Growing up a stone’s throw from one of the Mecca’s of basketball, perhaps B. Braun Sheffield Sharks star Devearl Ramsey was always destined for the top levels of this incredible sport.
Born and raised on the outskirts of Los Angeles, California, it would be natural to think that the 26-year-old would have been inspired by the terrific tandem of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant at the Los Angeles Lakers.
In fact, Ramsey’s biggest inspiration to
start hoopin’ was his older brother – who had to work extra hard to keep his
smaller sibling off the court at times, such was his love the game from a young
age.
“My older brother would always be in our
backyard playing with his friends,” Ramsey said.
“I just wanted to kind of do what he did so
I followed him, but when I would get on the court, I’d be too small because I
was younger, so they’d be trying to kick me out!
“I always had a knack for it and wanted to
play, but once I got into it more seriously then, of course, the Lakers and
Kobe Bryant became inspirations for me; but honestly, it all started with my
brother, and I’m glad because I found the joy in it all that way and built up a
genuine love for the game.”
Standing at just six feet tall, Ramsey’s
physical stature is on the smaller side for an elite level hooper.
The American’s heart and toughness more than makes up for that, as the American floor general has been a constant presence behind the third-placed Sheffield Sharks’ strong performances in the British Basketball League.
“I’ve been short my whole life, but I’ve
played at a high level from middle school so I’ve never let it stop me. I
played against my big brother and his friends from when I was a little kid and
I’ve always played up an age group in the junior levels and lived for that
challenge.
“My brother always told me to put a chip on my shoulder and stay aggressive, never take my foot off the gas and always feel like I have something to prove. I just try to get after it all the time and let that mindset take over to push me forward on the court.”
The house that Ramsey built?
Another notable basketball institution in California – certainly in more recent times – has been Sierra Canyon School, which hoops fans will have known more recently due to Bronny and Bryce James attending the school on their paths to the NBA.
It was actually Ramsey and his cohort of classmates, however, that won Sierra Canyon’s first-ever State Championship for boys’ basketball. Add two gold medals for Team USA as a junior, alongside the likes of Boston Celtic Jayson Tatum and other current NBA stars, and you can see just how elite the Californian’s junior career was.
“It has definitely developed over the years
since I first got there.” Ramsey said of Sierra Canyon.
“I started there in seventh grade and me
and my group of friends who played on the team stayed together and played on
that team for about five or six years. We built that camaraderie, had some
success and helped develop that programme in a lot of ways.
“We won their first State Championship in
my time there and the school achieved some notoriety because of that – before
the bigger names arrived there in more recent years and taken the school’s
popularity to a new level.
“We were ranked amongst the top 25 in the
country for four of my years there and had a lot of success but it’s crazy to
think how the school’s popularity has exploded since then because nobody would
have expected that kind of transition back when I first went there!”
From California to the Canon Medical
Arena
Completing a successful collegiate career
in the NCAA, Ramsey landed with the Sacramento Kings’ NBA G-League affiliate –
the Stockton Kings – straight out of college, before signing his first overseas
deal with the Sharks in January.
With Sharks Head Coach Atiba Lyons having
chased Ramsey’s signature for several months, the floor general’s signing was a
big boost to the team, and the American reflected on his first nine months in
Yorkshire:
When Devearl Ramsey is in his 🎒 WHAT do you do!? The @sheffieldsharks man is ON IT tonight!
📺 WATCH LIVE: https://t.co/SJ2iQrKB3M#UNBEATABLE #BritishBasketballLeague pic.twitter.com/T4xLid1zq4
— British Basketball League (@britishbasketm) November 17, 2023
“I’m in a good groove right now but the
same can be said for the whole team, which has made me feel even more
comfortable and able to express myself on the floor.
“It was tough coming in last year mid-season
and having to hit the ground running, so getting a full summer with the guys
this year has definitely made this season much easier for me to help the team
perform to its best potential.
“I don’t pay a lot of any mind to anything
outside of our locker room, so if we’re getting the respect we deserve or not it
doesn’t matter too much to me. Since the day I got here I’ve known that this is
a good team who can compete with anybody and achieve our aspirations.
“We’re gritty, tough and we get after every single play. When you have those attributes, you’re going to be in every game no matter what. We’ve shown we can score 90 and win or score 60 and win and that flexibility in our approach makes us very dangerous.”
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