Sean meets: Ralph Bucci

Sitting in an empty bar overlooking the home court of the Durham Wildcats, a softly spoken Ralph Bucci reminisces over a storied professional career that after a seven year hiatus playing in Greece, finally sees him back on English ground.

Holding himself with the same degree of poise and eloquence we’re used to seeing on the court, 37 year old Ralph talks fondly, and openly on growing up, his playing days at Teesside, the stint in Greece, and his future intentions.

Growing up with a family already heavily involved in the game, Ralph naturally followed suit, his earliest experiences of playing coming under the guidance of his father. “My Dad used to be big into basketball, he actually coached me and my brother at junior level, my brother is three years older than me, I used to get thrown in with the older guys and was just involved from a real young age.”

Like any aspiring player of his generation, Ralph sought inspiration from Chicago Bulls and NBA legends Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, he talks with an almost childlike enthusiasm about the two – it’s easy to imagine a young Ralph working on his game trying to emulate his heroes; “Obviously I loved to watch Michael Jordan play, him and Scottie Pippen too, because I liked the way Scottie played so I assume that’s who I tried to emulate” before modestly adding; “But obviously it’s hard to compare myself to those guys”.

Coming out of St. Rose College, New York  in ’97 with a degree in business and accounting and not ready to resign himself to a life behind a desk, Ralph tried out for a professional summer league team. It was here that he would meet Teesside Mohawk head coach Tony Hanson.

“The professional team I played for in the U.S was based in Connecticut, and that’s where Tony Hanson is from, he played at UCONN and that’s where he goes back every summer. One of my old assistant coaches was starting to do agent and manager stuff so he kinda put me in touch with him it and went from there”. A couple of years later Ralph would be joined in Teesside by UCONN guard EJ Harrison, marking the start of a Teesside dynasty that saw several years of title dominance.

Ralph cast his mind back to the battles against Worthing and Plymouth in the old NBL, still sharp in his mind he talks about the contests in great clarity, in particular matching up against the Raiders at the Plymouth Pavilions; “Every game at Plymouth was excellent, it used to be full. We had the big rivalry going, every game used to be real intense because we were such closely matched teams. I’ll always remember the battles with both Plymouth and Worthing”, he pauses and smiles, “they were always special games”.

We soon get on to the subject as to why he stayed with the Mohawk’s for so long, “I had such a strong relationship with the people at Teesside, that I figured I might as well stay there until I’m ready to try a new place. I have no regrets staying there all that time. I mean it would have been nice to try the BBL a little earlier than now but like I said everything worked out”.

When asked about whether he was on the radar for any BBL clubs at the time, Ralph candidly tells me that “I don’t know if back then I was on any teams radar, when you were playing in the NBL sometimes it was tough to make that leap to the BBL because for some reason they didn’t think there were good enough players in the NBL at the time. I don’t know why they thought that, it was a stereotype if you played in the NBL they didn’t think you could cut it in the BBL which has obviously been proven wrong”.

His loyalty to Teesside paid off, he was put in contact with a club in Greece and enjoyed a seven year stint playing at a level that tested his game in a bigger more physical environment, and ultimately a place where “the standard is a lot higher”. It was here that Ralph learned to hone in on other aspects of his game. “I’ve improved my shooting and I’ve gotten a little smarter with the ball with my decisions. Obviously some of that has to do with playing in Greece, because with bigger guys I couldn’t get to the basket as much, I had to rely more on my jump shooting and stuff like that, so I think playing at that higher level has made me think about the game and be a little smarter and not rely on my athleticism”. He’s not the Ralph Bucci who could explode and finish at the rim at will, instead he’s the cool and collected veteran who always seems to be in control. Occasionally he’ll  show us glimpses of brilliance – reminding us all of his remarkable talent.

Ralph speaks with confidence about his teams ambitions for the season,  “We’re going to try and improve each game and as the season moves on the goal is the play-offs, try and sneak into the 7th or 8th because it’s a tough league for all these new guys so we’re just going to try and sneak into the play-offs. I think if we do that it’ll be a really successful year”.

Both humble and approachable, Ralph possesses the qualities of not only a true professional but of a genuinely nice guy. A quiet personality contributes to the enigmatic feel about an athlete who’s entering the twilight of a memorable career. As our meeting draws to an end, I ask Ralph about his future – and how many seasons he feels he has left.

“If I enjoy it this year I’ll look to do another year, and then if I keep enjoying it I’ll have to see if I’m still motivated to keep going. I could do a few more years if I really wanted to, but I’m going to play it by ear. If I really enjoy it I’ll definitely do another one”.

Hopefully Ralph decides to keep the boots laced up a little while longer but if he does hang them up for good come the end of the season, at least he finally got that chance to play at Britain’s top level.