John Edward "Bags" Bagley (born April 23, 1960) is a former American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA).

College career

Bagley played for

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

for three seasons, where he averaged nearly 18 points a game and became the first Eagle to earn Big East Men's Basketball Player of the Year honors. He averaged 20.4 points per game during the 1980–81 season, his sophomore year, and led the Eagles to the regular-season championship and NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16. The following year, Bagley scored 21.1 points per game and led Boston College to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Bagley also played in the Men's World University Games in 1981, and led the team with 14.8 points per game. He left Boston College after his junior year and entered the 1982 NBA Draft. He was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995. On February 25, 2017, Bagley's number 54 was retired at Boston College.

College statistics

, - , align="left" , 1979–80 , align="left" ,

, 29 , , - , , - , , .481 , , - , , .722 , , 3.1 , , 2.2 , , 1.5 , , 0.0 , , 11.8 , - , align="left" , 1980–81 , align="left" ,

, 30 , , 29 , , 32.2 , , .500 , , - , , .788 , , 3.8 , , 3.4 , , 1.8 , , 0.1 , , 20.4 , - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" ,

, 32 , , 31 , , 33.3 , , .501 , , - , , .797 , , 3.8 , , 3.8 , , 1.9 , , 0.2 , , 21.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 91 , , 60 , , 32.7 , , .496 , , - , , .778 , , 3.6 , , 3.2 , , 1.7 , , 0.1 , , 17.9

Professional career

Cleveland Cavaliers

Bagley was selected by the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

with the 12th pick of the 1982 NBA draft, and was signed to a three-year contract on September 28, 1982. He played with the Cavs for five seasons, from 1982 to 1987. His best season was the 1985–86 season, where Bagley hit then career highs of 11.7 points per game and 9.4 assists per game. During the 1986–87, Bagley had career highs in both free throw and three point percentage, with .831 and .301, respectively.

New Jersey Nets

After the 1986–87 season, Cleveland traded Bagley to the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

along with Keith Lee for

Darryl Dawkins Darryl R. Dawkins (January 11, 1957 – August 27, 2015) was an American professional basketball player. He was particularly known for his tenure with the National Basketball Association's Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, although he als ...

(who was subsequently sent to the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

in a three-way deal) and

James Bailey James Bailey may refer to: People Academics * James Bailey (classical scholar) (died 1864), English schoolmaster * J. O. Bailey (1903–1979), professor of literature * Jay Bailey (James E. Bailey, 1944–2001), American biochemical engineer and ...

. Bagley's first season with the Nets saw him play all 82 games, the only season he did this, as well as score a career high 12 points per game. He was also the only Net to play 82 games, and as a result, Bagley was given a multiyear extension on September 6, 1988. On November 17, 1987, Bagley hit a 75-footer at the buzzer against the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

when the first quarter drew to a close. Bagley played in 68 games, missing some due to injury, and lost his starting position at point guard to

Lester Conner Lester Allen Conner (born September 17, 1959) is an American professional basketball coach and former professional basketball player, who played for numerous NBA teams. On the floor at the collegiate level the 6'4" Conner was a "swingman," playin ...

Boston Celtics

On October 5, 1989, Bagley was traded to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

for two draft choices and an undisclosed amount of cash. He has noted that playing with the Celtics in the

Boston Garden The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" (late ...

has been the highlight of his basketball career. After playing one season for the Celtics, Bagley did not play the entire 1990–91 season. He began the season on the injured list with tendinitis of the right knee, and received arthroscopic surgery on March 3, 1991, ending his season and even becoming an afterthought, with the Celtics emphasizing

Brian Shaw Brian Keith Shaw (born March 22, 1966) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He could play both guard positions, but wa ...

and Dee Brown. However, he did end up starting most of the 1991–92 season, mainly after Brian Shaw was traded to the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

. Despite the starting role, Bagley was not on the team as the 1992–93 season began, but was re-signed by the Celtics on December 23, 1992. Bagley ended up playing in only 10 games that season, then was granted free agency.

CBA

He played with the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA) during the 1993 off-season, playing for the Columbus Horizon and Rochester Renegade.

Atlanta Hawks

Prior to the 1993 season, Bagley signed a free agent contract with the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

, but was released after three appearances on December 13, 1993.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, 68 , , 3 , , 14.6 , , .432 , , .000 , , .762 , , 1.4 , , 2.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 5.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 76 , , 19 , , 22.5 , , .423 , , .118 , , .793 , , 2.1 , , 4.4 , , 1.0 , , 0.1 , , 8.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 65 , , 29.6 , , .488 , , .115 , , .749 , , 3.6 , , 8.6 , , 1.6 , , 0.1 , , 9.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , 77 , , 31.7 , , .423 , , .243 , , .791 , , 3.5 , , 9.4 , , 1.6 , , 0.1 , , 11.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 72 , , 67 , , 30.3 , , .426 , , .301 , , .831 , , 3.5 , , 5.3 , , 1.3 , , 0.1 , , 10.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, 82 , , 74 , , 33.8 , , .439 , , .292 , , .822 , , 3.1 , , 5.8 , , 1.3 , , 0.1 , , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 68 , , 20 , , 24.1 , , .416 , , .204 , , .724 , , 2.1 , , 5.8 , , 1.1 , , 0.1 , , 7.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, 54 , , 17 , , 20.3 , , .459 , , .056 , , .744 , , 1.6 , , 5.5 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 73 , , 59 , , 23.9 , , .441 , , .238 , , .716 , , 2.2 , , 6.6 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 0 , , 9.7 , , .360 , , .000 , , .833 , , 0.7 , , 2.0 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 2.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, 3 , , 0 , , 4.3 , , .000 , , – , , 1.000 , , 0.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 665 , , 401 , , 25.7 , , .437 , , .241 , , .779 , , 2.6 , , 6.0 , , 1.1 , , 0.1 , , 8.7

Playoffs

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, 4, , 4, , 42.0, , .393, , .000, , .700, , 4.0, , 10.0, , 2.5, , 0.0, , 12.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

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, 5, , 0, , 14.0, , .533, , .000, , .750, , 0.8, , 3.4, , 0.8, , 0.2, , 3.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

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, 10, , 10, , 30.8, , .442, , .250, , .703, , 2.7, , 8.5, , 0.9, , 0.1, , 11.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 19 , , 14 , , 28.7 , , .434 , , .125 , , .706 , , 2.5 , , 7.5 , , 1.2 , , 0.1 , , 9.5

Personal life

John Bagley resided in

Elgin, Illinois Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook and Kane counties in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. Elgin is located northwest of Chicago, along the Fox River. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 114,797, the seventh-large ...

, and coached the

Harper College William Rainey Harper College is a public community college in Palatine, Illinois. It was established by referendum in 1965 and opened in September 1967. It is named for William Rainey Harper, a pioneer in the junior college movement in the ...

Men's Basketball team. He also ran a 32-team high school summer league, worked at a camp at Harper College, and coached the Chicago Dogs, a semi-pro basketball team. Following his time away from Connecticut, he recently moved back to his home of Bridgeport, CT. Bagley now coaches boys basketball at his alma mater, (Bridgeport) Harding High School.

References

External links

John Bagley on TheDraftReview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagley, John 1960 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball coaches from Connecticut Basketball players from Connecticut Boston Celtics players Boston College Eagles men's basketball players Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Cleveland Cavaliers players Columbus Horizon players New Jersey Nets players Point guards Rochester Renegade players Sportspeople from Bridgeport, Connecticut Warren Harding High School alumni