Rakeem Buckles (born November 15, 1990) is a professional basketball player, and plays the forward position. He plays for

Hapoel Haifa Hapoel Haifa Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל חיפה, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Haifa'') is an Israeli football club located in the city of Haifa. The club won one championship (1998–99) and 4 Israeli cups ( ...

in the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

Personal life

Buckles was born in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. His parents are Ronald and Sabrina Buckles. He is 6' 7" (201 cm) tall, and weighs 216 pounds (98 kg).

Basketball career

Buckles attended and played basketball for

Monsignor Edward Pace High School Monsignor Edward Pace High School is a Catholic secondary school in the Opa-locka North neighborhood of Miami Gardens, Florida. It was named a Blue Ribbon School in 2002 and one of the top 50 Catholic high schools in the country in 2004 and 2005 ...

. As a senior, he was named the Florida Class 4A Player of the Year after he averaged 22.8 points, 13.1 rebounds, and 3.5 blocked shots per game. He played basketball at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

in 2009-12. Between 2011 and 2012 Buckles suffered two torn

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

s in under 12 months. He then played basketball at

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...

, for whom in 2013-14 in

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

he was third in rebounds per game with 8.6, fifth in rebounds with 266, and eighth in blocks per game with 1.4. Buckles plays for

in the

References

1990 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Israel FIU Panthers men's basketball players Hapoel Haifa B.C. players Louisville Cardinals men's basketball players Basketball players from Miami {{1990s-US-basketball-bio-stub