Jeffrey George Ruland (born December 16, 1958) is a retired American basketball player and current coach. He is the former head coach of the Iona Gaels men\'s basketball team and the UDC Firebirds men\'s college basketball team.\n', '

A 6-foot-11-inch (2.11 m), 280 lb center, Ruland went from Sachem High School in Suffolk County, New York, to Iona College on a basketball scholarship and played for coach Jim Valvano before Valvano left for North Carolina State University. Ruland was the big gun on the Gaels\' 1979–1980 team that beat eventual national champion Louisville, 77–60, at Madison Square Garden during the regular season and compiled a 29–5 record en route to a number 19 national ranking, the best in the school\'s history. However, Jeff was found in violation of NCAA rules by hiring an agent, Paul Corvino, at International Management Inc. and was ruled ineligible to play his senior year at Iona.\n', '

Ruland was selected by the Golden State Warriors in the 1980 NBA draft with the 25th overall pick. During the 1980–81 NBA season he instead opted to play professionally in Barcelona, Spain for a year before returning to the U.S. Prior to his rookie campaign, his draft rights were traded by the Warriors to the Washington Bullets, with whom he played for five seasons before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. He retired after five games with them in 1987 after a nagging knee injury.\n', '

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