The playmaker's steady hand and cool head helped Hapoel navigate the challenging EuroCup waters
Tribute to the Champs: Joe Ragland
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Veteran playmaker Joe Ragland's experienced and cool head helped Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv navigate a challenging season that finished with the team celebrating winning the BKT EuroCup.
Ragland, who had already played three successful seasons for two different clubs in Israel, was targeted for a starting role when he first joined Hapoel in the summer, but the unexpected signings of first Patrick Beverley and later Yam Madar limited his minutes.
Nevertheless, Ragland was as effective a ball-handler as could be. He ranked third in the EuroCup in assists on a per-minute basis, as well as in assist-to-turnover ratio.
Ragland averaged 5.7 points, 4.0 assists and 1.0 steals in 16:25 minutes per game. That translated into 9.7 assists prorated over 40 minutes and he dished 3.6 dimes for every turnover. He recorded at least 5 assists nine times despite not playing even 25 minutes in any game after Round 1.
A back injury sidelined Ragland at the tail of the season; after not missing any time in the regular season, he was unable to suit up in the semifinals or the finals. However, as the lone player with previous EuroCup Finals experience (Ragland was a EuroCup runner-up in 2018 with Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar), he made sure to contribute what he could in the locker room and on the bench to help push Hapoel over the final hurdles to make history.