Corey Raji (born November 7, 1988) is an American-Nigerian professional basketball player. He played college basketball for

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

High school career

Raji attended

Westwood Regional High School Westwood Regional High School (formerly Westwood Regional Jr./Sr. High School) is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Borough of Westwood and the Township of Washing ...

in Washington Township, New Jersey where he played for head coach Frank Connelly and was a two-time first-team All-Group 2 honoree. As a junior in 2005–06, he averaged 25.7 points and 15.6 rebounds per game. On November 22, 2006, Raji signed a

National Letter of Intent National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

to play

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for

. As a senior in 2006–07, Raji averaged 28.7 points, 16.7 rebounds, 4.4 blocks and 3.4 assists per game and was subsequently named the North Jersey Player of the Year by ''The Record''. He also earned first-team All-State honors from ''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to ''The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of wh ...

''. He finished his career as Westwood's career scoring leader with 2,497 points; also recorded 1,757 career rebounds.

College career

In his freshman season, Raji played in all 31 games with six starting assignments while averaging 8.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. The Eagles struggled in 2007–08, going 14-17 and missing the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles were much improved during Raji's second season, thanks in part to the emergence of freshman

Reggie Jackson Reginald Martinez Jackson (born May 18, 1946) is an American former professional baseball right fielder who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and Cali ...

, and made the NCAA Tournament. Raji averaged 9.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 34 games (all starts). Raji scored 15 points in a season-ending loss to

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

in the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles came into Raji's junior season without

Tyrese Rice Tyrese Jammal Rice (born May 15, 1987) is an American-born naturalized Montenegrin former professional basketball player who last played for AEK Athens of the Greek Basket League and the Basketball Champions League. He also represents the senior m ...

after he graduated, but

and

Rakim Sanders Rakim Sanders (born July 8, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Changwon LG Sakers of the Korean Basketball League. He played college basketball with the Boston College Eagles for three seasons, and with th ...

returned along with Raji. Raji and the Eagles both got off to quick starts. Raji scored over 10 points per game in his first ten appearances. Meanwhile, the Eagles won six of their first eight games, recording wins over Michigan, Miami and Providence. The Eagles struggled the rest of the season, however, finishing with a losing record. Raji finished the season with averages of 11.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in 29 games (all starts). The 2010–11 Eagles entered the season in a state of transition, following a coaching change and the departure of

Fairfield University Fairfield University is a private Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In 2017, the university had about 4,100 full-time undergraduate students and 1,100 graduate students, including full-time ...

. The season started with a win before losing in an upset to the

Yale Bulldogs The Yale Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The school sponsors 35 varsity sports. The school has won two NCAA national championships in women's fencing, four in ...

despite a 12-point performance from Raji. The Eagles more or less neutralized star

Greg Mangano Greg Mangano (born October 28, 1989) is an American basketball player for KTP Basket of Korisliiga. He played college basketball for the Yale Bulldogs. He is known for versatility as a frontcourt player and his polished face up game offensively. ...

, who scored only eight points, but they could only muster 67 points in the loss. BC went on to win nine of their next ten games. Later in the season, Raji scored 22 points in a win over Georgia Tech and 21 points in a win over Wake Forest. The Eagles made the NIT but lost in the second round to the

John Shurna John William Shurna (born April 30, 1990) is an American–Lithuanian professional basketball player for Herbalife Gran Canaria of the Liga ACB. He is the 2012 Big Ten scoring champion. He played in the 2012 NBA Summer League with the Atlanta ...

-led Northwestern Wildcats. The Eagles finished the season with 20 wins. Raji's senior season was more or less successful. He had career highs in points per game (12.1), rebounds per game (6.7) and three-pointers made (39).

Professional career

In September 2011, Raji signed with

Etzella Ettelbruck Foussballclub Etzella Ettelbréck, abbreviated to either FC Etzella or Etzella Ettelbruck, is a football club, based in Ettelbruck, in north-eastern Luxembourg. History In the 2005–06 season, Etzella finished third in the National Division, ...

of Luxembourg for the 2011–12 season. In 2012, Raji signed with

Quimper Quimper (, ; br, Kemper ; la, Civitas Aquilonia or ) is a commune and prefecture of the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the prefecture (capital) of the Finistère department. Geography The ...

of the French Nationale 1 league for the 2012–13 season. In June 2013, Raji signed with ADA Blois Basket also of the French Nationale 1 league for the 2013–14 season. In December 2013, he left Blois after 14 games. On November 1, 2014, Raji was selected by the Austin Spurs in the fifth round of the 2014 NBA D-League draft. However, he was waived by the Spurs five days later.

Personal

Raji is the son of Busari Sr. and Mamie Raji. His older brother, B. J., was a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

and since 2014 has retired from the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

References

External links

Eurobasket.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raji, Corey 1988 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Luxembourg American people of Yoruba descent American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Basketball players from New Jersey Boston College Eagles men's basketball players Small forwards People from Washington Township, Bergen County, New Jersey Sportspeople from Bergen County, New Jersey Westwood Regional High School alumni Yoruba sportspeople American men's basketball players