1952 NBA playoffs|1952]] | style="text-align:left;" |[[1951–52 Rochester Royals season|Rochester]] |3 |2.3 |.000 |– |.3 |.3 |.0 |}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{basketballstats|nba=77902|bbr=r/ragelra01}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ragelis, Ray}} [[Category:1928 births]] [[Category:1983 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]] [[Category:All-American college men's basketball players]] [[Category:American men's basketball players]] [[Category:American people of Lithuanian descent]] [[Category:Basketball coaches from Indiana]] [[Category:Basketball players from East Chicago, Indiana]] [[Category:College men's basketball head coaches in the United States]] [[Category:Lake Forest Foresters men's basketball coaches]] [[Category:Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball players]] [[Category:Power forwards]] [[Category:Rochester Royals draft picks]] [[Category:Rochester Royals players]] [[Category:Small forwards]]