Ben Madgen
July 23, 2020
Kevin Ratzsch
- Nationality: USA
- Date of Birth: 21/06/86
- Place of Birth: Bloomington, Illinois (USA)
- Position: FRD
- Height (CM): 201
- Weight (KG): 93
- Junior Assoc: None
- College: Northern State (DII) (2005-2009)
- NBL DEBUT: 7/10/11
- AGE AT DEBUT: 25
- LAST NBL GAME: 4/03/12
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 25
- NBL History: Sydney 2012
- Championships: 0
- None
BIO: Kevin Ratzsch was born in Bloomington, Illinois (USA).
NBL EXPERIENCE
Kevin Ratzsch made his NBL debut with the Sydney Kings at 25 years of age. He scored four points in his first game.
Played for the Sydney Kings during the 2010/11 preseason but was cut so the team could sign Rod Grizzard.
Kevin Ratzsch played one season in the NBL. He averaged 6.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in 24 NBL games.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-12 | 25 | Sydney | 11-17 (7) | 24 | 456.0 | 164 | 93 | 18 | 30 | 63 | 9 | 7 | 27 | 28 | 70 | 157 | 45% | 12 | 36 | 33% | 12 | 13 | 92% | 50% | 48% | 24 | Totals | 24 | 456 | 164 | 93 | 18 | 30 | 63 | 9 | 7 | 27 | 28 | 70 | 157 | 44.6% | 12 | 36 | 33.3% | 12 | 13 | 92.3% | 50% | 48% | 24 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-12 | 25 | Sydney | 11-17 (7) | 24 | 19.0 | 6.8 | 3.9 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 2.9 | 6.5 | 45% | 0.5 | 1.5 | 33% | 0.5 | 0.5 | 92% | 50% | 48% | 24 | Total | 24 | 19.0 | 6.8 | 3.9 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 2.9 | 6.5 | 44.6% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 33.3% | 0.5 | 1.5 | 92.3% | 50% | 48% | 24 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 24 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
|---|
STATE LEAGUE EXPERIENCE
- Ringwood (2010)
Ratzsch joined Ringwood for the 2010 Big V State Championship Men season, giving the Hawks a 67 forward from Northern State and forming part of a roster that also included Daryl Corletto, Luke McMillan, Luke O’Hea, Damien Smith, Willie Weimer and Mark Whitehead.
Ratzsch averaged 19.7 points, 12.1 rebounds and 10.9 assists for Ringwood in the supplied ABA state league record, while another season report recorded his Ringwood output at 19.2 points and 12.1 rebounds, and he was also noted late in the season as shooting 58 percent from the field.
Ringwood finished first through the 2010 Big V State Championship Men regular season, then beat Hume City 94–62 and 84–64 in the semi-finals, with the opening win coming while the Hawks were missing Daryl Corletto, lost Willie Weimer early to an ankle injury and had Ratzsch in early foul trouble.
Ringwood reached the 2010 Big V State Championship Men Grand Final series against Waverley, winning Game 1 on the road 91–80 before losing Game 2 at home 86–58 and Game 3 at home 76–63, ending the season as runner-up after a three-game series.
Ratzsch was named 2010 Big V State Championship Men MVP after his Ringwood season, with his single Australian state league stint ending before he moved into later professional opportunities outside the state league level.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Ireland - Belfast Star (2009–2010) | Spain - FEVE Oviedo Baloncesto (2010–2011)
Ratzsch joined Belfast Star for the 2009–2010 Irish Super League season, playing his first season in Ireland.
In that 2009–2010 campaign with Belfast Star, he finished as one of the competition’s statistical leaders, placing third in scoring at 30.4 points per game while shooting 64.4% on two-pointers, 44.0% on three-pointers, and 74.6% at the foul line, and he also ranked fourth in rebounding at 12.9 per game and third in assists at 4.4 per game.
Ratzsch and Belfast Star were listed as the Northern Conference runner-up, then exited in the quarter-finals with an 83–79 loss to UCC Demons.
Ratzsch moved to Spain when he joined FEVE Oviedo Baloncesto for the 2010–2011 LEB Plata season, and early reports from the club’s pre-season schedule listed him in the starting group alongside Ian O’Leary, Toni Tate, Rubén Suárez, and Manuel Parada in a 74–66 loss to Lan Mobel ISB where he scored nine points.
During the 2010–2011 LEB Plata season, he was credited with weekly league recognition on the PIR “MVP week by week” list, including a shared weekly selection with teammate Tony Tate and a later standalone weekly selection for FEVE Oviedo Baloncesto.
COLLEGE
Ratzsch played college basketball at Northern State (Division II) from 2005–06 through 2008–09 after redshirting as a freshman in 2004–05, finishing his career as one of the program’s most productive scorers and earning major NSIC honors along the way.
As a redshirt-freshman in 2005–06, Ratzsch appeared in 33 games and averaged 15.4 minutes, producing 143 points (4.3 per game) and 102 rebounds (3.1 per game) while shooting 52-for-114 from the field (45.6%) and 27-for-35 at the free throw line (77.1%).
In 2006–07, he started all 29 games and finished as the NSIC’s leading scorer for the season, totaling 539 points (18.6 per game), while also leading Northern State in rebounding at 6.2 per game with 37 steals and 30 blocks; his season included a 32-point career-high against Augustana on November 18, 2006, and he was named NSIC Player of the Week on February 12, 2007.
During that 2006–07 season, he also set a Northern State single-game mark by making eight three-pointers against Wayne State on February 3, 2007, a figure that remains listed among the school’s game records.
As a junior in 2007–08, Ratzsch played in every game and ranked fourth in the NSIC at 16.8 points per game (555 points), scoring double figures in all but two games and reaching 20+ points 13 times; he hit 62-of-128 three-pointers (48.4%), added 46 assists and a team-high 33 steals, and reached 1,000 career points on January 19, while earning All-NSIC First Team honors and multiple regional/district recognitions.
That 2007–08 season also included a Northern State single-season free throw percentage record, with Ratzsch going 55-for-59 (93.2%), a mark still cited in program records and his Hall of Fame profile.
As a senior in 2008–09, he played in and started all 30 games, led both Northern State and the NSIC in scoring at 20.5 points per game, and ranked among the league’s leaders in rebounding (7.4 per game) and free-throw percentage (89.1%), while also leading the Wolves in steals (35) and finishing second on the team in blocks (59).
Across that senior year, he scored 615 points—listed among Northern State’s best single-season totals—finishing with 1,852 career points (eighth in school history) and 693 career rebounds (10th in school history), with his record profile also placing him top-five all-time at Northern State in career free throw percentage and career three-point field goal percentage, and top-10 in career field goal percentage.
His 2008–09 accolades included NSIC Player of the Year (with the league release listing him at 21.3 points per game overall and 20.9 in conference play), Northern Sun Offensive Player of the Year recognition, Daktronics Central Region Player of the Year, and multiple All-America selections (including Division II Bulletin First Team plus additional second-team honors), and he was selected to the NABC All-Star Game held with the NCAA Division II Elite Eight tournament.
In conference scoring volume, his Northern State bio notes 417 points in NSIC games during 2008–09 (just shy of the NSIC single-season record of 420), while his career conference total is listed at 1,117 points (fourth in NSIC record-book context).
Ratzsch’s Northern State years came under head coach Don Meyer, and the 2008–09 campaign notably overlapped with Meyer reaching the milestone of 903 career wins on January 10, 2009, when Northern State defeated the University of Mary 82–62 in front of 6,654 fans.
Notable teammates from his senior roster included Craig Nelson, Levi Hamilton, Mitch Boeck, Collin Pryor, and others listed on Northern State’s 2008–09 roster page, with game recaps from the period also pairing Ratzsch and Nelson as dual 20+ point scorers in wins and citing Ratzsch alongside Hamilton as leading scorers in key NSIC results.
Before college, he attended Bloomington High School, where Northern State’s biography credits him as a team captain and an all-conference selection, noting he averaged 14.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while shooting 64.1% from the field and 47.6% from three-point range, and recording 59 blocks.
He graduated from Northern State in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education, and was later inducted into the Northern State Athletics Hall of Fame (2020).
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