With the 2020 NBA draft taking place next week we will spend the days ahead taking a walk down memory lane with a choice collection of players who are celebrating an awesome anniversary this year. From the 1st player in NBA history to score 2000 PTS in a season (70th anniversary) through the 2000 Pac-10 POY (20th anniversary), these stars have all seen their dreams come true in past drafts. We continue our series with Xavier McDaniel. He was a 2-time conference POY at Wichita State, led the nation in PPG & RPG in 1985, and even got in a fight with Michael Jordan! HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Xavier about the 35th anniversary of getting drafted.
You were a 2-time MVC POY at Wichita State: what did it mean to you to win such outstanding honors? At the time it was good to know that I was the best player in a tough conference.
In 1985 you became the 1st person to ever lead the nation in both scoring (27.4 PPG) and rebounding (15 RPG) in the same season: how were you able to balance your scoring with your rebounding? It just takes hard work. I tried to work harder than everyone else and improve my conditioning, and all of the running that I did with our guards paid off.
After being drafted 4th overall by Seattle that summer, you averaged 17.1 PPG and finished 2nd to Patrick Ewing in NBA ROY voting: how were you able to make such a smooth transition from college to the pros? The MVC had an up-tempo style of game, just like the NBA. I also had great high school/college coaches who helped me understand the game. Patrick only played 30 games so I thought that I should have been ROY after playing all 82 games myself.
In Game 6 of the 1987 Western Conference Semifinals you had 24 PTS/12 REB in a 3-PT 2-OT win over Houston to clinch the series: how were you able to win despite 1 of the greatest playoff performances ever by Hakeem Olajuwon (49 PTS/25 REB/6 BLK)? Hakeem was tough to play against…but Tom Chambers scored 37 PTS and Dale Ellis scored 36 PTS so we had more weapons than they did. We played our asses off in that series! There are some times when I go back and watch that game and wonder how we won.
In the 1988 All-Star Game you scored 2 PTS in a 5-PT loss to the East: what was it like to face a starting lineup of Larry Bird/Dominique Wilkins/Michael Jordan/Isiah Thomas/Moses Malone? I only played about 10 minutes but was just happy to be there. I thought that I should have been there during my 1st 2 years in the league, as well as several other times after that, but there were a lot of other great players.
In the decisive Game 4 of the 1989 Western Conference Semifinals you had 30 PTS/11 REB in a 2-PT loss to the Lakers: how on earth was LA able to overcome a 43–14 1st half deficit? I have never seen anything like it: we were tied at halftime and I just asked everyone what happened. The Lakers had 5 All-Stars as well as some great players off the bench like Mychal Thompson/Michael Cooper. They always had our number.
In Game 7 of the 1992 Eastern Conference Finals with New York you got into a fight with Jordan: how did it start, and how did it finish? Mike just kept cussing me out and as soon as I said something the ref called a double-technical. There was no doubt about who would win: we were both trying to show our dominance.
In Game 1 of the 1993 Eastern Conference 1st round with Boston you scored 21 PTS off the bench in a win over Charlotte: what was your reaction when Celtics forward Reggie Lewis collapsed on the court 6 minutes into the game, and could you have ever imagined that only 3 months later he would pass away due to a heart defect? I had no idea what was going on, nor did anyone else. After that series I heard that he had suffered some fainting spells during the season that I was unaware of. He came to my birthday party in South Carolina after the season but soon after that he died. He was a great guy who loved basketball: we would talk hoops all the time. His death destroyed the team and it was a big mess.
In 2013 you were inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? I would say #1. I told someone that if I led the nation in scoring/rebounding while playing in the ACC then I would have made the Hall of Fame, but as a guy from a small hometown who played in the MVC I was overlooked. I am grateful to all of my teammates who helped me.
Your daughter Xylina was 2013 ACC ROY at North Carolina and your son Xavier Jr. played basketball at UTRGV: who is the best athlete in the family, and do your kids credit at least some of their success to genetics? I told Xylina that she would make a great soldier: if you give her an instruction she carries it out perfectly. She had some injuries during her junior and senior years and was not granted a medical redshirt but still had a great career. I think Xavier Jr. will become a great athlete: he just needs to feel like he belongs. If you look at him on YouTube he is just as good of an athlete as a guy like Seventh Woods.