UE’s David Ragland – The Time is Right

New Evansville Coach Energetically Takes His Role

(St. Louis, MO) – Basketball coach David Ragland has spent 18 years looking for that proverbial ‘right fit’. He has found it in the Evansville basketball program. After applying for the position in 2018, now the time is right for Ragland to take his first Division 1 head coaching position.

When Dr. Kenneth ‘Ziggy’ Siegfried became the new Athletic Director Ziggy he quickly moved to release former coach Todd Lickliter and after an exhaustive search, the university’s administration signed Ragland to be the next care-taker of the Purple Aces’ program.

Ragland and I met over Zoom during the Memorial Day weekend and tackled a wide range of topics including his golf game, his family, coaching influences and how he hopes to build the Evansville program.

The Missouri Valley Conference team hasn’t participated in post season basketball since 2015 and hasn’t had a winning record since 2018. Last year’s team finished 6-24 and saw a departure of standout guards Shamar Givance and Jawaun Newton and promising freshman Blake Sisley.

Ragland’s challenge is made more difficult by being hired so late in the recruiting season, but the Evansville, Indiana native is thrilled to be leading his ‘home-town’ team and is passionate about bringing excitement back to the UE program and local community.

 

Who Is David Ragland?

Ragland starred and Division 2 Southern Indiana after playing originally at Missouri Southern. He led the Screaming Eagles in assists during his two seasons in Evansville. Ragland has moved from job to job, learning, growing and winning. At each stop he was part of successful teams that won tons of games and participated in numerous post season contests.

During his four seasons as an assistant at Indiana State the Sycamore record (79-55) led to four post season appearances and numerous league-wide honors for Sycamore players. Head coach Greg Lansing says Ragland is a great person and that his greatest strength lies in his ability to build trust-filled relationships.

“He always had a smile on his face,” said Lansing. “Rags is wonderful to be around and comes from a wonderful family. He is terrific with relationships and knows how to take care of people and he will inject life into that program.”

That ability to relate to players and coaches comes from his desire to help others succeed. His mother and father are his models of servant leadership and he hopes to mentor his young players in all facets of life.

 

 

Previous Destinations

Ragland served at several ‘lower level’ schools and at Division 1 programs. Along with coaching at Indiana State, his D1 stops included Valparaiso, Utah State, Bowling Green, Northern Kentucky and Butler. He was a head coach at Vincennes University where his head coaching record 44-19.

He worked with Lansing, Craig Smith, Chris Jans, LaVall Jordan and others. During his 18 years as an assistant, he learned lessons and improved along the way. He says Lansing allowing him the room to make and learn from his mistakes, was necessary for his personal development.

Nuggets of information, style of play and how to treat people have been lessons learned at each stop. Ragland was able to accumulate a greater understanding of the ingredients needed for a winning basketball team.

 

 

Time is Right To Build

Ragland wants to build with talented players that have high character. It is late in the recruiting season and the Purple Aces’ roster has plenty of holes to fill. Ragland is not intimidated by that challenge. He says there are numerous quality unsigned high school and transfer portal players still available.

After Lickliter was released, previously signed Matthew Ragsdale decommitted opening one more roster spot. Ragland says the previous coaching staff left him with high charcter players that are talented enough to compete. He says they just need more of those types of players.

 

 

True to his background, Ragland hopes to build his team around rebounding and defense. He says successful teams typically rebound well and limit opposing offenses. He wants the Aces to be a low-turnover/high assist team.

 

The Harrison High School product has energy, humility and confidence. Former Evansville great Marcus Wilson told me Ragland has the energy, passion and contacts to make UE successful and energize the fan base. Wilson believes Ragland has a chance to turn the program around quickly.

Assembling the Cast!

Since our interview, Ragland hired his first three staff members. Wilson and another former Aces’ great Craig Snow have been hired by the 41-year-old Ragland. During his introductory press conference, he promised to connect with UE teams and players of the past. Those two hires will go a long way to achieving that goal.

Joining the staff on Thursday is former junior college veteran coach George Swanson.

Wilson told gopurpleaces.com he has great respect for Ragland and a deep affection for the UE basketball program.

“Words cannot express the gratitude and excitement I have to return to my alma and work for Coach Ragland on the men’s basketball staff.  I have known David for over 20 years, so my trust and respect for him is off the charts,” Wilson exclaimed.  “Being a player and winning a championship for the University of Evansville was one of the highlights of my life, so to return as a coach to help young men fulfill their potential both on and off the court with the opportunity to win another championship for this university is a dream come true.”

UE has also landed its first prep recruit in Gabe Spinelli and junior college player in 6’10 forward Yacine Toumi. Blaise Beauchamp is the top returning scorer from last year’s team (8.0 ppg). No other current player averaged more that 4.8 points, nor 20 minutes per game. The other six returners are seniors Gage Bobe and Antoine Smith Junior, Trey Hall and sophomores Preston Phillips and Grant Tichenor.

While filling his coaching vacancies and roster spots, Ragland is also prepping for June workouts. Ragland and his wife Annie and children Ava and Joshua still need to find a place to live.

Hear the Rest!

Our entire interview can be heard at Valley Hoops Insider Podcasts or can be seen on You Tube.

This will be a transitional season for both the Missouri Valley Conference and the Evansville Purple Aces. The time is right for Evansville to make a move up the pecking order.

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