Ra Gun-ah (

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

: 라건아; born Ricardo Preston Ratliffe; February 20, 1989) is an American-born South Korean basketball player for

Jeonju KCC Egis The Jeonju KCC Egis is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League. Current roster Enlisted players Honours Domestic Korean Basketball League *KBL Championship :: Winners (5): 1997–98, 1998– ...

of the

Korean Basketball League The Korean Basketball League (KBL; ) is a professional men's basketball league in South Korea which was established in 1997. The league consists of ten teams and each team plays a total of 54 games (27 home and 27 away) in the regular season. H ...

(KBL) and the

South Korea national basketball team The South Korea men's national basketball team represents South Korea in international men's basketball competitions. It is administered by the Korea Basketball Association (). Based on the number of overall medals won, South Korea is a major ...

. Ra played collegiately at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

Early life and college career

Ra Gun-ah was born Ricardo Preston Ratliffe in

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...

, played at

Kecoughtan High School Kecoughtan High School (pronounced "KICK-a-tan") is a public high school located in Hampton, Virginia. The current grades offered are 9–12. Kecoughtan High School is one of four high schools located in the Hampton City Public School District. ...

and the

College of Central Florida The College of Central Florida (CF) is a public college with campuses in Marion, Citrus, and Levy counties. It is part of the Florida College System. Founded in 1957 as Central Florida Junior College, CF has grown to span three counties and incl ...

. While there, he twice earned first team

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

All-American honors. He averaged 27.4

points Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...

and 11.3 rebounds per game as a sophomore. To complete his college career, Ratliffe chose Missouri over

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, Clemson and

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. He averaged 10.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in his junior season and was named

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

Newcomer of the Year. In his senior season, Ratliffe helped lead the Tigers to a 30–5 record and a Big 12 tournament championship. Ratliffe averaged 13.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game as the team's primary post presence. At the close of the season, Ratliffe was named second team All-Big 12. On the season, Ratliffe attained a 69.3%

field goal percentage Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Although three-point field goal percentage is often calculated separately, three-point field goals are included in the gener ...

, which led the nation for the 2011–12 season and was a Missouri and Big 12 Conference record. Ratliffe spent much of the season chasing the all-time single-season NCAA record of 74.6%, held by Steve Johnson of

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

, leading the mark as late as February 2012. Following the close of the regular season, Ratliffe competed in the 2012

Reese's College All-Star Game The Reese's College All-Star Game, founded by the NABC, is a men's college basketball game showcasing 20 of the best senior players in NCAA Division I. The two teams are coached by current and/or former college basketball coaches. The game is ...

at the 2012 Final Four. He scored 21 points and collected 10 rebounds to earn the West team's "Perfect Player" award.

Professional career

Following the close of his college career, Ratliffe was not selected in the

2012 NBA draft The 2012 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2012, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball Asso ...

. However, he was the first American college player selected in the

. He was selected sixth overall by

Ulsan Mobis Phoebus The Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League. History Foundation and amateur era Before the professional Korean Basketball League was established in 1997, domestic basketball was an amateur s ...

and began his professional career with them in the 2012–13 season. In 2014, Ratliffe won the

William Jones Cup The R. William Jones Cup (), also known as the Jones Cup, is an international basketball tournament organized by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) held annually since 1977 in Taiwan. It was named in honor of basketball promoter ...

MVP and joined teammates Chang Yong Song and Tae Young Moon on the tournament Best Five. At the William Jones Cup, He averaged 24.3 points, 15.7 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game. On March 5, 2016, Ratliffe was signed by

Star Hotshots The Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots, or simply known as the Magnolia Hotshots, are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association. The team is owned by San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc., a subsidiary of San Migue ...

of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

(PBA) to replace

Denzel Bowles Denzel Bowles (born May 1, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Professional career 2011–12 season Bowles began his professio ...

who had to leave for the United States after the death of a relative. On May 9, 2017, Ratliffe was again called by the

as their import for the 2017 Commissioners Cup. On Game 2 of the 2017 Semifinals round against the

San Miguel Beermen The San Miguel Beermen are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). It is one of three PBA clubs owned by the San Miguel Corporation group of companies along with the Magnolia Hotshots and Barangay Ginebra ...

, Ratliffe recorded 25 points and a career-high 35 rebounds in a 76-77 loss to the Beermen. Ra Gun-ah signed with

in 2020. He averaged 17 points, 10.3 rebounds, one steal and 1.3 blocks per game. Ratliffe re-signed with the team on September 26.

National team career

In January 2018, Ratliffe became a naturalized South Korean. Ratliffe played for the South Korean national team against the North Korean national team in Pyongyang Arena,

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

, during a July 2018 friendly match. He was given the Korean name Ra Gun-ah after he was naturalized. At the

2019 FIBA World Cup The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 18th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams. The tournament was hosted in China and was rescheduled from 2018 to 2019, becoming the first since 1967 that did no ...

, although playing in only five games, Ra Gun-ah led the tournament with 23.0 points and 12.8 rebounds per game. The South Korean national team finished the tournament in 26th place of 32 teams, after being eliminated in preliminary group.

References

External links

Missouri Tigers bio

asia-basket.commprofile

Ra Gun-ah FIBA profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ra, Gun-ah 1989 births Living people 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup players American emigrants to South Korea American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in South Korea American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games bronze medalists for South Korea Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in basketball Basketball players from Virginia Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Magnolia Hotshots players Missouri Tigers men's basketball players Naturalized citizens of South Korea Philippine Basketball Association imports Power forwards (basketball) Seoul Samsung Thunders players South Korean men's basketball players South Korean people of African-American descent Sportspeople from Hampton, Virginia Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus players