Ty Harrelson

Ty Harrelson (born September 22, 1980) is an American-Australian former professional basketball player who played the majority of his career in Germany and Australia. He is the current head coach of SC Rasta Vechta in the German Basketball Bundesliga.

Ty Harrelson
Harrelson with the South West Slammers in 2013
SC Rasta Vechta
PositionHead coach
LeagueBasketball Bundesliga
Personal information
Born (1980-09-22) September 22, 1980
Houston, Texas
NationalityAmerican / Australian
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Career information
High school
College
NBA draft2003: undrafted
Playing career2003–2015
PositionShooting guard / point guard
Career history
As player:
2005–2006TV Langen
2006–2008BBC Bayreuth
2008Kataja
2008Falco KC Szombathely
2009–2010Giro-Live Ballers Osnabrück
2011Cockburn Cougars
2012Goldfields Giants
2013–2015South West Slammers (player/coach)
2017South West Slammers
As coach:
2015–2021Wayland Baptist
2021–2022TV Langen
2022–presentSC Rasta Vechta
Career highlights and awards
As player:
  • 3× SBL All-Star Five (2011–2013)
  • First-team NAIA All-American (2003)
  • First-team All-SAC (2003)
  • Third-team All-SAC (2002)

As coach:

High school and college career

Harrelson grew up as the son of two college basketball players.[1] Under the guidance of his father, Harrelson had a historic high school career split between Sonora High School and S. H. Rider High School. He scored 2,786 career points, which at the time put him 18th on the all-time Texas scoring list.[1]

Harrelson played his freshman college season at Collin County Community College. He spent his sophomore season in the Lone Star Conference at Cameron University before transferring to Wayland Baptist University. After two colleges in as many seasons, Harrelson finally found a home at Wayland Baptist, where he became one of the best players in program history, turning in two stellar seasons with the Pioneers.[1] In his first season, Harrelson helped the team return to the NAIA National Championships for the first time in a decade. The Pioneers returned the next season and posted another 20-win season. Harrelson earned All-Sooner Athletic Conference honors both seasons, and as a senior in 2003 was voted Wayland's first-ever NAIA First-Team All-American. For his two-season WBU career, he scored 1,111 points, tying him for 28th on the Pioneers' all-time points list. Harrelson still holds school records for highest assist average in a season (6.8), most assists in a game (15), and best free-throw percentage in a season (88.8).[2][3]

Professional career

After leaving college, Harrelson had a short-lived stint in Italy with FuturVirtus Castelmaggiore.[4] After bouncing around Italy and Mexico and playing for the ABA's Fresno Heat Wave in California, Harrelson took a leap of faith and went to Germany for a tryout.[3]

In 2005, Harrelson made his professional debut with German team TV Langen after being offered his first full-year contract.[3] During the 2005–06 season, he led the 2. Basketball Bundesliga in assists with 5.9 per contest.[5] He continued on in Germany for 2006–07 season, joining BBC Bayreuth. Harrelson garnered Eurobasket.com All-2. Bundesliga South Guard of the Year in 2006–07.[6] He had a second season with Bayreuth in 2007–08.

In 2008, Harrelson had two shorts stints with Finnish team Kataja and Hungarian team Falco KC Szombathely.

Harrelson returned to Germany for the 2009–10 season and played with Giro-Live Ballers Osnabrück.

In December 2010, Harrelson signed with the Cockburn Cougars of the State Basketball League.[7] In September 2011, he was named in the SBL All-Star Five.[8]

In December 2011, Harrelson signed with the Goldfields Giants for the 2012 SBL season.[9] In September 2012, he was named in the SBL All-Star Five.[10]

In October 2012, Harrelson signed a three-year deal with the South West Slammers to be player/coach. Despite also being an assistant coach with the Giants, Harrelson said the chance to take on a senior coaching position had been a major drawcard.[11] In September 2013, he was named in the SBL All-Star Five for the third straight year.[12] In October 2014, he committed to the Slammers for the 2015 season after rejecting an offer from the Goldfields Giants.[13][14] In August 2015, he guided the Slammers to the SBL Grand Final for the first time since 1999,[15] where they were defeated 105–75 by the Joondalup Wolves.[16]

In July 2017, Harrelson had a three-game stint with the Slammers.[17][18][19]

Coaching career

On July 11, 2015, Harrelson was hired as head coach of the Wayland Baptist men's basketball program.[20] Under his guidance, the team reached the NAIA national tournament four times. In 2018, Harrelson coached the Wayland Baptist men's basketball team to a NAIA national tournament quarterfinal appearance. After recording 115 wins and 59 losses, he resigned in August 2021.[21]

In early December 2021, he was named head coach of TV Langen in the German Regionalliga, the country's fourth tier.[22]

On June 1, 2022, Harrelson signed a deal to become the new head coach of SC Rasta Vechta of the German second division, ProA.[23] In June 2023, he led Vechta to the ProA championship[24] after entering the playoffs as the No. 1 seed.[25] By claiming the championship his team won promotion to the German top division, Basketball-Bundesliga.[26]

References
  1. "Where Are They Now: Ty Harrelson". everythinglubbock.com. February 1, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  2. "Ty Harrelson – 2018–19 Men's Basketball Coaching Staff – Wayland Baptist University". wbuathletics.com. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  3. "Harrelson proud to represent WBU in pro basketball ranks". wbuathletics.com. October 11, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  4. Aspettando i soldi di Madrigali Sabatini e Francia ora collaborano (in Italian)
  5. "FORMER PIONEER MAKING A BIG NAME FOR HIMSELF IN GERMANY". soonerathletic.org. December 29, 2006. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  6. "Eurobasket.com 2. Bundesliga South Awards 2006–07". www.eurobasket.com. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
  7. Excitement builds at Cockburn
  8. BWA ANNUAL DINNER – AWARD WINNERS
  9. Giants sign All-Star guard as second import
  10. BWA Annual Dinner – SBL Award Winners
  11. Slammers Ty up star in coach coup
  12. 2013 MSBL All Star Five
  13. Harrelson slams brakes on Giant rumour
  14. Ty Harrelson has re-signed to be player-coach with the Slammers for at least one more season!
  15. Chance of fairy tale now a reality for Slammers and Ty
  16. Wolves too good for Slammers to win third men's SBL championship
  17. TIGERS SLIDE PAST SLAMMERS
  18. SBL 2017: Ty Harrelson makes a surprise return to the Slammers
  19. Ty to the Slammers' rescue
  20. Harrelson returning as men's basketball coach
  21. Giese, Nathan (2021-08-16). "Harrelson resigns as Pioneers head coach". Plainview Herald. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
  22. Barth, Jürgen (2021-12-03). "Ty Harrelson gibt Trainerdebut bei den Giraffen in Fellbach". Langen Basketball (in German). Retrieved 2022-02-26.
  23. Nordwest-Zeitung. "Rasta Vechta findet neuen Trainer: Ty Harrelson soll den Erfolg zurückbringen". www.nwzonline.de (in German). Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  24. "ProA-Meister 2022/2023 – RASTA Vechta". 2. Basketball-Bundesliga (in German). 2023-06-04. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  25. "Mit der Vizemeisterschaft in die Erste Bundesliga". Tagblatt-Anzeiger. 2023-06-07. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  26. "Ex-Bayreuther ist Meistermacher in der ProA". Fränkischer Tag. 2023-06-06. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
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