| No. 8 – Rytas Vilnius | |
|---|---|
| Position | Shooting guard / point guard |
| League | Lietuvos krepšinio lyga Basketball Champions League |
| Personal information | |
| Born | August 24, 1999 Union City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 185 lb (84 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | St. Anthony (Jersey City, New Jersey) |
| College | |
| NBA draft | 2022: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2022–present |
| Career history | |
| 2022–2023 | Lavrio |
| 2023 | Löwen Braunschweig |
| 2023-present | Rytas Vilnius |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
R. J. Cole (born August 24, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for Rytas Vilnius of the LKL. He played college basketball for the Howard Bison and the UConn Huskies.
Early life and high school career
Cole attended basketball powerhouse St. Anthony High School. He was ranked a three-star prospect and maintained a 4.0 grade point average. Cole turned down offers from Boston University and Monmouth to play at Howard, where he believed he could make an immediate impact.[1]
College career
As a freshman at Howard, Cole averaged 23.7 points per game and 6.2 assists per game, leading the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in both categories. He scored 42 against UNC Wilmington on December 22, 2017; one of his five games in excess of 30 points. Cole was named to the First Team All-MEAC and MEAC Rookie of the Year.[2]
As a sophomore, Cole was named MEAC Player of the Week on five occasions. He had a season-high 36 points in the regular-season finale versus Norfolk State.[3] Cole led the MEAC in scoring with 21.4 points per game. He was named the MEAC Player of the Year and was an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American. Cole led Howard to the College Basketball Invitational, where the team fell to Coastal Carolina despite 14 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals from Cole. After the season, Cole declared for the 2019 NBA draft but did not hire an agent, which left him with the option to withdraw from the draft and return to school for his junior year.[4]
After withdrawing from the draft, Cole transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn). He chose UConn over Alabama and Seton Hall.[5] As a junior, Cole averaged 12.2 points, 4.3 assists, and three rebounds per game in a complementary role to James Bouknight.[6]
On December 21, 2021, Cole reached 2,000 career points in a win against Marquette.[7] He was named to the First Team All-Big East.[8]
Professional career
On July 22, 2022, Cole signed his first professional contract with Greek club Lavrio. In 20 league games, he averaged 13.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1 steal, playing around 30 minutes per contest.
On March 31, 2023, Cole moved to German club Löwen Braunschweig for the rest of the season.
Career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | Howard | 33 | 32 | 37.9 | .394 | .359 | .770 | 3.9 | 6.1 | 1.7 | .0 | 23.7 |
| 2018–19 | Howard | 34 | 33 | 35.6 | .415 | .387 | .819 | 4.1 | 6.4 | 1.9 | .0 | 21.4 |
| 2019–20 | UConn |  Redshirt | ||||||||||
| 2020–21 | UConn | 23 | 21 | 31.1 | .387 | .386 | .770 | 3.0 | 4.3 | 1.2 | .0 | 12.2 |
| 2021–22 | UConn | 33 | 33 | 33.5 | .415 | .339 | .858 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 1.1 | .1 | 15.8 |
| Career | 123 | 119 | 34.8 | .404 | .366 | .804 | 3.7 | 5.3 | 1.5 | .0 | 18.8 | |
References
- ↑ Kidwai, Aman (December 27, 2018). "Howard's RJ Cole Is Taking the Road Less Traveled to College Basketball Stardom". Washington City Paper. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
- ↑ "MEAC Announces 2017-18 Men's Basketball Postseason Honors" (Press release). March 2, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
- ↑ "MEAC Announces Men's Basketball All-Conference Honors" (Press release). Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. March 8, 2019. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
- ↑ Maisonet, Eddie (April 9, 2019). "Howard's RJ Cole, MEAC Player of the Year, declares for NBA draft". Andscape. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
- ↑ Borges, David (May 15, 2019). "Howard transfer R.J. Cole commits to UConn". New Haven Register. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
- ↑ Carroll, Charlotte (May 11, 2021). "A dozen thoughts on the UConn men's 12 scholarship players as they try to make another NCAA Tournament". The Athletic. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
- ↑ Borges, David (December 22, 2021). "UConn men top Marquette behind Tyrese Martin's career-high 25 points". The News-Times. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- ↑ Borges, David (March 6, 2022). "UConn men's basketball team's R.J. Cole, Adama Sanogo, Jordan Hawkins honored by Big East". CT Insider. Retrieved March 10, 2022.