Ray Hall (basketball)
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Lawrence "Ray" Hall (sometimes known as Sugar Ray Hall; born June 23, 1962) is an American former
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 ...
player. He is currently the all-time leader in scoring, free throws made, field goals made and steals for the
Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball : ''For information on all Canisius University sports, see Canisius Golden Griffins'' The Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball team, or the Griffs, represent Canisius University in Buffalo, New York, United States. Canisius is a member of t ...
. He formerly held various records, including career points, for the ECAC-North Conference (now
America East Conference The America East Conference (AmEast) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference is headquartered in Boston, Massachu ...
). He led Canisius in scoring and steals all four years. In high school, he was the 1981 co-
Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all so ...
player of the year and held the
Buffalo Public Schools Buffalo Public Schools serves approximately 31,000 students in Buffalo, New York, It is located in Erie County, New York, Erie County of western New York and operates nearly 70 facilities. History The Buffalo Public School System was started ...
and
Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all so ...
career scoring record. Hall is the most recent
NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...
selection from Canisius. Following his college career, he played professionally, including several years in 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) and
World Basketball League World Basketball League (WBL) was a minor professional basketball league in the United States and Canada which operated from 1988 to 1992. It was founded as the International Basketball Association in November 1987, before changing its name prior ...
(WBL).


High school

Ray Hall is described as being from a good family in Buffalo's inner city, who acquired the nickname Sugar Ray as a teenager. In 1974,
Jo Jo White Joseph Henry White (November 16, 1946 – January 16, 2018) was an American professional basketball player. As an amateur, he played at the University of Kansas, where he was named a second-team All-American twice. White was part of the U.S. m ...
made two free throws for 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), ...
after the clock expired in the game that eliminated the
Buffalo Braves The Buffalo Braves were an American professional basketball team based in Buffalo, New York. The Braves competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference ...
from the
1974 NBA playoffs The 1974 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1973-74 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Milwaukee Buck ...
. Hall attempted to pelt White with an apple, but White ducked. White would become Hall's
sports agent A sports agent is a legal representative (hence agent (law), agent) for professional sports figures such as athletes and coaches. They procure and negotiate employment and Testimonial, endorsement contracts for the principal (commercial law), at ...
in 1985. In 1981, Hall established the Buffalo Public Schools career scoring record of 1,794, which was eclipsed by Curtis Aiken on February 8, 1983. Hall's 1981 total was also a Western New York record. That year he was named Western New York boys' basketball co-player of the year (with Lester Rowe) by ''
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''. On February 21, 1981, Hall committed to Canisius over Vanderbilt,
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,
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
and
Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...
. In the 1981
Empire State Games The Empire State Games were a set of annual Olympic-style competitions for amateur athletes from the state of New York, encompassing several divisions and allowing athletes of all ages to compete. It was a member of the National Congress of St ...
open division finals, Hall had a game-high 26 points in the 98–97 gold medal game loss to a New York City team that included
Chris Mullin Christopher Paul Mullin (born July 30, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player, executive and coach. He is a five time NBA All-Star and four time All-NBA Team member. He is also two-time Olympic Gold medalist and a two-time ...
, Tony Bruin, and Sidney Green. In 2009 as ''
The Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. On January 29, 2020, th ...
'' celebrated 50 years of All-
Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all so ...
(WNY) basketball selections, Hall, who was twice an All-WNY first team selection, was a fourth team selection for the All-time All-WNY team.


College

Hall is the all-time Canisius leader in career points (2,226), field goals made (812), free throws made (602), and steals (219). He also holds the school's freshman season records for points (455) and steals (53). Hall held other Canisius records including single-season steals (65), career games started (115) and single-season minutes per game (36.7, 37.0). He led the team in scoring and steals for all four years. Hall led the team in rebounding as a sophomore. He was selected to the All-ECAC-North Conference (now
America East Conference The America East Conference (AmEast) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference is headquartered in Boston, Massachu ...
) first team as a junior (1984) and senior (1985) and was the conference Rookie of the Year in 1982. Hall is the most recent Canisius
NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...
ee having been selected with the 12 pick of the 5th round by 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 ...
a few hours after 4-year teammate
Mike Smrek Michael Francis Smrek (born 31 August 1962) is a Canadian former professional basketball player. He was selected in the second round of the 1985 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, and played seven seasons in the league as a backup cent ...
(2nd round, 1st pick) in the
1985 NBA draft The 1985–86 NBA season, 1985 NBA draft took place on June 18, 1985. It was also the first NBA draft of the "NBA draft lottery, lottery" era. It was also around this time where the league decreased the amount of rounds the draft spent, with the ...
. He served as co-
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with Smrek as a senior. Although he no longer holds America East Conference scoring records, Hall formerly held scoring records such as career points — but was surpassed Al McClain's 1980–84 1861 total and
Reggie Lewis Reginald C. Lewis (November 21, 1965 – July 27, 1993) was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics from 1987 to 1993. At the age of 27, Lewis died while still a member of the Celtics, ...
's 1983–87 2709 total — and free throws made. He was a five-time conference Player of the Week. As a senior, hall led Canisius to its only regular season ECAC-North Conference championship (that it shared with Northeastern). He played both
small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...
and
shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...
with significant coverage of him going back and forth. Hall was a 1985 NCAA Men's Basketball All-American honorable mention selection by the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
. Hall played in the 1982 National Sports Festival (later called the U.S. Olympic Festival) for the East team with Andre Williams,
Ed Pinckney Edward Lewis Pinckney (born March 27, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. College career He attended Villanova University and was a part of the Villanova Wildcats' 1981 heralded recruiting class that included Gary McL ...
,
Harold Pressley Harold Pressley (born July 14, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. He spent four years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Sacramento Kings between 1986 and 1990 before playing a major role in Joventut ...
and Rafael Addison. He scored 13 points, including the go-ahead basket, in the July 27 game against the North.


Professional

At the Jazz 1985 training camp, Hall was waived in the cut that reduced the roster from 17 to 14. He played for the
Wyoming Wildcatters The Wyoming Wildcatters were a professional basketball team based in Casper, Wyoming. They played 6 seasons in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), the defunct development league for the National Basketball Association (NBA). They manage ...
of the CBA for the 1985–86 season, where he was a roommate with 2-time
NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Traditionally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of ...
John Drew after Drew was forced out of the NBA for drug abuse. In August 1986, he was invited back to the October 1986 training camp, and he signed with the team that month. He worked out a lot with
Darrell Griffith Darrell Steven Griffith (born June 16, 1958), also known by his nickname Dr. Dunkenstein, is an American former professional basketball player who spent his entire career with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1980 t ...
who had missed the prior season nursing a foot fracture. He only posted a 32 percent
field goal percentage Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Although three-point field goal percentage is often calculated separately, three-point field goals are included in the gene ...
in 6 1986 pre-season games, and he was released from the team later that month. In September 1987, Hall was announced as part of a 13-member all-star team of the International Basketball League that did an exhibition tour (including the 1987 PBA/IBA World Challenge Cup) of the
Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...
from September 12 to 27, that visited
Seoul, South Korea Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
and
Manila, Philippines Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on the island of Luzon, it is ...
. Hall wound up being
MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...
of the World Challenge Cup. He was a 1988 CBA All-Star, having played as a member of the Charleston Gunners that year. On April 15, he signed with the Youngstown Pride of the
World Basketball League World Basketball League (WBL) was a minor professional basketball league in the United States and Canada which operated from 1988 to 1992. It was founded as the International Basketball Association in November 1987, before changing its name prior ...
(WBL), where he was teammates with his former Co-Player of the Year Rowe. He was among 22 players invited to a May 23–26, 1988, tryout camp for the inaugural
Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...
roster. That summer he played for Youngstown. Although Hall was invited back, the June 23, 1988 NBA expansion draft, in which the Hornets loaded up on guards, and the related
Kelly Tripucka Peter Kelly Tripucka (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1981 to 1991. He was a two-time NBA All Star and averaged over twenty points a game i ...
trade, made it less likely that Hall would make the roster. In early August 1988, the Hornets training camp started with 30 players, which was cut to 21 three days later. Hall performed well. Later that August, he played for the Hornets in the 6-game rookie summer league, scoring 17 points in the summer league opener and 27 points in the summer league finale. However, by mid-November he was playing abroad in the 1988 PBA Reinforced Conference and expected to return to the
Quad City Thunder The Quad City Thunder was a Continental Basketball Association (CBA) franchise that was based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. They played in the CBA from the 1987–88 season until the CBA folded in 2001. The Thunder were successful on ...
of the CBA in December, which he did. In November 1989, he tried out with the
Columbus Horizon The Columbus Horizon is a defunct basketball team from Columbus, Ohio that played for five seasons in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1989 to 1994. History Plans to bring professional basketball to Columbus were unveiled in Sept ...
of the CBA. In February 1990, Hall signed with the
Cedar Rapids Silver Bullets The Cedar Rapids Silver Bullets were a professional basketball team based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa from 1988 to 1991. They played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), the defunct minor league, development league for the National Basketbal ...
of the CBA. In May 1990, he signed with the
Erie Wave The Erie Wave was a professional basketball franchise based in Erie, Pennsylvania from 1990 to 1992. The team played in the World Basketball League World Basketball League (WBL) was a minor professional basketball league in the United States a ...
of the WBL. In November 1992, Hall joined the staff at Niagara County Community College as an assistant coach. Hall resigned in September 1993, but not before participating in his first
Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament The Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament is a nationwide event for players of a variety of age and skill levels in the United States. Although every tournament is different, a typical Gus Macker event involves basketball courts set up in parki ...
in Buffalo where he reached the final game that June. In October 1993, he tried out with the
Hartford Hellcats The Connecticut Pride (from 1993 to 1994 the Hartford Hellcats) were an American professional basketball team based in Hartford, Connecticut, that was a member of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). They played in Hartford from 1993 to ...
of the CBA. Hall was a selection along with Rickey Williams and Keith Robinson, the inaugural Mr. New York Basketball (1986), among others to the 2009 50th anniversary All-Western New York boys fourth team by ''
The Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. On January 29, 2020, th ...
'' for his high school career. In 1997, he was inducted into the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame. In 2008, he was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. , he had spent over 17 years working for
Ingram Micro Ingram Micro Holding Corporation is an American distributor of information technology products and services. The company is based in Irvine, California, U.S. and has operations around the world. Founded as Micro D, Inc in 1979 in California by ...
in
Amherst, New York Amherst () is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Erie County, New York, Erie County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of Buffalo, New York, Buffalo. As of 2020, the town had a total population of 129,595. ...
, and had become an avid bowler.


See also

* Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball statistical leaders *
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career scoring leaders __NOTOC__ In basketball, point (basketball), points are the sum of the score accumulated through free throws and field goal (basketball), field goals. In National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I b ...
*
Utah Jazz draft history The New Orleans/Utah Jazz have selected the following players in the National Basketball Association Draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947, in which the teams in the league can d ...


Notes


External links


Stats
at
Sports Reference Sports Reference, LLC is an American sports statistics company that operates databases of several sports. They include Pro Football Reference for American football, Baseball Reference for baseball, Basketball Reference for basketball, Hockey ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Ray 1962 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen American men's basketball players Basketball players from Buffalo, New York Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball players Cedar Rapids Silver Bullets players Charleston Gunners players Columbus Horizon players Junior college men's basketball coaches in the United States Quad City Thunder players Shooting guards Small forwards Utah Jazz draft picks Wyoming Wildcatters players