Melvin Lamont McCants (born August 19, 1967, in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

) is a retired American basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player. Along with James Farr, Derek Boyd and Chris Calloway

Chris Calloway

Christopher Fitzpatrick Calloway was a former professional American football player who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round of the 1990 NFL Draft. A 5'10", 189 lbs. wide receiver from the University of Michigan and Mount Carmel High School , Calloway played in 11 NFL...

, McCants led Chicago Mount Carmel

Mount Carmel High School (Chicago)

Mount Carmel High School is an all boys, Catholic high school in the city of Chicago, Illinois. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, the school has been operated by the Carmelite order of priests and brothers since 1900...

 to the 1985 Illinois state basketball championship. It is the only Illinois AA high school boys basketball championship won by a Chicago Catholic League

Chicago Catholic League

The Chicago Catholic League is a high school athletic conference based in Chicago, Illinois, USA. All of the schools are currently part of the Illinois High School Association, the governing body for Illinois scholastic sports...

 School. He was selected to the 1982 and 1983 State Farm Holiday Classic all-tournament teams.

After high school, McCants attended Purdue University

Purdue University

Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...

, located in West Lafayette, Indiana

West Lafayette, Indiana

As of the census of 2010, there were 29,596 people, 12,591 households, and 3,588 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,381.1 people per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 74.3% White, 17.3% Asian, 2.7% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.03% Pacific...

, to play under legendary coach Gene Keady

Gene Keady

Lloyd Eugene "Gene" Keady is a basketball coach. Currently an assistant coach at St. John's, he is most notable for being the head basketball coach at Purdue University for 25 years, from 1980 to 2005.-Kansas State :...

. Along with teammates Troy Lewis and Todd Mitchell, the forward helped the Boilermakers

Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball

The Purdue Boilermakers basketball team is a college basketball program that competes in NCAA Division I and is a member of the Big Ten Conference. Purdue basketball holds the record for most Big Ten Championships with 22, along with being the only program in the conference to boast winning records...

 win back-to-back Big Ten Conference

Big Ten Conference

The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...

 titles and NCAA Tournament

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship

The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...

 appearances, including a Sweet Sixteen

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship

The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...

 in 1988. McCants was drafted in 1989

1989 NBA Draft

The 1989 NBA Draft took place on June 27, 1989 in New York City, New York, USA. It has been regarded as one of the worst drafts in NBA history, along with the 1986 NBA Draft and the 2000 NBA Draft. Though the draft produced talented players such as Shawn Kemp, Glen Rice, Sean Elliott, Nick...

 by the Los Angeles Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...

, with whom he played during the 1989–90 season

1989-90 NBA season

-Statistics leaders:-NBA awards:*Most Valuable Player: Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers*Rookie of the Year: David Robinson, San Antonio Spurs*Defensive Player of the Year: Dennis Rodman, Detroit Pistons...

.

External links

• NBA stats @ basketballreference.com