Ryan Boatright

Ryan Boatright

Ryan Boatright in 2010
Shahrdari Gorgan
Position	Point guard
League	Iranian Basketball Super League
Personal information
Born	(1992-12-27) December 27, 1992 (age 31) Aurora, Illinois, U.S.
Nationality	American / Armenian
Listed height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Listed weight	175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High school	East Aurora (Aurora, Illinois)
College	UConn (2011–2015)
NBA draft	2015: undrafted
Playing career	2015–present
Career history
2015–2016	Grand Rapids Drive
2016	Orlandina Basket
2016	Guangzhou Long-Lions
2016–2017	Cedevita
2017–2018	Beşiktaş
2018	Agua Caliente Clippers
2018–2019	Texas Legends
2019	Unicaja
2019–2020	Cedevita Olimpija
2020	BC Avtodor
2020–2021	Rytas Vilnius
2021–2022	Paris Basketball
2022-2023	Avtodor Saratov
2023	BC Parma
2023–2024	Bnei Herzliya
2024	Apollon Patras
2024–present	Shahrdari Gorgan
Career highlights and awards
Croatian League champion (2017) Croatian League Finals MVP (2017) Croatian Cup winner (2017) NCAA champion (2014) First-team All-AAC (2015) Illinois Co-Mr. Basketball (2011)
Stats at Basketball Reference

Ryan Jamar Boatright (born December 27, 1992) is an American and naturalized Armenian professional basketball player for Shahrdari Gorgan of the Iranian Basketball Super League. He has also represented the Armenian national basketball team in international competition. He completed his college career at University of Connecticut in 2015. Boatright was a key player for the Huskies' 2013–14 NCAA championship team, as he earned 2014 NCAA Final Four All-Tournament team honors.

High school career

Boatright, an Aurora, Illinois native, averaged 31.2 points per game as a senior at East Aurora High School and was named Illinois Co-Mr. Basketball with Chasson Randle. ^{[1] [2]}

As a senior, he scored 63 points in a game against Proviso West, and another outing scoring 55 against St. Charles North. ^[3] Boatright also led the charge in defeating and upsetting the undefeated Benet Academy Redwings in the Sectional Semifinals 60–52. Benet was ranked #1 in the state of Illinois, 7th in the nation with a team that featured Wisconsin-bound Frank Kaminsky. Boatright finished with 29 points and 6 assists. He had originally committed to West Virginia, but changed his mind when the Mountaineers signed another point guard just a day later. ^[4] He then went on and decided to commit to the University of Connecticut.^{[ citation needed ]}

College career

Freshman year

Upon arriving at Connecticut, his eligibility was challenged. ^[5] After he missed the first three games, the National Collegiate Athletic Association ruled that he would have to serve an additional three-game suspension to bring his total to six games served due to "receiving improper benefits", consisting of more than $8,000 in cash and other impermissible benefits that he and his mother had received. ^{[6] [7]} Upon further review, Boatright's suspension was increased to a total of nine games. ^[8] Nonetheless, as a freshman he averaged 10.4 points, 4.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 30.1 minutes per game.^{[ citation needed ]}

Sophomore year

Following his return, Boatright along with backcourt teammate Shabazz Napier both rose to the national spotlight as they were highlighted as one of the nation's best backcourts, as they both averaged a combined 33 points and 9 assists per game, outplaying nearly every opponents' backcourt they have played. He kept the momentum up in his sophomore season of 2012–13, raising his scoring average to 15.4. He was named to the USBWA All-District first-team at the conclusion of the season. ^[1]

Junior year

On April 26, 2013, Boatright opted to return to the team for his junior year along with teammates Shabazz Napier and DeAndre Daniels. Boatright played 39 of UConn's 40 games, starting 38 of them, averaging 12.1 points, 3.4 assists, 1.6 steals and a career-best 3.5 rebounds. He averaged 13.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in the Final Four and was named to the All-Final Four team. He was one of four Huskies to average double-digit point totals in the inaugural American Athletic Conference tournament. Boatright scored in double-figures in 27 of 39 games and in all six of UConn's NCAA tournament games. He was second on the team this year with 61 steals, which were the most ever for him in a season. ^[1]

Boatright's defense was a key factor in the Huskies' drive to the 2014 Final Four. He was named to the 2014 All-Final Four team and UConn won the national championship. ^[9]

Senior year

Boatright defending Chris Chiozza of Florida in January 2015

Upon the preseason of the 2014–15 season, Boatright was named the preseason All-American Athletic Conference player of the year and was selected to the preseason first team. Boatright was a unanimous first-team All-American Athletic Conference team selection in 2015.^{[ citation needed ]}

College statistics

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2011–12	Connecticut	25	8	30.1	.421	.377	.690	3.3	4.0	1.2	.2	10.4
2012–13	Connecticut	30	30	36.3	.429	.333	.785	2.9	4.4	1.5	.1	15.4
2013–14	Connecticut	39	38	32.4	.391	.376	.798	3.5	3.4	1.6	.2	12.1
2014–15	Connecticut	34	34	35.8	.423	.411	.850	4.1	3.8	1.4	.2	17.4
Career		128	110	33.8	.416	.380	.794	3.5	3.8	1.4	.2	14.0

Professional career

Grand Rapids Drive (2015–2016)

After going undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft, Boatright signed with the Brooklyn Nets on July 2 and joined the team for the 2015 NBA Summer League. ^[10] In nine Summer League games for the Nets, Boatright averaged 14.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. ^[11] On October 20, 2015, he was waived by the Nets after appearing in four preseason games. ^[12]

On October 23, he signed with the Detroit Pistons. ^[13] He was waived two days later. ^[14]

On October 31, he was acquired by the Grand Rapids Drive of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of the Pistons. ^[15] On January 21, 2016, he was waived by the Drive. ^[16]

Orlandina Basket (2016)

On January 26, Boatright signed with Orlandina Basket of the Italian Serie A. ^[17]

Guangzhou Long-Lions (2016)

On July 30, 2016, Boatright signed with Guangzhou Long-Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association. ^[18]

Cedevita Zagreb (2016–2017)

On November 21, 2016, Boatright signed with Cedevita Zagreb of the Croatian League after leaving China. ^[19]

Beşiktaş (2017–2018)

On July 21, 2017, Boatright signed a 1+1 deal with Turkish club Beşiktaş. ^[20]

Agua Caliente Clippers (2018)

For the 2018–19 season, Boatwright signed with the Agua Caliente Clippers of the NBA G League.^{[ citation needed ]}

Texas Legends (2018–2019)

On December 16, 2018, the Texas Legends announced that they had acquired Boatright from the Agua Caliente Clippers. ^[21]

Unicaja (2019)

On January 8, 2019, Unicaja announced that they had acquired Boatright. ^[22] On May 27, 2019, he left the team. ^[23]

Cedevita Olimpija (2019–2020)

On July 30, Boatright signed with Cedevita Olimpija of the ABA League. ^[24] On January 20, 2020, he left the team. ^[23]

BC Avtodor (2020)

On January 29, 2020, Boatright signed with BC Avtodor of the VTB United League. ^[25] He averaged 16 points per game.

Rytas Vilnius (2020–2021)

On November 8, 2020, Boatright signed with BC Rytas of the Lithuanian Basketball League. ^[26] On February 27, 2021, he left the team. ^[23]

Paris Basketball (2021–2022)

On March 1, 2021, Boatright signed with Paris Basketball of the LNB Pro A. ^[27]

Second stint with Avtodor Saratov (2022–2023)

On August 31, 2022, he has signed with Avtodor Saratov of the VTB United League. ^[28]

Bnei Herzliya (2023–2024)

On August 10, 2023, Boatright signed with Bnei Herzliya of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. ^[29]

Shahrdari Gorgan (2024–present)

On September 25, 2024, Boatright signed with Shahrdari Gorgan of the Iranian Basketball Super League. ^[30]

National team career

Boatright acquired Armenian nationality by naturalization in order to be eligible to play for the Armenia national team, and to bypass team quotas on American players in European leagues. ^{[31] [32]}

In 2017, he played for Armenia in Euro pre-qualification Group A for the 2019 FIBA World Cup ^[31] and the first two games of pre-qualification Group B of EuroBasket 2022 (then called EuroBasket 2021). ^[33] He left the team in February 2018, with coach Nikša Bavčević saying he had demanded special treatment. ^[34]

Personal life

Boatright is the son of Mike McAllister and Tanesha Boatright. He has one brother Michael and two younger sisters, Dasia and Deahjay. ^[1]

References

1. "Ryan Boatright UConn Huskies bio". uconnhuskies.com. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
2. Skrbina, Paul (2011-03-29). "Mr. Basketball of Illinois 2011: East Aurora's Ryan Boatright, Rock Island's Chasson Randle share honor". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 2014-04-08.
3. Helfgot, Mike (2010-12-11). "Boys basketball – Boatright scores school-record 63 to help East Aurora top Proviso West". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 2014-04-08.
4. "Ryan Boatright's maturity keys UConn's defensive run". CBSSports.com. April 6, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
5. "Boatright's eligibility at UConn questioned". ESPN. 2011-11-02. Retrieved 2014-04-08.
6. Duffy, Kevin (January 28, 2012). "Source: UConn's Boatright reinstated with no penalty". Connecticut Post. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
7. "UConn's Ryan Boatright suspended". ESPN. Associated Press. 2011-11-18. Retrieved 2014-04-08.
8. "Ryan Boatright lawyer blasts NCAA". ESPN. Associated Press. 2012-01-29. Retrieved 2014-04-08.
9. Hamilton, Brian (April 6, 2014). "Connecticut guard Ryan Boatright's defense stands between Kentucky and a title". SI.com. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
10. Income, Net (July 3, 2015). "Pincus: Nets sign Ryan Boatright to partially guaranteed deal". NetsDaily.com. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
11. "2015 Summer League Player Profile – Ryan Boatright". NBA.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
12. Sapp, Demetris (October 20, 2015). "BROOKLYN NETS WAIVE BOATRIGHT, MILLER AND DANIELS". NBA.com. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
13. McMann, Aaron (October 23, 2015). "Detroit Pistons sign rookie guard Ryan Boatright". MLive.com. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
14. "Pistons waive Ryan Boatright". InsideHoops.com. October 25, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
15. "Drive Selects Five Players in 2015 NBA D-League Draft". OurSportsCentral.com. October 31, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
16. "NBA D-League Transactions". NBA.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2016.
17. "Orlandina Basket lands Ryan Boatright". Sportando.com. January 26, 2016. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
18. "Foshan signs Ryan Boatright, ex Betaland CdO". Asia-Basket.com. July 30, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
19. "KK Cedevita signs Ryan Boatright". Sportando.com. November 21, 2016. Archived from the original on November 21, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
20. "Besiktas signs Ryan Boatright to a 1+1 deal". Sportando.com. July 21, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2017.^{[ dead link ]}
21. "Legends Acquire Ryan Boatright". NBA.com. December 16, 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2018.^{[ dead link ]}
22. "Ryan Boatright, nueva incorporación del Unicaja". ACB.com. December 8, 2019. Archived from the original on January 17, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
23. "Ryan Boatright Player Profile, Texas Legends - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com.
24. "Ryan Boatright is the new point guard of Cedevita Olimpija". aba-liga.com. July 30, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
25. Carchia, Emiliano (January 29, 2020). "Avtodor Saratov lands Ryan Boatright". Sportando. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
26. Maggi, Alessandro (November 8, 2020). "Rytas Vilnius officially signs Ryan Boatright". Sportando. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
27. Borghesan, Ennio Terrasi (March 1, 2021). "Paris Basketball announce Ryan Boatright". Sportando. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
28. Carchia, Emiliano (August 31, 2022). "Ryan Boatright joins Avtodor Saratov". Sportando. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
29. "Ryan Boatright joins Bnei Herzliya". BhBasket. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
30. "Ryan Boatright agreed terms with Gorgan". Eurobasket.com. 25 September 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
31. • Taylor, Jeff (6 August 2017). "Armenia surprise in World Cup European Pre-Qualifiers". FIBA. Archived from the original on 3 September 2017.
    • "Armenia Beats Slovakia and Sweden in FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Pre-Qualifiers". The Armenian Weekly. 7 August 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
32. Armstrong, Rick (25 June 2017). "Well-traveled Ryan Boatright still chasing NBA dream". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
33. • "First Round Group B Albania 63 - 80 Armenia". FIBA. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. "Boatright's heroics not enough for Armenia, Denmark win it in overtime". FIBA. 26 December 2017. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017.
34. • "Ryan Boatright leaves Armenian basketball team". Tert.am. 23 February 2018.
    • "Ahead of EuroBasket qualifier with Albania: Armenia respects the rival but is unafraid". mediamax.am. 23 February 2018.

External links

• UConn Huskies bio Archived 2017-05-03 at the Wayback Machine