![]() | |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Newark, New Jersey, U.S. | June 2, 1956
Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Seton Hall Prep (West Orange, New Jersey) |
College | Penn (1975–1978) |
NBA draft | 1978: 2nd round, 42nd overall pick |
Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics | |
Position | Small forward |
Number | 40 |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Keven McDonald (born June 2, 1956) is an American former basketball player known for his collegiate career at the University of Pennsylvania from 1974 to 1978 with the Penn Quakers men's basketball team. He won the Robert V. Geasey Trophy as a junior and was named the Ivy League Player of the Year as a senior. Following his career at Penn, McDonald was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the second round of the 1978 NBA draft. He went on to earn a J.D. degree from Rutgers Law School–Newark and is now a licensed attorney and real estate investor in New Jersey.
A native of Bloomfield, New Jersey, McDonald attended Seton Hall Prep [1] where he was a standout on the basketball team, noted for his mature inside game and soft jumper from the outside. [2] Sometimes dubbed "Mr. Everything", [2] McDonald would rack up 1,774 career points, a school record which would stand until 2008 when it was broken by Ashton Gibbs. [3] In a then-annual exhibition game (which pre-dated the McDonald's All-American Game), pitting all-stars from New York and New Jersey against the rest of the country, McDonald would outscore future-hall-of-famer Moses Malone. [2] By the time he graduated in 1974, [1] McDonald received interest from hundreds of college basketball teams with noted scholarship offers from USC and UCLA. [2] Seton Hall Prep inducted McDonald into its Hall of Fame in 1987. [4]
Wanting to stay close to home, McDonald gave serious consideration to offers from the U.S. Naval Academy and Princeton, but ultimately selected the University of Pennsylvania citing its strong academic reputation and good law school which he had an eye toward pursuing. [2] [5] Due to freshman eligibility rules, McDonald did not play on the varsity team in his first year at Penn. [5] The team finished with a 23–5 overall record (13–1 in Ivy League) and were crowned as conference champions. They lost in the first round of the 1975 NCAA Tournament to Kansas State. [6]
McDonald played the small forward position for the Quakers during an era in which they were a nationally prominent basketball program. McDonald was pressed into a leadership role as a sophomore because Ron Haigler and Bob Bigelow had graduated. McDonald led Penn in scoring at 18.9 points per game, [7] but the team finished in second place with a 17–9 overall record (11–3 Ivy). [8] Penn's overall record was not enough to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament or an invite to the National Invitation Tournament. McDonald earned his first of three consecutive selections to the All-Ivy League and All-Big 5 teams. [5]
In 1976–77, McDonald led the Quakers in both scoring (21.2) and rebounding (9.2) [7] en route to being named the Robert V. Geasey Trophy recipient as the best player in Philadelphia Big 5 competition. [5] The team finished in second place in the Ivy League again with an 18–8 (12–2 Ivy) record. [9] That year was also head coach Chuck Daly's final one at Penn, a position he had held since 1971–72. [10] Daly was later inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. [11]
Penn improved during McDonald's senior season in 1977–78, when he led the team in scoring for a third straight year at 22.3 points per game. [7] The Quakers finished at 20–8 (12–2 Ivy), earned a berth into the 1978 NCAA Tournament. [12] In the first round of the tournament, a victory against St. Bonaventure, McDonald scored a career high 37 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, [13] which are both school records for the tournament. [5] [14] In the second round (Sweet 16), with McDonald hampered by early foul trouble, the Quakers lost a close game in the final minutes to eventual tournament runner-up Duke. [15] McDonald was voted as the Ivy League Player of the Year. [5]
McDonald is one of the most accomplished players in the history of the Penn Quakers basketball program. His 1,644 career points total is fourth on the all-time list (two of those ahead of him had four years of eligibility). He is second in points per game behind Ernie Beck. [5] In 1985, the Big 5 honored him by inducting him into its Hall of Fame. [16] The Ivy League placed McDonald in its 2018 Class of Legends of Ivy League Basketball for his lasting contributions to his basketball program, university and chosen profession. [17] In 2019, Penn inducted McDonald into its Athletics Hall of Fame. [5]
McDonald was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics (now known as the Oklahoma City Thunder) in the second round of the 1978 NBA draft with the 42nd overall pick. [18] The SuperSonics, who were coming off of an appearance in the NBA Finals and on the verge of the franchise's only championship, did not keep any of their rookies that year. McDonald was released by head coach Lenny Wilkens on September 30, 1978 [19] and instead played overseas. [5] McDonald played 34 games for Finnish club Turun NMKY, helping the team win silver in the Korisliiga for the 1978–79 season. [20]
In 1979, McDonald tried out for the San Diego Clippers and the following year with the Philadelphia 76ers where his former college head coach Chuck Daly was then an assistant coach, but was not picked up by either team. [21] McDonald played a few games for the Lancaster Red Roses in the CBA during the 1979–80 season, the final season of the franchise. [22]
After being cut by the Clippers, McDonald took a job as a stockbroker in San Francisco. [21] McDonald would continue to work in various aspects of financial services and studied law at Rutgers Law School–Newark while holding a full-time job. [23] [24] McDonald received his Juris Doctor from Rutgers and is a licensed New Jersey attorney. [24] He also owns and operates McDonald Properties, LLC, a real estate investment company. [25]
Paul Douglas Westphal was an American basketball player and coach.
The Palestra, often called the Cathedral of College Basketball, is a historic arena and the home gym of the Penn Quakers men's and women's basketball teams, volleyball teams, wrestling team, and Philadelphia Big 5 basketball. Located at 235 South 33rd St. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, near Franklin Field in the University City section of Philadelphia, it opened on January 1, 1927. The Palestra has been called "the most important building in the history of college basketball" and "changed the entire history of the sport for which it was built".
Ervin Johnson Jr. is an American former professional basketball player who is a community ambassador for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA for the Seattle SuperSonics, Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves as a center from 1993 to 2006.
Charles Jerome Daly was an American basketball head coach. He led the Detroit Pistons to two consecutive National Basketball Association (NBA) championships in 1989 and 1990—during the team's "Bad Boys" era—and the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team to the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
Harold Tommy Amaker Jr. is an American college basketball coach and the head coach of the Harvard University men's basketball team. He has also coached for the University of Michigan and Seton Hall University. He played point guard and later served as an assistant coach at Duke University under Mike Krzyzewski. An All-American player, Amaker set numerous records and earned many honors and awards. He took Seton Hall to the post season in each of his four seasons as their coach, helped Michigan win the National Invitation Tournament the year after a probationary ban from postseason play, and had the three highest single-season win totals in the history of Harvard basketball, the school's first six Ivy League championships and first NCAA tournament victory.
David O'Neil Thompson is an American former professional basketball player. He played with the Denver Nuggets of both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as the Seattle SuperSonics of the NBA. He was previously a star in college for North Carolina State, leading the Wolfpack to its first NCAA championship in 1974. Thompson is one of the ten players to score 70 or more points in an NBA game. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996.
Elvin Ernest Hayes, nicknamed "the Big E", is an American former professional basketball player and radio analyst for his alma mater Houston Cougars. He is a member of the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams, and an inductee in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Known for both his offensive and defensive prowess, Hayes is often regarded as one of the best power forwards in NBA history. Hayes is also known for his longevity, being third all-time in NBA minutes played, and missing only nine games during his 16-season career.
Geoffrey Michael Petrie is an American former professional basketball player. A native of Pennsylvania, he played professional basketball in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Portland Trail Blazers where he won NBA Rookie of the Year in 1971. After retirement as a player he entered management, and was the President of Basketball Operations for the Sacramento Kings in the NBA until June 2013.
Jack Wayne Sikma is an American former professional basketball center. He was a seven-time NBA All-Star with the Seattle SuperSonics, who drafted him in the first round with the eighth overall pick of the 1977 NBA draft. In 1979, he won an NBA championship with Seattle. Sikma finished his playing career with the Milwaukee Bucks. He was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.
Adrian Darnell Griffin is an American professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as the head coach for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA as a shooting guard and small forward from 1999 to 2008. Griffin grew up in Wichita, Kansas, and played college basketball for the Seton Hall Pirates.
Donald Neil Johnston was an American basketball player and coach. A center, Johnston played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1951 to 1959. He was a member of the Philadelphia Warriors for his entire career. Known for his hook shot, Johnston was a six-time NBA All-Star; he led the NBA in scoring three times and led the league in rebounding once. He won an NBA championship with the Warriors in 1956. After his playing career ended due to a knee injury, Johnston coached in the NBA, in other professional basketball leagues, and at the collegiate level. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1990.
The Penn Quakers men's basketball team is the college basketball program representing the University of Pennsylvania. As the twentieth-winningest men's basketball program of all-time, the team from Penn had its greatest success from 1966 to 2007, a period of over 40 years. Penn plays in the Ivy League in NCAA Division I.
Matthew Patrick Maloney is an American former professional basketball player who played seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
David "Corky" Calhoun is an American former professional basketball player. Calhoun played in the NBA from 1972 to 1980 after a collegiate career at the University of Pennsylvania. Calhoun was the 1st round selection of the Phoenix Suns in the 1972 NBA draft. He won an NBA Championship as a member of the 1976–1977 Portland Trail Blazers.
The Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team represents Marquette University in NCAA Division I college basketball and competes in the Big East Conference. The team plays its home games at Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee.
Daniel Callandrillo is an Italian-American former professional basketball player. He played NCAA Division I college basketball at Seton Hall. At a height of 1.88 metres tall, he played at both the point guard and shooting guard positions, with shooting guard being his main position.
John Hummer is an American venture capitalist and retired professional basketball player who was an original member of the Buffalo Braves after starring for the Princeton Tigers men's basketball team. He also led his high school to the 1966 Virginia State 1A championship and helped Princeton earn a 1967–68 co-Ivy League Championship as well as a 1968–69 outright Ivy League Championship. Over the course of his basketball career, he was coached by four National Basketball Hall of Fame members.
Ugonna Nnamdi Onyekwe is a British-Nigerian former professional basketball player. He played professionally from September 2003 through April 2011 before retiring from the sport to enter the business world. Onyekwe played college basketball at the University of Pennsylvania where he became just the fourth Ivy League player ever to be named the Ivy League Player of the Year two times.
The 1978–79 Penn Quakers men's basketball team was a college basketball team that represented the University of Pennsylvania in the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Quakers, coached by Bob Weinhauer, played in the Ivy League and had a 25–7 win–loss record. Penn won the Ivy League regular season championship for the eighth time in 10 years and participated in the 1979 NCAA Division I basketball tournament. There, as the ninth seed in the 10-team East region, the Quakers defeated Iona, number one seed North Carolina, Syracuse, and St. John's to reach the Final Four. In the national semifinals, they lost to a Michigan State team that included Magic Johnson, and an overtime loss in the third-place game against DePaul ended their season. As of 2023, the 1978–79 Quakers are the last Ivy League team to play in the Final Four.
Perry D. Bromwell is an American former professional basketball player and coach. His international playing career took him to Norway, the Philippines, and England, the latter of which saw him win the British Basketball League National League Division 2 as a player-coach. In college, Bromwell was the 1987 Ivy League Player of the Year.