By Cesare Milanti/ info@eurohoops.net
It must feel pretty good to be Joe Ragland right now.
Only look at his first three games of the season with Hapoel Holon and you can feel the vibes…
- vs Legia Warszawa in the BCL: 10 points, 7 rebounds, 13 assists, and the 81-84 away win;
- vs Hapoel Jerusalem in the Winner League: 10 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists, and the 80-76 home win;
- vs Filou Oostende in the BCL: 31 points, 4 rebounds, 13 assists, and the 88-83 home win.
The numbers speak for themselves: it’s a good week, isn’t it?
Keeping an eye on his last performance, one of the most experienced playmakers in the Basketball Champions League literally wrote history, becoming the first player ever in the competition to record 30+ points and 10+ assists in the same single game. But he stays humble.
“It feels good to have a record that’s never been accomplished, but more important to win a very important game. I did whatever it took for my team to come out victorious. It was a great game for me, but it meant nothing without the win”, he said to Eurohoops.
The soon-to-be 33-year-old playmaker is a well-known name in the European basketball landscape, and when Maurizio Buscaglia decided to give him Hapoel’s control room, everybody in Holon felt that their offense will be in good hands.
When Guy Goodes came to replace the Italian coach and found himself on the purple-and-yellow bench, Joe became even more important, stepping up as the main offensive option for the team. And Hapoel Holon’s fanbase knows that he can score or make things easy for his teammates.
“I feel like I’m capable of scoring and facilitating each and every night. My job as the point guard is to have an understanding of which style is needed in that particular game for my team to be successful. Also even getting off the ball to catch and shoot or attack closeouts. I’ve worked hard to make my game well-rounded to fit in any scheme or situation that’s beneficial for the team”, he underlined.
To sum it up, he’s a baller.
In the 2021-22 Basketball Champions League, his first with Hapoel Holon, Joe Ragland averaged 7.6 assists per game, being the top passer of the competition at the end of the season. After two games this year, he already recorded 13 assists against both Legia Warszawa and Filou Oostende.
One of them arrived at the hands of Marvin Jones, who sealed the victory against the Belgian team by throwing down one of the many alley-oops of the night.
“When I have the ball, especially in the closing moments of the game, my job is to make the right play that leads to a high-percentage shot, whether it’s scoring for myself or passing. I saw the defender step over and I made the simple play to my center to finish the game”, he said about the crucial possession with less than 50 seconds left that gave Hapoel Holon the four-point lead.
If Holon is currently 3rd on the latest 2022-23 Basketball Champions League Power Ranking, a great part of the credit has to be given to the former Milan and Crvena Zvezda player.
The Israeli club, which reached the Final Four last season and lost to Lenovo Tenerife, which eventually lifted the trophy in Bilbao, made some key adjustments to an already well-constructed team: Chris Johnson didn’t leave, CJ Harris came back and players with a big experience like Erick Green, Marvin Jones, and Kenneth Kadji joined the Israeli locker room.
“Our team is a very talented group of guys. We are still learning from one another, but with time and hard work, we will have a very successful season”, Joe Ragland said about the current Hapoel Holon version.
That semifinal against Marcelinho Huertas left a bitter taste, a tough game in which the purple-and-yellow army occupied thousands of seats in Bilbao but couldn’t bring the team to success. Joe Ragland knows how tough the journey can be.
“This is our mindset with which every day we approach the practices and the games. We’ve been there, so it’s a long journey and we have to understand that each game counts. Every season has ups and down, but with poise and effort we will work to minimize the downtimes, but most importantly take it one day at a time”, he said.
With that being said, Hapoel Holon can count on a coach who came and did whatever it took to bring this side from hell to heaven in the 2021-22 season, dreaming of what could have been the first European trophy in the club’s history.
“The competition in the BCL is strong every year, and this year is the same. However, our coach does a great job making sure we are focused on our opponent one game at a time to achieve our ultimate goal”, the American point guard stated on Guy Goodes.
These have been months in which Joe Ragland stepped up on several occasions, always taking the lead role as if it was something natural. He recorded five of his seven best efficiency ratings in playoff games since the 16th of May in the Winner League. And he has been balling in Europe for a decade now.
For him, it doesn’t matter what happens in the game itself: “Each game carries its own identity, there will be high-scoring games and low-scoring games, but as long as you have the character to find a way to win tough games regardless of the scoring output, that’s what counts. That’s what our mindset is each game, find a way to be victorious”. The key is what happens in the end.
Each and every time he steps on the court, growing and becoming an even better player than the previous one. Joe Ragland is like one of those fine wines that you’d like to taste every day, knowing that he won’t disappoint if you leave the bottle unopened for another winning occasion.
Hapoel Holon can drink to that.
PHOTO CREDIT: Basketball Champions League