Ángel Rodríguez (basketball)

Ángel Daniel Rodríguez Tricoche (born December 5, 1992) is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player for Liège Basket of the BNXT League. He played college basketball for Kansas State University and the University of Miami.[1]

Ángel Rodríguez
Rodríguez with Kansas State, 2012
No. 23 – Liège Basket
PositionPoint guard
LeagueBNXT League
Personal information
Born (1992-12-05) December 5, 1992
Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
NationalityPuerto Rican
Listed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High schoolDr. Krop (Miami, Florida)
College
NBA draft2016: undrafted
Playing career2016–present
Career history
2016–2017Cholet Basket
2017–2018Maccabi Haifa
2018Vaqueros de Bayamón
2018–2019Rio Grande Valley Vipers
2019–2020Austin Spurs
2020–2022Vaqueros de Bayamón
2022–2023Liège Basket
2023Vaqueros de Bayamón
2023–presentLiège Basket
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Puerto Rico
Centrobasket U18
Gold medal – first place2009 Aguas Calientes

College career

Rodriguez began his collegiate career at Kansas State. As a sophomore, he averaged 11.4 points and 5.2 assists per game. Following the season, he opted to transfer to Miami (Florida) to be closer to his home in Puerto Rico.[2] Rodríguez averaged 12.6 points per game, 1.7 steals per game and 4.5 assists per game as a senior. On March 6, 2016, Rodríguez was named to the Third-team All-ACC.[3] He also led his team to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.

Professional career

NBA Summer League

Rodríguez went undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft. After going undrafted, Rodríguez received an invitation to play in the 2016 NBA Summer League with the San Antonio Spurs.[4]

Cholet Basket (2016–2017)

In July 2016, Rodríguez joined the San Antonio Spurs for the 2016 NBA Summer League[5] and on July 9, 2016, Rodríguez signed a one-year deal with Cholet Basket.[6]

Maccabi Haifa (2017–2018)

On August 3, 2017, Rodríguez signed with the Israeli club Maccabi Haifa for the 2017–18 season.[7] On May 7, 2018, Rodríguez recorded a career-high 31 points, shooting 4-of-5 from three-point range, along with 4 assists and 3 steals in a 92–79 win over Maccabi Rishon LeZion.[8]

In 31 games played during the 2017–18 season, Rodríguez led the Israeli League in steals (2.4 per game) and was the fifth leading player in assists (4.7 per game). Rodríguez also averaged 13.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.

Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2018–2019)

For the 2018–19 season, Rodríguez was signed by the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for training camp. He was waived on October 13.[9] He was the added to the training camp roster of the Rockets’ NBA G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.[10] On October 27, 2019, Rodríguez was included in the training camp roster of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.[11] On November 7, 2019, Rodríguez was included in the opening night roster of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.[12] He tallied 29 points, nine assists, four rebounds, two steals and two blocks during a win over the Iowa Wolves on December 29.[13]

Austin Spurs (2019–2020)

On December 31, 2019, Rodríguez was traded to the Austin Spurs by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers for the returning right of Josh Huestis.[14]

Vaqueros de Bayamon (2020–2022)

On 2020, Rodriguez Tricoche returned to the Baloncesto Superior Nacional to play for the Vaqueros de Bayamón. On March 12, 2020, the league announced that they will be postponing the tournament because of the coronavirus. The BSN resumed the competition on November 10, 2020, in a bubble format, similar to what the NBA did. The bubble took place at the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Puerto Rico Golf & Beach Resort, in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico with a duration of six weeks. The Vaqueros were crowned champions after sweeping the Piratas de Quebradillas in the Serie Final Chrysler. Angel carried the finals Most Valuable Player award after helping Bayamon to won their 15th championship in league's history.

The next season, even he was named Most Valuable Player and dominated the league with 19 points, 5.6 rebounds, and led the tournament in assists averaging 8.4 per game, not everything were good news for the team. On September 27, 2021, the point guard injured his right hand thumb and that kept him out for the rest of the season. The Vaqueros still went to the playoffs but were eliminated in the semifinals by the Mets de Guaynabo (basketball).

In the 2022 season, he won his second championship with Bayamón when they defeated Atléticos de San Germán in the finals.

Cangrejeros de Santurce (BCL Americas)

After recovering from his injury, Angel and his Vaqueros de Bayamon teammate, the shooting guard Benito Santiago Jr. reunited in the Cangrejeros de Santurce (basketball) to represent Puerto Rico in the Basketball Champions League Americas. Rodriguez has registered 19 assists in their first two games.

National team career

Rodríguez played for Puerto Rico at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup where he averaged 10.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.3 steals per game in two games played.

References
  1. "Angel Rodriguez Bio". Hurricanes Sports. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  2. "Angel Rodriguez transfers to Miami". ESPN. May 2, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  3. Press Release (2016-03-06). "ACSMA Announces Basketball Postseason Awards, All-ACC Teams". theacc.com. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  4. Raúl Álzaga (June 24, 2016). "Ángel Rodríguez recibe invitación de los Spurs". Primera Hora. Retrieved June 25, 2016. (in Spanish)
  5. "SPURS ANNOUNCE 2016 UTAH SUMMER LEAGUE ROSTER". NBA.com. July 1, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  6. "Angel RODRIGUEZ, nouveau meneur choletais". Cholet Basket. 9 July 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016. (in French)
  7. "Maccabi Hunter Haifa sign point guard Angel Rodríguez". mhbasket.co.il. August 3, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  8. "Winner League, Game 29: M. Rishon Vs M. Haifa". basket.co.il. May 7, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  9. "Rockets Waive Four Players". NBA.com. October 13, 2018. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  10. "Rio Grande Valley Vipers Finalize Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. October 20, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  11. "VIPERS FINALIZE TRAINING CAMP ROSTER". NBA.com. October 27, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  12. "VIPERS FINALIZE ROSTER". NBA.com. November 7, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  13. "Angel Rodriguez: Tremendous in win Friday". CBS Sports. December 29, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  14. "VIPERS MAKE ROSTER MOVES". NBA.com. December 31, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
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