Blogs > Burney's Bytes

Burney's Bytes will focus primarily on the local preps sports scene, but will also touch on some college and pro athletics, mostly in regards to athletes who hail and have played high school sports in Oakland County. My goal for the blog is to be conversational and anecdotal, a more relaxed and free formal take on high school athletics than you see in regular game day coverage.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Javelle Who?

Unless you're an NBA junkie, you probably don't know who Javelle McGee is. However, If you're a sports fan from Oakland County you should since McGee was the last player from the local prep hoops scene to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, an honor that places him in quite exclusive company.
Don't fret. It's really not your fault. If you blinked, you surely missed McGee's time in the OC. You see, this lanky and athletically-gifted 7-footer played only sparingly on the varsity squad at Birmingham Detroit Country Day back in 2004 as a sophomore. Due to his family moving out of state, McGee finished his high school playing career in Chicago. Earning a scholarship to the University of Nevada, he came into his own at the college level, averaging 15 points and 8 rebounds per game in the 2007-2008 season. With his draft stock soaring, he declared for the NBA draft that summer and was taken by the Washington Wizards with the 18th pick. Today, in his third year in the league at only 22, he has worked his way into being a starter for the Wiz and is thought of by many experts as a player to watch with a tremendous "up side" and potential to improve massively in the coming years.
Genetics is on Mcgee's side as he is the son of Pam Mcgee, a two-time national champion and all-American guard at USC in the 1980s and George Montgomery, a former all-Big Ten center at Illinois and NBA draft pick. Along with her twin sister Paula, the Mcgee girls starred as prepsters in Flint and both helped lead the U.S. National Team to an Olympic gold medal in 1984. In the inaugural WNBA draft in 1997, Pam was the second overall selection by the Sacramento Monarchs following a decade plus of barnstorming as an all-star through various European leagues. She holds the distinction of being the only WNBA player to have a son make it to the NBA.
McGee is the third player in DCD school history to be an NBA first round draft pick, joining college All-Americans Chris Webber (Michigan) and Shane Battier (Duke) on the distinguished list. Don't be surprised if former Yellowjacket and current all-conference college cage star Keith Benson (Oakland) becomes no. 4 this summer.
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