Ryan Eugene Stack (or Ruan Stik, born July 24, 1975) is an American and naturalised Macedonian former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. He currently resides in Tennessee where he is a General Manager for

Waste Industries Waste Industries is a waste management company headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. Specializing in non-hazardous solid waste, recycling collection of waste disposal from residential and commercial customers in the southeastern United Sta ...

Professional career

Stack, a 6 ft 11 in (211 cm) forward/ center from the University of South Carolina, 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 league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

in the second round (48th overall) of the

1998 NBA Draft The 1998 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1998, at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This draft helped turn around four struggling franchises: the Dallas Mavericks, the Sacramento Kings, the Boston Celtics, and the To ...

. He saw limited playing time in two seasons with the Cavaliers, as the backup to All-Star center

Žydrūnas Ilgauskas Zydrunas Ilgauskas ( lt, link=no, Žydrūnas Ilgauskas; ; born June 5, 1975) is a Lithuanian-born American former professional basketball player who played the center position. The 7'3" Ilgauskas played for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the Nation ...

. After playing in just 43 games for the Cavaliers, Stack signed a contract to play in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, and played for Gijón team from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

's ACB for the 2000–01 season. The next season, Stack moved to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and was signed by the Maccabi Ramat Gan team. After the year in Israel, he moved to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

and was signed by

Aris Thessaloniki Athlitikos Syllogos Aris Thessalonikis, means Athletic Club Aris Thessaloniki
...

; he played there from 2002 to 2006. In all of those years with the team, he won the

EuroCup Challenge The FIBA EuroCup Challenge was the 4th-tier level (it was the 3rd-tier level during the inaugural 2002–03 season), transnational professional continental club basketball competition in Europe. It was run and organized by FIBA Europe. The leag ...

in 2003, the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most i ...

in 2004 and reached the EuroCup final in 2006. He was then the highest paid center in Europe. Stack was signed by

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

, for whom he played one season, in August 2006. He then signed with the Ukrainian league team

BC Kyiv BC Kyiv ( uk, БК "Київ") was a Ukrainian professional basketball club based in Kyiv. The club's home court for Ukrainian domestic league matches was the Meridian Sports Complex, which has a seating capacity of 1,500. Large attendance games a ...

North Macedonia national team

While playing for

Aris Thessaloniki Athlitikos Syllogos Aris Thessalonikis, means Athletic Club Aris Thessaloniki
...

, Stack adopted the citizenship of

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

and went by the name of Ruan Stik.13 - Ruan Eugene Stik
/ref> That way he could play as a

an on a Bosman passport, and thus not count as one of the two non-Europeans that were allowed per team in the Greek League at that time. He played for the

in several

FIBA EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...

and

FIBA World Cup The FIBA Basketball World Cup, also known as the FIBA World Cup of Basketball or simply the FIBA World Cup, between 1950 and 2010 known as the FIBA World Championship, is an international basketball competition contested by the senior men's nat ...

qualifications.

References

External links

NBA & college stats
- basketballreference.com
Player Profile
- ACB.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Stack, Ryan 1975 births Living people American emigrants to North Macedonia American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in North Macedonia American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in Ukraine American men's basketball players Aris B.C. players Basketball players from Nashville, Tennessee BC Kyiv players Centers (basketball) Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Cleveland Cavaliers players Gijón Baloncesto players Greek Basket League players Ironi Ramat Gan players Israeli Basketball Premier League players Liga ACB players Macedonian men's basketball players Olympiacos B.C. players Power forwards (basketball) South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball players