Ron Radliff (born 1958) is a former professional basketball player who played in the

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

National Basketball League between 1983 and 1992. He won the NBL Championship with the

Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to th ...

in 1985 and 1987 before finishing his career as part of the

Gold Coast Rollers Gold Coast Rollers may refer to: * Gold Coast Rollers (NBL), former National Basketball League team *Gold Coast Rollers (NBL1 North) Gold Coast Rollers is a NBL1 North club based in Gold Coast, Queensland. The club fields a team in both the Me ...

. Radliff is a naturalised Australian citizen. Radliff, more commonly known as The Rat, was born and raised in

Enumclaw, Washington Enumclaw ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 12,543 at the 2020 census. The Enumclaw Plateau, on which the city resides, was formed by a volcanic mudflow (lahar) from Mount Rainier approximately 5,700 y ...

. He graduated from Enumclaw Senior High School in Washington State in 1976. He then attended and graduated from

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a pri ...

Career

Ronnie The Rat landed in Australia in 1983 as an import

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

for NBL team the

. Standing 6'0" (184 cm), Radliff was known for his long curly hair and his brilliant outside shooting, though he was also a tenacious defender who never gave opponents an inch. Radliff spent six seasons with the Bullets under the successful coaching of Brian Kerle. As teammate to future NBL Hall of Famers

Larry Sengstock Larry Sengstock (born 4 March 1960 in Maryborough, Queensland) is an Australian retired basketball player and was the CEO of Basketball Australia and the NBL until April 2012. Career Larry was born in Maryborough Qld. He was a champion swi ...

Cal Bruton Calvin Thomas Bruton, (born 29 September 1954) is an American-born Australian former professional basketball player and coach. He has been an integral part of the National Basketball League (NBL) since its inception. Bruton won an NBL champio ...

Leroy Loggins Leroy Loggins (born 20 December 1957) is an Australian-American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball League (NBL) from 1981 until 2001. College career Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Loggins attended F ...

and

Danny Morseu Danny Morseu (born 1 January 1958) is an Australian basketball player who played on the Australian national basketball team in the 1980 Summer Olympics and 1984 Summer Olympics. International career Morseu played for the Australian team at th ...

, The Rat helped the team to win its first NBL Championship in 1985 against the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...

, and again in 1987 against the

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at RAC Arena, known colloquially as "The Jungle". Afte ...

. During his time in Brisbane Radliff also helped the team to the 1984 Grand Final against the

Canberra Cannons The Canberra Cannons are a defunct basketball team that competed in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL). They went into financial administration in 2003 and were relocated to Newcastle, where they became the Hunter Pirates. After thi ...

and the 1986 GF against the 36ers. 1986 was the first time the NBL used a 3-game series instead of a single championship game. Radliff left Brisbane after they failed to make the playoffs in 1989 and joined the newly formed

Gold Coast Cougars The Gold Coast Cougars were the re-branded Daikyo Dolphins after major sponsor Daikyo had to end sponsorship of the team due to financial problems with the Australian arm of the company. History See also *Sport in Australia *Australian Ba ...

in 1990 (ironically Brisbane would make the NBL Grand Final in 1990, going down to Perth in three games). After three seasons on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

(including a team name change from the Cougars to the Gold Coast Rollers before the 1992 season), Radliff retired after the 1992 NBL season. Ron Radliff currently sits equal 4th on the NBL All-time 3pt% list having hit 43.5% from outside the arc during his NBL career.

Coaching

Radliff was an assistant coach of the

Gold Coast Blaze The Gold Coast Blaze were an Australian men's professional basketball team which competed in the National Basketball League (NBL). The Blaze competed in their inaugural season in 2007–08. The club was based on the Gold Coast and joined the ...

who played in the NBL from its inception in 2007 until the club pulled out of the league at the end of the 2011-12 season.Gold Coast Blaze Coaching Staff 2011-12
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Honour roll

NBL career stats

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radliff, Ron 1950s births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Australia Brisbane Bullets players Gold Coast Rollers players Sportspeople from King County, Washington Point guards Western Washington Vikings men's basketball players People from Enumclaw, Washington American men's basketball players