Buckeye Ballers Blogspot: Pro Buckeyes In Asia 2024 - Part Two

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Pro Buckeyes In Asia 2024 - Part Two - Evan Ravenel

(Buckeye Pro Evan Ravenel pictured with his Playoffs MVP Award- Japan 2016)

(Pro Buckeyes In Asia 2024 - From L To R - Amir Williams - Malaysia - Evan Ravenel - Japan - Jared Sullinger - China - Sam Thompson - Mongolia)

Around The World With E. Rav - Evan Ravenel is one of several players from Ohio State's high-achieving 2012 (Final Four) & 2013 (Elite Eight) teams still actively playing Professional Basketball, now as seasoned, grizzled veterans of the game they love.

Ravenel, a native of Tampa, Florida, has enjoyed & persisted through a 10 year Overseas Professional career where his talents have allowed him to hoop on three different continents (Europe, Asia, South America). Some of Evan's more visible moments in his career include, but not limited to participating in the 2013-2014 FIBA Eurochallenge competition in his rookie season with Bulgarian club Rilski Sportist, winning the 2015/2016 League Championship & Playoffs MVP in Japan's BJ League, playing against the Sacramento Kings in a 2016 pre-season game with Isreali club Maccabi Haifa, winning the 2019 TBT Championship with Carmen's Crew, participating in the 2020 FIBA Basketball Champions League of Americas with Argentine club Quimsa.

Evan 2.0 - Astute watchers of Evan's game in college could probably see his style of play as one that would lend itself to longevity & staying power on the next level. He often shined in a limited role as a formidable rebounder, defender, offensive post with a solid shooting form/touch for a stout big. Yet, Buckeye fans who haven't been keen on keeping up with former players in the pros definitely noticed a different version of Evan Ravenel in recent TBT competitions.

We would see an upgraded overall game from 'Rav-2.0' that has developed & blossomed into a well rounded multi-dimensional offensive threat. His ability to score in the post, face up and drive along with mid & long range shooting as a big makes him a matchup nightmare for defenders.

Like many of his Carmen's Crew teammates, you could tell Evan had seen & played a lot of basketball, matured physically & mentally through the years and is comfortable doing just about anything on the court. And that has been one of the more satisfying aspects of following former players like Evan Ravenel in the pros; being able to witness their development in real time as they get opportunities to display their full repertoire in significantly bigger, more expanded roles.

Working through ten professional seasons overseas where one needs to ingratiate themselves into various foreign environments, basketball markets, accommodations or lack thereof, playing styles ect..while living away from home the majority of a calendar year requires a great deal of patience, durability, availability, perseverance, positivity, inner discipline, aptitude among other traits & characteristics. To that end, Evan might describe the current version of himself as 'Evan 5.0'..because a player does not experience this type of longevity in pro basketball without many ups/downs, trials, tribulations, lessons learned & multiple transformations.

Ravenel's pro career timeline has primarily been a tale of two continents with most of his seasons played in Europe & Asia with a stint in South America sprinkled in. He immediately got a taste of competitive Eastern European basketball out of college by playing with aforementioned Rilski Sportist. His rookie season prepared him well for his second stint in the Balkans with Polish club Starogard Gdanski. In what would become his best stastical season in European play..Rav made excellent contributions in Poland with an impressive 19ppg & 9 boards a game average.

Land Of The Rising Sun - Evan Ravenel experienced perhaps his most memorable overseas run as a third year pro playing in The BJ League in Japan with the Ryukyu Golden Kings of Okinawa. This was the final season of what was then known as the BJ League. If you have some time, it's an interesting read to learn about the basketball business market in Japan & how a FIBA suspension led to two competing organizations merging to form the current top league in Japan, The B League.

Ravenel become apart of basketball history in Japan by helping lead the Golden Kings to a league championship & becoming the Finals MVP in the Bj-League's final season. His stat line in the series clinching contest was a game high 22 points (10 of 14 from the field) & 12 rebounds. And he may not have known it at the time, but that Championship Run with Ryukyu may have propelled him into an American mainstay in Japanese Basketball.

In a 2022 Podcast Interview, Evan explained that a difficult situation in Israel following the title season in Japan especially made him realize that moving into another basketball market can sometimes make for a challenging transition. Players have to prove themselves all over again to people who may be unfamiliar of what they're capable of, roles may different ect.

As mentioned in our piece on Jared Sullinger, unlike in years past, overseas ball players do not have to solely rely on European Basketball to find solid career situations. The level of play & competition in Asia continues to improve and the style of game is more open in general (than Europe) with certain players having more agency & autonomy to display their versatility

Evan Ravenel w/ Altiri Chiba 2022/2023 Japan

After Israel, Rav played in a handful of games in Belgium before returning to Japan to finish out the 2016-2017 season. And aside from one more year in Bulgaria with Rilski (2017-2018) Japan has been like a second home for Evan having played on four different Japanese clubs since 2017 including consecutive seasons with Altiri Chiba. In speaking about his time in Japan & why he feels it is an optimal basketball market for him, Ravenel remarked about how welcoming & supportive the Japanese people have been. The positive environment coupled with his past exploits/reputation on the court has afforded him the liberty & good will to put his overall game on full display.

Evan Ravenel's current (and 5th different Japanese team) club is the Kagawa Five Arrows of the B League 3rd Division. His team is currently ranked #2 in their league standings with a nice 27-7 record. In his latest game on 2/11/2024 - E. Rav scored 18 points in his team's 30 point victory.

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