Gal Raviv is undoubtedly one of the most prominent players on the Women’s Israel Under-18 team and this week the squad opened up the European Championship in Portugal as the women look to turn heads just as their counterpart on the men’s side.
The talented point guard played at a prep-school in the United States over the past two years and was chosen as the MVP of the Grind Session League along with being named as the most improved player, and even won the MVP award of the All-Star Game.
Just before she heads to play college basketball, Raviv will have a chance to prove herself on the biggest stage in Europe. The 17-year-old was selected as the outstanding player of the Baltic Cup Tournament (preparatory tournament for the European Championship) which was won by the blue-and-white along with scoring the winning basket in one of the games.
Just ahead of the European Championship, The Jerusalem Post spoke with the talented floor general about the National Team, playing in the United States as well as women’s basketball in general and Israel in particular along with the goals that Raviv is aiming for in her career.
“I feel great and I think we have great potential as we have an excellent team. We’re coming to win. We’ll take it game by game. Go into the first game, get past that and move on from there,” Raviv began.
“I feel good, the coaches have my back and I feel that our team in general is a good team and we have good potential,” she added.
Representing Israel during the war
Raviv spoke about the significance of representing the country during the war.
“We are going to represent the country at such an important time, we are coming in as a team with the goal of winning and bringing honor to the country.”
Last season Raviv played at the Bella Vista School in Arizona, which is a high school that prepares female athletes to be able to compete at the college level.
“I played in a prep school in the United States, I had a good year and I decided to go Quinnipiac University in Division I. We had a good year as a team, we struggled a bit at the end, but apart from that we had a good year.”
Raviv was chosen as the season’s outstanding player, the most improved player and the All-Star game MVP while her team reached the league finals.
“I am happy with the season. In the end, the All-Star game is a basketball game, so you come to play basketball and whatever happens, happens. In the final, we could have given a little more, but we came up short. All in all everything is fine and we moved on.”
The blue-and-white guard spoke about making the transition to Quinnipiac and playing at the college level.
“This will be my third year in the USA. I feel good and excited to start the season. I want to connect with the girls, get to know the team and get to know the players and also come to play basketball. I’ll be concentrating mainly on that.”
Women’s basketball has recently been on the grand stage in America following Caitlin Clark’s entry into the WNBA, but can such hype be created in Israel as well?
“It is amazing to me to see everything that is happening to women’s basketball in terms of fans, viewers and really in terms of everything. Can this happen in Israel? I really hope so. We have a little more to get there, but I really hope we will get there.”
Raviv believes that a big women’s team tournament would contribute to awareness about women’s basketball in Israel.
“Of course, it can definitely help and we will do everything to make that happen."
While she doesn’t have a true role model, Raviv enjoys watching the various point guards.
“I don’t know if I have a role model but I like to watch and learn. I like to watch Kelsey Plum from the WNBA. She’s a specific player, but in general I like to see both men’s and women’s point guards that I can learn from.”
Raviv looked at the state of Israeli basketball and what some of the issues are in her eyes that need to be looked at with a keen eye.
“In the Premier League, I think that in terms of foreigners there is a bit of a problem, but of course we try to improve that every year. I just hope it will get better with a new chairperson coming in and I hope that will help us with this.”
As for import players, Raviv believes that two is the ideal number but also had a caveat.
“It’s not just the amount of foreigners, it’s how much time they are given and how much they play against the Israelis and how much the Israelis play.”
While some of the Israeli women’s club teams play in the EuroCup they are not playing in the top competition in the continent which is the Euroleague and the question remains can one make that leap.
“It really depends on who the players are, but by and large yes, if you build a good team, with good players then yes, I think it’s realistic.”
Before heading to the US and prep-school, Raviv played at The Academic College Levinsky-Wingate (Wingate Campus) which is an accredited institution of higher education that offers students combined academic and professional training for employment in the fields of movement, training, rehabilitation and sports and for teaching Physical Education. That team played in the second division as a 15-year-old Raviv was facing serious competition at such a young age.
“For me that was already a long time ago, about 2-3 years. That experience gave me the chance to play with girls and women who were bigger than me, more physical and faster. This is also what I expect in college, I expect to get stronger and of course improve while gaining more experience.”
In recent years, more and more Israeli players are going to college, among them are Yarden Garzon and her sister Lior, Emmi Rinat, Romi Levy and many more.
“I spoke to some of them for a little bit; in my opinion, it’s something that is personal and it’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time to do. That’s also one of the reasons why I moved to the US. By and large, it’s a place where you can get a degree, also play basketball as well as getting incredible exposure that, unfortunately, is not available in Israel. It’s an excellent place to continue your career or start it.”
It should come as no surprise what Raviv’s biggest dream and goal is down the road.
“My biggest dream is to reach the WNBA and the Euroleague. Not after this season but after a few seasons. But right now the number one goal is the European Championship and playing as best as we can to reach our immediate goal in front of us.”