Obsesh for Athletes

Obsesh NCAA Growth Lead speaks on his selection to Team USA for men’s basketball open at the 2022 Maccabiah Games

Obsesh’s very own NCAA Growth Lead, Gabe Ravetz, has been selected to Team USA for the 2022 Maccabiah Games. We sat down with him to talk about the opportunity, as well as the content he puts out about NIL opportunities for college athletes.

Obsesh: Break down your season that just ended at Wesleyan, where your team went 25-4, and you averaged 11 points and 5 rebounds per game.

This season was a blast. Coming off COVID we didn’t exactly know what to expect or even if we were gonna be able to play a full season. We even changed a lot of our principles since last season. It fit our team perfectly and we really came together as a team. We finished first in the league, hosted our league tournament, and won our conference championship on our home floor for the first time in program history (second all time). We finished the season as a top 5 team in the national rankings, set a program records for wins in a regular season and wins in a season overall. After hosting the first NCAA tournament weekend we were on the wrong end of an unfortunate upset to a staunch defensive team in RPI.

Obsesh: Now that you’re out of season, you’ve been doing some advocating on Instagram about NIL. What was your inspiration for making posts about the NIL legislation for athletes?

In working with athletes and being around athletes, I have seen so much misinformation and misconceptions surrounding NIL. Athletes don’t really know how to navigate the new rules or how to actually secure deals so they wind up staying away from it altogether. The athletes that are lucky enough to have management and guidance have seen tremendous success so I’ve just been trying to make this information and guidance more available.

Obsesh: How supportive is your athletic department of your NIL endeavors?

There’s understandably a lot of red tape surrounding NIL when it comes to athletic departments but my coach has been incredibly supportive. He’s always checking in, seeing how it’s going, and asking how he can help. He’s always pushing us to think outside the box to figure out how we can take advantage of the new ruling.

Obsesh: You were selected to the Team USA men’s basketball open team for the 2022 Maccabiah Games. What was the selection process like for making the team?

There was a tryout this past summer at Duke University. There were probably about a hundred athletes that made the trip to compete to be a part of the games. We had three two-hour sessions to prove ourselves and then the decisions were made.

Obsesh: What does making the team mean to you?

Making the team is a huge honor. Being able to represent Jewish-Americans in a USA uniform is an opportunity not many Jewish athletes get in their lives. Being a part of the games extends way beyond just competing for the gold medal. It’s exploring Israel, embracing the community of athletes from all around the world, and building relationships that can last a lifetime.