Jim McDaniels

Jim McDaniels
	Jim McDaniels with Snaidero Udine in Italy, 1975
Personal information
Born	April 2, 1948 (age 76); Scottsville, Kentucky
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight	228 lb (103 kg)
Career information
High school	Allen County; (Scottsville, Kentucky)
College	Western Kentucky (1968–1971)
NBA draft	1971: 2nd round, 23rd overall pick
	Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics
Playing career	1971–1978
Position	Power forward / Center
Number	1, 44, 11, 45
Career history
1971–1972	Carolina Cougars (ABA)
1972–1973	Seattle SuperSonics
1974–1975	Udinese (Italy)
1975–1976	Los Angeles Lakers
1976	Kentucky Colonels (ABA)
1977–1978	Buffalo Braves
Career highlights and awards
	ABA All-Star (1972); 2× OVC Player of the Year (1970, 1971); Consensus first-team All-American (1971);
Career ABA and NBA statistics
Points	2,698 (10.0 ppg)
Rebounds	1,748 (6.5 rpg)
Assists	288 (1.1 apg)
	Stats at NBA.com
	Stats at Basketball Reference

James Ronald McDaniels (born April 2, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player.

A 6'11" power forward/center, McDaniels averaged nearly 40 points per game as a senior at Allen County High School in Scottsville, Kentucky. From 1967 to 1971, he played at Western Kentucky University, leading his team to a third-place finish in the 1971 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. (The NCAA later voided Western Kentucky's participation in the tournament, accusing McDaniels of signing with an agent while still in college.) He also set WKU school records with 2,238 career points (now tied with Courtney Lee) and 1,118 career rebounds.^[1]^[2]

McDaniels was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics in the second round of the 1971 NBA draft and by the Utah Stars in the ABA Draft,^[3] but he began his professional career with the Carolina Cougars of the American Basketball Association, who offered him a $1.35 million contract to be paid over twenty-five years. Reportedly, the Cougars first approached McDaniels during November 1970, while he was still playing for Western Kentucky. McDaniels averaged 26.8 points and 14 rebounds in 58 games with the Cougars during the 1971–72 season and appeared in the 1972 ABA All-Star Game. However, he feuded with the Cougars while trying to renegotiate his contract – he wanted his salary to be spread over fifteen years, rather than twenty-five – and near the end of his rookie season he decided to leave the Cougars for the SuperSonics.^[4]

McDaniels remained with Seattle for the next two full seasons. However, he struggled to maintain the same level of production he had achieved in the ABA, and by the 1973–74 NBA season, McDaniels was averaging just 5.5 points per game.^[5] During that time, McDaniels was dogged by off-court troubles as the Cougars questioned the legality of his jump to the NBA. He later admitted in an interview, "I should have stayed in the ABA for a couple of years. I was just young and things started going bad for me there and I didn't know how to handle them."^[2] Sonics general manager Bill Russell ultimately released McDaniels in fall 1974.^[6] For the next four years, McDaniels bounced from team to team, playing for the Los Angeles Lakers and Buffalo Braves of the NBA, the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA, and Snaidero Udine of Italy.^[7] He finally decided to retire from basketball in 1978.

McDaniels currently resides in Bowling Green, Kentucky. He has two sons (Eskias McDaniels, Shannon Martin). His #44 jersey was retired by Western Kentucky in January 2000.^[2]

References

^ Pete Thamel (March 27, 2008) Recalling Forward Thinking at Western Kentucky. New York Times
^ ^a ^b ^c Jim McDaniels Interview. hilltopperhaven.com.
^ Jet magazine, February 1971, Vol. 39, No. 21, p. 50
^ "McDaniels signed by NBA's Sonics." New York Times. 18 February 1972.
^ Career statistics. Retrieved 4 August 2007.
^ Dave Anderson. "Bill Russell's complete authority." New York Times. 5 March 1974.
^ Sam Goldaper. "O'Brien rules on free agent." New York Times. 4 October 1977.

[1] Pete Thamel (March 27, 2008) Recalling Forward Thinking at Western Kentucky. New York Times

[A-2] Jim McDaniels Interview. hilltopperhaven.com.

[3] Jet magazine, February 1971, Vol. 39, No. 21, p. 50

[4] "McDaniels signed by NBA's Sonics." New York Times. 18 February 1972.

[5] Career statistics. Retrieved 4 August 2007.

[6] Dave Anderson. "Bill Russell's complete authority." New York Times. 5 March 1974.

[7] Sam Goldaper. "O'Brien rules on free agent." New York Times. 4 October 1977.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

v t e 1971 NBA draft
First round	Austin Carr Sidney Wicks Elmore Smith Ken Durrett George Trapp Fred Brown Cliff Meely Darnell Hillman Stan Love Clarence Glover Curtis Rowe Dana Lewis Jim Cleamons John Roche Kennedy McIntosh Dean Meminger Collis Jones
Second round	Steve Patterson Fred Hilton Willie Sojourner John Mengelt Ted McClain Jim McDaniels Mike Newlin Charlie Yelverton Amos Thomas Rick Fisher Jim Rose Isaiah Wilson Spencer Haywood Joe Bergman Howard Porter Marvin Stewart Gregg Northington Willie Long

v t e 1971 NCAA Men's Basketball Consensus All-Americans
First Team	Austin Carr Artis Gilmore Jim McDaniels Dean Meminger Sidney Wicks
Second Team	Ken Durrett Johnny Neumann Howard Porter John Roche Curtis Rowe

See also

References