Hunan Yongsheng Officially Announces: Korean-American Naturalized Player Ricardo Ratliffe Joins the Team

On July 16, Hunan Yongsheng of the NBL officially announced that Korean naturalized player Ricardo Ratliffe, also known as Oh Se-Keun, has joined the team and is expected to make his NBL debut for Hunan Yongsheng on July 18.

The official announcement from Hunan Yongsheng Club reads as follows:

In order to enhance the team’s competitiveness and achieve a breakthrough in the second half of the regular season, our club has completed the signing of Korean player Ricardo Ratliffe. Next, this first pure American-born naturalized player in Korea and one of the best interior players in the Korean KBL League will officially join Changsha Wantian Yongsheng. He will make his official debut on July 18 at home against Wuhan Kunpeng, fighting for Hunan and Changsha!

Ricardo Ratliffe, originally named Ricardo Ratliffe, was born on February 20, 1989, in the United States. He is an American-born Korean professional basketball player, standing at 203cm tall and weighing 111kg, playing as a power forward, and graduated from the University of Missouri.

In 2012, he participated in the NBA draft but was not selected. Unlike many American undrafted players who choose to play in the Development League, Ratliffe packed his bags and headed to Korea to start his career, becoming one of the best interior players in the KBL League.

In 2014, he represented Ulsan Mobis Phoebus in the Jones Cup. In that tournament, Ulsan Mobis Phoebus competed with only eight players and won the championship, with Ratliffe being selected to the All-Tournament Team and receiving MVP honors.

In May 2016, he joined the Philippine Basketball Association’s Magnolia Hotshots and left behind impressive averages of 32.2 points and 20.8 rebounds per game.

In 2018, due to his outstanding performance in the Korean KBL League, he received the favor of the Korean Basketball Association and successfully became a naturalized Korean player. Since then, he not only dominated the KBL League but also shone on the international stage, becoming an indispensable core force for the Korean men’s national team.

At the 2018 Asian Games, making his debut for the Korean national team, he became famous overnight, averaging 29 points, 13.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists with a 58.9% field goal percentage, becoming the top scorer and rebounder of the Asian Games.

At the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Ratliffe averaged 23 points per game, outperforming Bogdan Bogdanovic of Serbia to become the top scorer of the World Cup. Simultaneously, he averaged 12.8 rebounds per game, outperforming Hamed Haddadi of Iran to become the top rebounder of the World Cup. In the classification match against China’s national team, under the defense of Zhou Qi and Yi Jianlian, he shot 8-of-20 and made 5-of-6 free throws for 21 points, 12 rebounds (7 offensive rebounds), 3 assists, and 4 steals. Although the Korean team lost the game, Ratliffe indeed posed significant challenges to China’s national team.

In the recently concluded KBL Finals, Ratliffe helped Busan KT Sonicboom win the championship, averaging 23.7 points, 13.2 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks in the playoffs. His excellent physical fitness and years of accumulated experience in major competitions will immediately help Yongsheng in upcoming games. At the same time, under Coach Huang Wenlong’s lineup adjustments, his arrival will alleviate the pressure on Maric in interior defense and enrich the team’s offensive tactics.

At 19:30 on July 18, at the Hunan Helong Gymnasium, let’s witness the debut of Ricardo Ratliffe together!