Ronald Lee Steele Jr. (born April 22, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. 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 Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...
.
High school
Ronald Steele was born in
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
. He attended
John Carroll Catholic High School in Birmingham and led them to an undefeated 36-0 record in his junior season. He was named "Mr. Basketball" in the state of Alabama in each of his junior and senior seasons. He was the first junior ever to receive the title.
College
Steele raised his NBA draft profile during his sophomore year, 2005-06. In August 2006, Steele attended a
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...
basketball camp. After giving him tips and "a lot of compliments," Jordan invited Steele to play in a two-on-two pickup game.
In his junior season, Steele led his team to a great start and a top 10 ranking. However, Steele was injured halfway through the season. Knee tendinitis and severe ankle sprains prevented him from competing at top form.
Steele underwent arthroscopic surgery in the 2007 offseason to repair tendinitis in both knees. He was expected to be 100% when the 2007-08 regular season began. However, Alabama announced on September 17, 2007, that Steele would take a medical redshirt his senior season instead.
Steele declared himself eligible for the
2008 NBA Draft but did not hire an agent, leaving the possibility open of returning to college. After reiterating he would leave his options open, he decided to return for his senior year.
He returned briefly for the 2008-09 season. Ten days after his final game, on January 21, 2009, Steele, who had been suffering from
plantar fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis or plantar heel pain (PHP) is a disorder of the plantar fascia, which is the connective tissue which supports the arch of the foot. It results in pain in the heel and bottom of the foot that is usually most severe with the f ...
, announced that he would forgo the rest of the 2008-09 season, thus effectively ending his college career.
[Steele's career over after foot injury]
/ref>
SI.com January 21, 2009[Alabama Crimson Tide Statistics - 2008-09]
/ref> He made a dismal 36.6% of his field goal attempts,[ but was making (at that time) a team-leading 38% three-pointers.][
]
Pro career
Prior to 2009-10 season Steele has signed for Israeli club Bnei Hasharon
Bnei Herzliya Basket (, lit. ''Sons of Herzliya''), is a professional basketball club that is based in Herzliya, in the Sharon district in Israel. The club plays in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top division of Israeli basketball. It ...
.After a season in which he averaged 9.8 points in 22.5 minutes per game. Steele had his contract extended with the club for another season. In July 2011 he signed with Tofaş Bursa for one season.Tofas Bursa signs Ronald Steele
/ref>
Personal life
Ronald is married to Artesha Steele. Steele's younger brother, Andrew, who also graduated from John Carroll Catholic High School, signed to play for Alabama during the 2008–09 season. His father, Ronald Sr., graduated as a football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
player from Southern University, and played pro football with the Birmingham Vulcans
The Birmingham Vulcans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the five-team Eastern Division of the World Football League (WFL). The Vulcans, founded in March 1975, played in the upstart lea ...
.
Awards
*2003 Alabama High School "Mr. Basketball"[ ]
*2003 High School 6A Player of the Year[
*2003 High School 6A Finals MVP][
*2004 Alabama High School "Mr. Basketball"][
*2004 High School 6A Player of the Year][
*2006 AP All- SEC First Team]
References
External links
ESPN profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steele, Ronald
1986 births
Living people
Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball players
American expatriate basketball people in Israel
American expatriate basketball people in Italy
American expatriate basketball people in Turkey
American men's basketball players
Auxilium Pallacanestro Torino players
Basketball players from Birmingham, Alabama
Bnei HaSharon players
Hapoel Jerusalem B.C. players
Israeli Basketball Premier League players
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
Point guards
Sutor Basket Montegranaro players
Tofaş S.K. players