There are not a lot of players from the America East Conference who get drafted by an NBA team but Al McClain was 1 of them. After setting career records at New Hampshire for PTS/STL he was drafted by the Houston Rockets in 1984 (along with some other guy named Hakeem Olajuwon). A decade later he was inducted into the New Hampshire Athletics Hall of Fame. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Al about being a great scorer/defender. Today is Al’s 63rd birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!
Your nickname is “Ski”: who gave you the nickname, and how do you like it? I had that name for so long it is hard to remember where I got it from. I must have got it while I was in Boston and just carried it to UNH.
You grew up in Massachusetts: what made you choose New Hampshire for college? I went to prep school in Maine and the UNH coach was calling me every day because he was highly interested. Other schools got involved later like Louisville/UNC but I wanted a coach who would put me in the best place to succeed…and that was Coach Gerry Friel. Louisville brought in a couple of great high school players in Milt Wagner/Lancaster Gordon. I scored 28 against Milt in a game so I knew that I was at his level, but I just wanted playing time.
You scored 22.8 PPG as a senior and you remain the all-time leading scorer in school history: did you realize at the time how prolific a player you were, and do you think that anyone will ever break your record? I did not think about the record when I was there but I played both guard spots: if I had only played SG then I would have scored even more. We had a chance to go to the 1983 NCAA tourney but I was hurt for most of the year. I am grateful to be 1 of the best players ever at UNH and it is a good feeling just to be in the conversation. Records are made to be broken: I broke my brother-in-law Robert Dixon’s record!
You also have the most STL in school history: what is the secret to being a great defender? Hard work/dedication. I had fun playing PG because my job was simple: try to disrupt the other team’s offense. I had good stamina and tried to deny passes from the opposing PG. I kind of made it an art by staying in the passing lanes to deflect the ball. I do not think that anyone will break that 1 for a while: it was a lot of fun.
You are also #2 on the career AST list: how were you able to balance your scoring with your passing? I had the green light to make those decisions but I knew that I had to put some points on the board for us to win. I tried to make the right decisions and my coach gave me the freedom to do so: it was not that stressful. I was literally a combo guard but a little more unselfish than I had to be. Looking back, if I had shot more I think we would have won more games.
In the summer of 1984 you were drafted in the 5th round by Houston: could you tell at the time that your rookie teammate Hakeem Olajuwon was going to become a Hall of Famer? Oh yeah: he is the Dream! He was a freak of nature even back then. If I had made the team then I think I would have been very helpful. I played against most of those guys during high school but there is a lot of luck involved depending on which team you go to. The Rockets were a championship-level team and Coach Bill Fitch was 1 of the toughest coaches ever who went with some bigger guys like 7′ Hakeem/6’10” Jim Petersen.
You work as a counselor with the Dorchester Youth Collaborative and run your own developmental basketball and mentoring program: why did you decide to dedicate your post-basketball career to helping kids? I think it was because of my NBA story. We had a broken home growing up but my mother worked around the clock to take care of our family. It led me to think that if my father had been there then he could have helped me get over the hump. I needed a strong mentor to take me under his wing and help me figure things out so I took it upon myself to help anyone who needed it. The Dorchester Youth Collaborative was the best thing to ever happen to me: I still performed NBA-type duties by taking all of my energy to be a fixture in the community. In my heart everything turned out fine. I received a lot of praise from the Celtics, who were instrumental in acknowledging the work that I have done: they have been unbelievable. I was named Junior NBA Coach of the Year for the work that I have done: they have been the backbone for me to keep working with youth. I have helped send kids to charter schools/college: it has been a great journey. Hyde Prep School also inducted me into their Hall of Fame.
You still play in the Living Legends Adult Basketball League (for players over age 40): how competitive are the games, and how long do you think that you can keep playing for? I am done now: we stopped playing several years ago. I played in another league up in Harlem that a lot of NBA greats played in like Charles Smith/Allan Houston/Gus Williams. I also played in a league in Greater Springfield that was unbelievable: we won the championship and I hung it up after that at age 53! All I play now is H-O-R-S-E against the kids.
Your sister Almanda/brother Wes also played basketball: who is the best athlete in the family? I was the best athlete but all of my brothers played high school basketball. Wes played at FAMU and my twin brother toured the US with Bobby Brown!
When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? I want to be remembered as a great teammate: 1 who cared about others more than himself. My numbers/Hall of Fame inductions speak for themselves. I am a legend in my community both on/off the court and love every kid in the Boston area and try to help them out in any way that I can. The new thing I am trying to do is recreate the Boston Shootout, which was 1 of the best high school tourneys ever. Paul Pierce played in it, as well as Dominique Wilkins. The Boston team won it last year with 8 players who ended up at D-1 schools. Check it out this spring: Battle New England.