René Anthony Rougeau (born March 25, 1986) is an American professional

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 for

Hermine Nantes Basket Hermine Nantes Basket, also known as simply Nantes, is a professional basketball team based in Nantes, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overs ...

of the

LNB Pro B The LNB Pro B, commonly known as Pro B, is the French basketball league system, 2nd-tier level men's professional basketball league in France. It is the second division of the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB), which has organized the league since t ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

where he starred in his four seasons with the Runnin' Rebels.

Professional career

Early years (2009–2010)

Following graduating from UNLV, Rougeau joined the Nevada Pride of the

International Basketball League The International Basketball League (IBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. The ...

before going undrafted in the

2009 NBA draft The 2009 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2009, at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, the National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eli ...

. He then joined the Clayton Showtime of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

in December 2009. On February 12, 2010, Rougeau signed with the

Southland Sharks The Southland Sharks are a New Zealand basketball team based in Invercargill. The Sharks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Stadium Southland. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the SBS Bank So ...

for the 2010 New Zealand NBL season. He went on to be named in the All-Star Five after averaging 16.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 3.7 steals and 1.5 blocks in 19 games.

Mexico (2010–2014)

Following a promising first outing with the Sharks, Rougeau moved to Mexico where he began what would end up being a four-year stint in the country. From 2010 to 2014, he played for

Toros de Nuevo Laredo The Toros de Nuevo Laredo (''Bulls of Nuevo Laredo'' in English) are a professional basketball team based in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico playing in the Northern Division of the Mexican Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP). History ...

of the

Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional The National Professional Basketball League ( or LNBP) is the top professional basketball league in Mexico. The league was founded in 2000 with 10 teams. Despite its short history, the LNBP has established itself as the one of the most important ...

where he won two championships (2011 and 2013) and earned two All-Star nods (2012 and 2014). He also played for Caballeros de Culiacán of the CIBACOPA during the 2011, 2012 and 2014 LNBP off-seasons. He also played for Mineros de Cananea of the CIBACOPA and the Venice Beach Warriors of the WCBL in 2013, and for

Bucaneros de La Guaira The Piratas de La Guaira are a professional basketball team based in Maiquetía, Vargas, Venezuela. Founded in 2008, from 2010 to 2022, they were known as the Bucaneros de La Guaira. The team was re-founded as the Piratas in 2022. The team currentl ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

in 2014.

Israel (2014–2016)

On July 3, 2014, Rougeau signed a two-year deal with

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...

of 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 ...

Later career (2016–present)

Rougeau signed in Finland with Kauhajoen Karhu in 2017. During the 2018-19 season, he averaged 15.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocks per game, and was named the league's Foreign MVP. In July 2019, Rougeau signed with

of the French

. After earning Eurobasket.com All-French ProB 2nd Team honors, he re-signed with the team on June 8, 2020.

Personal

Rougeau is a devout

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. He reads the Bible in the locker room before every game.Import Rougeau credits God for his abilities
/ref>

References

External links

Eurobasket.com profileRealGM profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rougeau, Rene 1986 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Finland American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Mexico American expatriate basketball people in New Zealand American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela American men's basketball players Basketball players from Sacramento, California Caballeros de Culiacán players Hermine Nantes Basket players Kauhajoen Karhu players Maccabi Haifa B.C. players People from Rancho Cucamonga, California Shooting guards Small forwards Southland Sharks players Sportspeople from San Bernardino County, California Toros de Nuevo Laredo players UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people