John Edward "Bags" Bagley (born April 23, 1960) is an American former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Boston College Eagles The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Boston College, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdivis ...

College career

Bagley played for

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

for three seasons, where he averaged nearly 18 points a game and became the first Eagle to earn Big East Men's Basketball Player of the Year honors. He averaged 20.4 points per game during the 1980–81 season, his sophomore year, and led the Eagles to the regular-season championship and NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16. The following year, Bagley scored 21.1 points per game and led Boston College to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Bagley also played in the Men's World University Games in 1981, and led the team with 14.8 points per game. He left Boston College after his junior year and entered the 1982 NBA draft. He was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995. On February 25, 2017, Bagley's number 54 was retired at Boston College.

College statistics

, - , align="left" , 1979–80 , align="left" ,

, 29 , , - , , - , , .481 , , - , , .722 , , 3.1 , , 2.2 , , 1.5 , , 0.0 , , 11.8 , - , align="left" , 1980–81 , align="left" ,

, 30 , , 29 , , 32.2 , , .500 , , - , , .788 , , 3.8 , , 3.4 , , 1.8 , , 0.1 , , 20.4 , - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" ,

, 32 , , 31 , , 33.3 , , .501 , , - , , .797 , , 3.8 , , 3.8 , , 1.9 , , 0.2 , , 21.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 91 , , 60 , , 32.7 , , .496 , , - , , .778 , , 3.6 , , 3.2 , , 1.7 , , 0.1 , , 17.9

Professional career

Cleveland Cavaliers

Bagley was selected by the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

with the 12th pick of the 1982 NBA draft, and was signed to a three-year contract on September 28, 1982. He played with the Cavs for five seasons, from 1982 to 1987. His best season was the 1985–86 season, where Bagley hit then career highs of 11.7 points per game and 9.4 assists per game. During the 1986–87, Bagley had career highs in both free throw and three point percentage, with .831 and .301, respectively.

New Jersey Nets

After the 1986–87 season, Cleveland traded Bagley to the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

along with Keith Lee for Darryl Dawkins (who was subsequently sent to the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

in a three-way deal) and James Bailey. Bagley's first season with the Nets saw him play all 82 games, the only season he did this, as well as score a career high 12 points per game. He was also the only Net to play 82 games, and as a result, Bagley was given a multiyear extension on September 6, 1988. On November 17, 1987, Bagley hit a 75-footer at the buzzer against the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

when the first quarter drew to a close. Bagley played in 68 games, missing some due to injury, and lost his starting position at point guard to Lester Conner.

Boston Celtics

On October 5, 1989, Bagley was traded to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

for two draft choices and an undisclosed amount of cash. He has noted that playing with the Celtics in the Boston Garden has been the highlight of his basketball career. After playing one season for the Celtics, Bagley did not play the entire 1990–91 season. He began the season on the injured list with tendinitis of the right knee, and received arthroscopic surgery on March 3, 1991, ending his season and even becoming an afterthought, with the Celtics emphasizing Brian Shaw and Dee Brown. However, he did end up starting most of the 1991–92 season, mainly after Brian Shaw was traded to the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

. Despite the starting role, Bagley was not on the team as the 1992–93 season began, but was re-signed by the Celtics on December 23, 1992. Bagley ended up playing in only 10 games that season, then was granted free agency.

CBA

He played with the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA) during the 1993 off-season, playing for the Columbus Horizon and Rochester Renegade.

Atlanta Hawks

Prior to the 1993 season, Bagley signed a free agent contract with the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

, but was released after three appearances on December 13, 1993.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, 68 , , 3 , , 14.6 , , .432 , , .000 , , .762 , , 1.4 , , 2.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 5.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 76 , , 19 , , 22.5 , , .423 , , .118 , , .793 , , 2.1 , , 4.4 , , 1.0 , , 0.1 , , 8.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 65 , , 29.6 , , .488 , , .115 , , .749 , , 3.6 , , 8.6 , , 1.6 , , 0.1 , , 9.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , 77 , , 31.7 , , .423 , , .243 , , .791 , , 3.5 , , 9.4 , , 1.6 , , 0.1 , , 11.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 72 , , 67 , , 30.3 , , .426 , , .301 , , .831 , , 3.5 , , 5.3 , , 1.3 , , 0.1 , , 10.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, 82 , , 74 , , 33.8 , , .439 , , .292 , , .822 , , 3.1 , , 5.8 , , 1.3 , , 0.1 , , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 68 , , 20 , , 24.1 , , .416 , , .204 , , .724 , , 2.1 , , 5.8 , , 1.1 , , 0.1 , , 7.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 54 , , 17 , , 20.3 , , .459 , , .056 , , .744 , , 1.6 , , 5.5 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 73 , , 59 , , 23.9 , , .441 , , .238 , , .716 , , 2.2 , , 6.6 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 0 , , 9.7 , , .360 , , .000 , , .833 , , 0.7 , , 2.0 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 2.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, 3 , , 0 , , 4.3 , , .000 , , – , , 1.000 , , 0.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 665 , , 401 , , 25.7 , , .437 , , .241 , , .779 , , 2.6 , , 6.0 , , 1.1 , , 0.1 , , 8.7

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4, , 4, , 42.0, , .393, , .000, , .700, , 4.0, , 10.0, , 2.5, , 0.0, , 12.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5, , 0, , 14.0, , .533, , .000, , .750, , 0.8, , 3.4, , 0.8, , 0.2, , 3.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 10, , 10, , 30.8, , .442, , .250, , .703, , 2.7, , 8.5, , 0.9, , 0.1, , 11.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 19 , , 14 , , 28.7 , , .434 , , .125 , , .706 , , 2.5 , , 7.5 , , 1.2 , , 0.1 , , 9.5

Personal life

Bagley resided in

Elgin, Illinois Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, Cook and Kane County, Illinois, Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is located northwest of Chicago along the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River. As of the 2020 United Stat ...

, and coached the

Harper College William Rainey Harper College is a Public college, public community college in Palatine, Illinois. It was established by referendum in 1965 and opened in September 1967. It is named for William Rainey Harper, a pioneer in the junior college m ...

Men's Basketball team. He also ran a 32-team high school summer league, worked at a camp at Harper College, and coached the Chicago Dogs, a semi-pro basketball team. Following his time away from Connecticut, he recently moved back to his home of Bridgeport, CT. Bagley now coaches girls basketball at his alma mater, (Bridgeport) Harding High School. Bagley has a daughter named Janelle, and a son named C.J., whom he had with his former partner, Varissa Scruggs; the couple also had an infant son named John Rhyce Scruggs-Bagley, who died of a heart problem in 1993. Varissa Scruggs died in 2011.

References

External links

John Bagley on TheDraftReview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagley, John 1960 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball coaches from Connecticut Boston Celtics players Boston College Eagles men's basketball players Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Cleveland Cavaliers players Columbus Horizon players New Jersey Nets players Point guards Rochester Renegade players Basketball players from Bridgeport, Connecticut Warren Harding High School alumni 20th-century American sportsmen