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Joe Ragland – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\nThere aren\u2019t many players like Ragland who have the ability to just take the ball and do as he pleases especially when Holon was playing with a very short rotation due to injuries. <\/p>\n
First the Springfield, Massachusetts drew a foul and put in a pair of free throws, he then added a layup which was followed up by, one, two, three triples and that was that. <\/p>\n
Game, set, match.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told Joe take the ball, get it over the half court line and you take care of it. Do what you need to do [in order to win the game],\u201d Holon coach Guy Goodes said just out of a timeout when the score was tight down the stretch.<\/p>\n
Boy did he take care of that ball and do what he needed to in order for Holon to take the win over an up and coming Galil Elyon team with plenty of tools that can cause issues for any team in the league.
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/269615BF-FD72-474F-87D6-52A1D4E9178F.jpeg\")
Joe Ragland – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\nRagland has many, many years under his belt having also played in the Euroleague, but at a very young 33-years old he is still a very capable and crafty of playing plenty of minutes while not losing a step. <\/p>\n
But playing in both the Israeli League and the Basketball Champions League, Goodes knows that he needs to take good care of one of his most important assets in order to keep him fresh and ready to go when called upon especially with a much shorter roster than last season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really make sure that we take care of him at practice and he has various treatments. He also takes good care of himself if it\u2019s in ice baths and the like. We don\u2019t have any extra and this team is different than the one we had last season when we had another import guard and seven foreigners. We have seven rotation players while last season we had more than that 9-10. But this it is what it is for the rest of the way as we won\u2019t be making any changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for Ragland, the point guard spoke about his fourth quarter heroics, \u201cI just wanted to be aggressive in that moment,\u201d the guard explained. \u201cMake sure I got the best shot for my team, if it\u2019s me or my teammates. Give credit to them [Galil] as they have always been a good team since they have been in the first division and they had a five game winning streak. They were going to have moments when they were going to fight back and make it a game, but I\u2019m glad we won.\u201d
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Guy Goodes – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\nGoodes and Holon had a rough run in continental play with a brutal overtime loss at Strasbourg, then a devastating home defeat to local rivals Hapoel Jerusalem which was followed up by a late game collapse against JDA Dijon.<\/p>\n
They will now have three \u201chome games\u201d with the two French teams in Holon and a contest in Jerusalem but just to comeback from a real rough set of continental clashes was not easy for the bench boss and took plenty of off the court work.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a lot of mental work to prepare the team as best as possible,\u201d Goodes said. \u201cIt\u2019s going into their souls. Chris Johnson didn\u2019t feel well but I said you need to play this game against Galil Elyon. I told him to take a break for two days and come in and that\u2019s what he did. He has a lot of character and we have a lot of character in the lockerroom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ragland and Johnson are veteran players that Goodes can lean on in the time of need, but they are also examples of what a professional athlete should be as well that many a younger player can learn a thing or two from.
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Itay Moskovits – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\nThat would be the case for up and coming Galil guard Itay Moskovits who at just 22-years old has turned plenty of heads averaging 11.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists this season. Add to that going 39\/41 for 95% from the free throw line and 28\/73 for 38.4% from downtown and you\u2019ve got one heck of a player. <\/p>\n
The Sabra floor general has shown that he can really play ball with the big boys and has scored in double digits in 10 out of 17 games this season. It should come as no surprise that he has been called up to the Israel National Team camp for their games at the end of the month against Finland and at Slovenia. <\/p>\n
As to what he saw from Ragland on the court, the ever modest Moskovits brought up a couple of points for himself and the team as a whole. <\/p>\n
\u201cI really liked to see how he communicates and talks to the players which is much more than just basketball talent. It\u2019s his character and how he really controls and manages the team. We learnt what it takes to be able to play against this type of quality team and what we need to do to go to the top of the league and battle for a place in the championship playoffs. We need to lift up our level of play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Galil Elyon is a team that has taken it upon themselves as an organization to work with young Israeli players, nurture and help develop them which has been successful to date with yet another solid season. Barak Peleg along with his staff have been tasked with that job and so far they have done the job admirably day in and day out.
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/98468152-A0ED-4F7F-8727-919DAF536546.jpeg\")
Itay Moskovits – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\nPeleg knows that Moskovits has the potential to be a top of the line player and that he is working hard towards that goal. However, with everything it\u2019s all a matter of time and gaining experience in order to continue to take his game to the next level. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you look at a player like Joe Ragland you can see how he prepares and how he plays the game with all of the experience that he has. Itay is still a youngster, a child in this regard. You all see the game, but we see the entire week, the preparation, the discussions, before and after games and practices which is really the story of a player. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe is very special and is just at the start of his career and it\u2019s just the beginning. One can\u2019t look at this season as \u201cthe season\u201d because it takes years to build up and become a player from preparation to becoming a leader and beyond. This all comes down to gaining experience.\u201d <\/p>\n
Joe Ragland who is as good as it gets in the Holy Land also sees the potential of what #7 as he called him can do on the court and that he will be a force to reckoned with going forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like him and I love his game, love his pace and I told him that today. He has a great style and the future is bright for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Holon\u2019s coach Guy Goodes had to contend with Moskovits in this game and did a good job containing him to 11 points with him going 6\/6 from the charity stripe.
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/DDCDAA56-9A32-47E1-B2B5-06E0FBC4C7C2.jpeg\")
Guy Goodes and Barak Peleg – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\nGoodes was himself a young Israeli point guard back in the late 1980\u2019s and 1990\u2019s and for him to see a player like Moskovits coming into his own and developing into a top talent is heartwarming.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is a very talented kid and one can see that. He has the ability to score and really move the ball. It\u2019s great to see a player like that who is coming into his own who played in Netanya and now Galil. He was injured and returned to play with a lot of skill. Huber is also very influential for that team when they play with the two guards. They are shooting really well from deep as well. It\u2019s just really great to see players developing especially Israelis.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Hapoel Galil Elyon continues on their mission to bring up young Israeli home grown players and want to make some noise in the upper half of the standings, Hapoel Holon is looking at the now and how they can defend their league title and make it back to the Final Four of the Champions League.<\/p>\n
They may have an uphill battle without the same depth that they had last year, but they still have that veteran know how and oodles and oodles of experience which has no substitute.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhoever we have to play against we have to be ready,\u201d Ragland said. \u201cWe play Jerusalem next week and we have to handle that game first. We have to take it one game at a time. We are going to fight and continue to fight. We lost a BCL game but we have the credentials to win and we will give ourselves the best chance to win.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Joe Ragland sometimes looks like Superman. The way he moves, the way he grooves and the way he can just take over a game and end it once and for all for his team. And that was the case in Hapoel Holon\u2019s 83-73 win over Hapoel Galil Elyon. The point guard took the proverbial bull […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":79450,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[4552,53,5441,4546],"class_list":["post-79437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holy-land-hoops","tag-hapoel-galil-elyon","tag-hapoel-holon","tag-itay-moskovits","tag-joe-ragland-en","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n