Daren Rowe
July 23, 2020
Ray Shirley
- Nationality: USA
- Date of Birth:
- Place of Birth: New York, New York (USA)
- Position: FRD
- Height (CM): 196
- Weight (KG): #N/A
- Junior Assoc: None
- College: Wichita State (1976-1980)
- NBL DEBUT: 24/04/87
- AGE AT DEBUT: 0
- LAST NBL GAME: 19/08/89
- NBL History: North Melbourne 1987 | Geelong 1988-89
- Championships: 0
- None
NICKNAME/S: Sugar
BIO: Ray Shirley was born in New York, New York (USA).
NBL EXPERIENCE
Ray Shirley made his NBL debut with the North Melbourne Giants on 24/4/1987. He scored 21 points in his first game.
Shirley’s debut season in 1987 also marked the first season for the North Melbourne Giants, who had missed the playoffs in 1986 then moved home venues from Coburg to the inner city, where they would play at the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre (The Glasshouse). North Melbourne’s first season in the league saw the team appoint a new head coach in Bruce Palmer and recruited star import Scott Fisher. Shirley added 15.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4 assists alongside Fisher (25.1 points and 11.0 rebounds), and together they helped guide the Giants back into the playoffs. North Melbourne finished in sixth place at the end of the regular season (15-11) and then went on to lose to Illawarra (97–105) in the Elimination Finals.
The Giant’s decided to sign import Tim Dillon for the following season leaving Shirley without a team. He was able to secure a contract with the Geelong Cats in 1988.
Geelong suffered at the hands of ownership problems during the latter part of the 1980′s, this issue was at in 1987, resulting in a mass exodus of the team’s top talent. The Cats lost their five highest scoring players from 1987 when Greg Giddings, Ian Davies, Mark Leader, Mark Dalton and Brad Dalton all left the club. Geelong used whatever the finances they had to bring in names like Sam Foggin, Leonard Mitchell, Bruce Hope and Shirley to try and keep the team competitive. The high volume of player turnover and reduction in player salary cap proved far too difficult to overcome and the team went winless for the entire year.
Shirley managed to put up averages of 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists as Geelong finished with a 0-22 record, the worst season in NBL history.
At the end of the 1988 season a group of local business men fought together to save the club, injected the team with some much needed financial assistance, rebranded the team from Cats to Supercats and as a result were granted a license to ensure Geelongs ongoing participation in the NBL.
The Supercats improved from 0-22 the season prior to 5-19 in 1989. Shirley played a second year with Geelong and averaged 10.3 points and 5.1 rebounds in what would be his last season in the NBL.
Ray Shirley played three seasons in the NBL, playing for both the North Melbourne Giants and the Geelong Supercats. He averaged 14.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 44 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 0 | Geelong | 5-19 (13) | 16 | 373.0 | 165 | 82 | 46 | 32 | 50 | 23 | 12 | 33 | 40 | 71 | 164 | 43% | 5 | 24 | 21% | 18 | 26 | 69% | 47% | 45% | 24 |
| 1988 | 0 | Geelong | 0-24 (13) | 4 | 148.0 | 76 | 36 | 16 | 20 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 15 | 32 | 60 | 53% | 3 | 12 | 25% | 9 | 16 | 56% | 56% | 56% | 33 |
| 1987 | 0 | North Melbourne | 15-11 (6) | 24 | 703.0 | 381 | 141 | 95 | 49 | 92 | 23 | 12 | 77 | 65 | 163 | 328 | 50% | 12 | 36 | 33% | 43 | 73 | 59% | 53% | 52% | 33 | Totals | 44 | 1224 | 622 | 259 | 157 | 101 | 158 | 51 | 26 | 127 | 120 | 266 | 552 | 48.2% | 20 | 72 | 27.8% | 70 | 115 | 60.9% | 52% | 50% | 33 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 0 | Geelong | 5-19 (13) | 16 | 23.3 | 10.3 | 5.1 | 2.9 | 2.0 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 4.4 | 10.3 | 43% | 0.3 | 1.5 | 21% | 1.1 | 1.6 | 69% | 47% | 45% | 24 |
| 1988 | 0 | Geelong | 0-24 (13) | 4 | 37.0 | 19.0 | 9.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 8.0 | 15.0 | 53% | 0.8 | 3.0 | 25% | 2.3 | 4.0 | 56% | 56% | 56% | 33 |
| 1987 | 0 | North Melbourne | 15-11 (6) | 24 | 29.3 | 15.9 | 5.9 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 6.8 | 13.7 | 50% | 0.5 | 1.5 | 33% | 1.8 | 3.0 | 59% | 53% | 52% | 33 | Total | 44 | 27.8 | 14.1 | 5.9 | 3.6 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 6.0 | 12.5 | 48.2% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 27.8% | 0.5 | 1.6 | 60.9% | 52% | 50% | 33 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 33 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
|---|
STATE LEAGUE EXPERIENCE
- Parramatta 1983 | Bulleen 1985 | Knox 1986 | Southern Peninsula ?
COLLEGE
Shirley played college basketball at Wichita State University, As a freshman
He arrived from Laurinburg Institute and played as a freshman forward in 1976-77 under head coach Harry Miller in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Wichita State finished 18-10 overall (7-5 MVC) and placed third in the league standings.
Shirley appeared in 28 games and averaged 25.0 minutes, 8.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game as a freshman.
He scored 237 total points, pulled 137 total rebounds, and handed out 69 total assists while shooting .424 from the field (108-for-255) and .457 at the line (21-for-46).
In his varsity debut against Augustana (S.D.) on November 27, 1976, he posted an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double.
Wichita State recorded a notable non-conference win at No. 9 Marquette (75-64) during the regular season before entering the MVC tournament in Wichita.
In the 1977 Missouri Valley Conference Championship, Wichita State beat Drake 67-63 in the quarterfinal before losing 68-79 to West Texas A&M in the semifinal.
As a sophomore in 1977-78, Shirley again played under Harry Miller as Wichita State went 13-14 overall (8-8 MVC) and finished fifth in the conference.
He played 27 games and averaged 27.9 minutes, 12.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game.
Shirley totaled 325 points, 141 rebounds, and 61 assists, and he shot .485 from the field (145-for-299) and .648 on free throws (35-for-54).
He recorded a six-steal game against Indiana State on February 21, 1978, finishing that night with 10 points and six steals.
Wichita State closed the season in the MVC tournament with a 71-75 quarterfinal loss at No. 5 Bradley on February 27, 1978.
In 1978-79, Shirley moved into his junior season as Wichita State played under head coach Gene Smithson and finished 14-14 overall (8-8 MVC), placing third in the conference.
He played 28 games and averaged 21.8 minutes, 11.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game.
Shirley produced 313 points, 169 rebounds, and 85 assists while shooting .470 from the field (133-for-283) and .686 on free throws (48-for-70).
Wichita State advanced in the 1979 Missouri Valley Conference Championship by defeating Drake 70-69 in the quarterfinal before losing 81-85 at No. 2 New Mexico State in the semifinal.
As a senior in 1979-80, Shirley appeared in 11 games for Gene Smithson’s Shockers, who finished 17-12 overall (9-7 MVC) and placed second in the league.
He averaged 16.7 minutes, 5.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game while scoring 64 points with 45 rebounds and 28 assists on the season.
Shirley shot .359 from the field (28-for-78) and .727 at the line (8-for-11) during his senior campaign.
Wichita State won 82-70 over No. 5 Indiana State in the MVC tournament quarterfinal, then lost 60-68 at No. 1 Bradley in the semifinal.
The Shockers reached the NIT and lost 56-58 to UTEP in Wichita in the Round of 32 on March 6, 1980.
Across four Wichita State seasons, Shirley played 94 games and finished with 939 points, 492 rebounds, and 243 assists.
He averaged 10.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game for his Shocker career.
Shirley shot .452 from the field (414-for-915) and .619 on free throws (112-for-181) across his four-year career totals.
Related
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