Allan Ray

Allan Nathaniel Ray[1] (born June 17, 1984[2]) is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for four years at Villanova University. He played one season (2006–07) with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association.

Not to be confused with Ray Allen or Allan Rae (disambiguation).
Allan Ray
Ray in 2007
Free agent
PositionPoint guard / Shooting guard
Personal information
Born (1984-06-17) June 17, 1984
Bronx, New York
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolSt. Raymond
(The Bronx, New York)
CollegeVillanova (2002–2006)
NBA draft2006 / Undrafted
Playing career2006–present
Career history
2006–2007Boston Celtics
2007Austin Toros
2007–2009Lottomatica Roma
2009Carife Ferrara
2010–2011Sutor Montegranaro
2011Krka Novo Mesto
2011–2012Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez
2012–2013Ratiopharm Ulm
2013–2014Cedevita Zagreb
2014–2015Virtus Bologna
2016–2017Amici Pallacanestro Udinese
2017TED Ankara Kolejliler
2017–2019Byblos Club
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

College career

Ray was recruited out of that year's New York State Champions, St. Raymond High School, by Villanova head coach Jay Wright. He committed to the Wildcats in 2001, along with three other players that made up a highly praised recruiting class. Along with Randy Foye, Curtis Sumpter and Jason Fraser, Ray was part of a class proclaimed as the players to lead the Wildcats back to a championship.[3]

Freshman and sophomore seasons

Ray's career at Villanova was slightly hampered by injuries, but nothing that kept him from scoring 2,000 points as a Wildcat. His freshman season, he was a key contributor. He had 16 points in his Wildcat debut against Marquette on November 15, 2002.[4] As a sophomore, he averaged a team-leading 17.3 points per game.[5]

Junior season

In his junior season, Ray was named second team all-Big East and led the Wildcats in scoring with 16.2 ppg.[6] That year, he also led Villanova to the Sweet 16 of the 2005 NCAA Tournament where they lost to eventual national champion North Carolina by one point.[7]

Senior season

His senior season was arguably Ray's best season as a college player when he averaged 18.5 ppg.[8] Villanova tied for the Big East regular-season championship with UConn and split their two games with the Huskies. Their final Big East regular-season record was 14–2. Overall, their record was 28–5. In 2006, Ray was named to the Big East first team, along with teammate Randy Foye, who was given the honor of Big East Player of the Year. Ray led Villanova to the Elite Eight of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, playing in a four-guard offense with Foye, Kyle Lowry and Mike Nardi.

Eye injury

During the 2006 Big East Tournament, Ray was poked in the eye by Carl Krauser during the semifinal game against Pittsburgh. His vision apparently left him for a period of time and his eyeball had seemed to come loose from the socket, leading most to believe it was an extremely serious injury. However, his vision returned and it turned out to be only soft tissue damage. He was able to play less than a week later in the NCAA tournament, without goggles. In his first game back, he led Villanova in scoring. While on the video it appeared as though his eye came loose from the socket, his eyelid actually went behind his eye, giving off the impression of his eye coming loose.[9]

Professional career
Ray during a game with the Celtics

Ray was not selected in the 2006 NBA Draft, surprising many Big East fans and some NBA experts. On July 6, 2006, he was signed as a free agent by the Boston Celtics.[10] Ray was sent to the D-League Austin Toros, but was recalled after just two games there. He led the Toros in scoring in both games he played for them.[11] During the last two months of the season, Ray began receiving extended playing time with the Celtics, and had two 22-point games and three others where he scored 20, 18 and 17 points. Ray was also fourth among rookies in three-point percentage.[12] Despite a seemingly bright future in Boston, Ray agreed to terms on a $2 million contract to play in Italy, instead of having the Celtics pick up his $687,456 option.[13]

Ray signed with the Euroleague club Lottomatica Virtus Roma on July 27, 2007.[14] Midway through the following season, after the club signed Brandon Jennings (whom Ray served as a mentor to),[15] Ray left to sign a contract with Carife Ferrara for the remaining part of the season. After sitting out the 2009–10 season to recover from knee surgery, Ray signed with Sutor Montegranaro for the 2010–11 season.[16]

In November 2011 he signed a temporary contract with BC Krka in Slovenia,[17] but in December 2011 he signed a new contract with Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez in France.[18]

In August 2012, he moved to Germany and signed with ratiopharm Ulm for the 2012–13 season.[19]

In November 2013, he signed with the Croatian team Cedevita Zagreb for the rest of the 2013–14 season.[20]

On July 30, 2014, he signed with Virtus Bologna for the 2014–15 season.[21][22] On March 11, 2015, he signed a two-year contract extension with Virtus.[23] On March 31, 2016, he parted ways with Virtus.[24] In 2015–16 season, he played only six games due to an injury.

On October 30, 2016, he signed with Amici Pallacanestro Udinese of the Italian Serie A2 Basket.[25] On March 30, 2017, he parted ways with Udinese.[26] On April 3, 2017, he signed with Turkish club TED Ankara Kolejliler for the rest of the 2016–17 BSL season.[27]

On December 4, 2017, Ray signed with Byblos Club of the Lebanese Basketball League.[28]

References
  1. "USA 5 - Allan Nathaniel Ray". FIBA.com. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  2. Allan Ray Stats, Bio - ESPN
  3. "Freshman orientation: Jason Fraser arrived at Villanova as the centerpiece of a highly touted recruiting class, but that doesn't make the adjustment to the college game any easier | Sporting News, The | Find Articles at BNET". Findarticles.com. November 25, 2002. Retrieved April 6, 2011.
  4. Marquette wins despite giving up 31 offensive boards
  5. Villanova Wildcats Statistics - 2003-04
  6. Villanova Wildcats Statistics - 2004-05
  7. Villanova's spirited surge in closing minutes falls short
  8. Villanova Wildcats Statistics - 2005-06
  9. "Worst Sports Injuries: Allan Ray had his eye poked out during college basketball game | Ballislife.com". ballislife.com. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  10. "CELTICS: Celtics Sign Allan Ray". Nba.com. February 14, 2006. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved April 6, 2011.
  11. "Celtics Recall Allan Ray from D-League Toros | Celtics.com - The official website of the Boston Celtics". Nba.com. Retrieved April 6, 2011.
  12. "Celtics Waive Allan Ray | Celtics.com - The official website of the Boston Celtics". Nba.com. July 6, 2006. Retrieved April 6, 2011.
  13. "Ray gets a raise in Italy". The Boston Globe. July 27, 2007.
  14. "Ray, Allan - Welcome To Euroleague Basketball". Euroleague.net. June 17, 1984. Retrieved April 6, 2011.
  15. Forsberg, Chris (January 2, 2010). "Former Celtic mentored Jennings overseas - Boston Celtics Blog - ESPN Boston". Espn.go.com. Retrieved April 6, 2011.
  16. "Sutor Basket signs Allan Ray | | Italy". Sportando. Retrieved April 6, 2011.
  17. KRKA lands Allan Ray
  18. Pau-Orthez tabs Allan Ray
  19. Ratiopharm Ulm lands Allan Ray
  20. "Cedevita lands Ray". Abaliga.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2013.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  21. Carchia, Emiliano (July 30, 2014). "Virtus Bologna announces Allan Ray". Sportando.com. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  22. "Virtus, c'è anche Allan Ray". virtus.it (in Italian). July 30, 2014. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  23. Virtus Bologna signs Allan Ray to a two-year contract extension
  24. Allan Ray, Virtus Bologna part ways for this season. Ray has still contract for next year
  25. Allan Ray signs with Apu Gsa Udine
  26. Allan Ray, Apu Gsa Udine part ways
  27. TED Kolejliler Ankara signs Allan Ray
  28. Allan Ray signs with Byblos in Lebanon
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