Eugene McDowell (December 31, 1963 – August 24, 1995) was an American professional basketball player. A strong big man who primarily played as a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

, he was one of the top prospects in the 1981 high school class. He was a 4-year starter playing

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

, and he was a 3rd-round pick in the

1985 NBA Draft The 1985 NBA Draft took place on June 18, 1985. It was also the first NBA draft of the "lottery" era. It was also around this time where the league decreased the amount of rounds the draft spent, with the previous few years lasting up to 10 roun ...

; however, he never played in the NBA and he had a 7-year career playing professional basketball in Europe (Italy, Spain and Turkey) and in the CBA. He died in 1995 of an enlarged heart. He was inducted in the SEC Hall of Fame in 2009.

High school career

McDowell was born in Cross City, Florida, and at birth the doctors found his leg bones to be too soft to correctly sustain his body, and they had him use braces in order to move: the physicians predicted that he would not be able to walk without them. However, McDowell managed to gain enough strength to move without braces, and by the age of 15 he was already playing basketball at a good level. He attended

Dixie County High School Dixie County Middle High School is located at 17924 SE 19 HWY in Cross City, Florida, United States. It is a part of Dixie District Schools, which serves Dixie County. The school changed its name in 2021 from Dixie County High School, due to th ...

, where he was a first team all-state selection in his junior and senior year: he was considered by several scouts to be the best player in the state of Florida. In his senior year he missed 8 games due to a foot injury, and he averaged 26 points, 20 rebounds and 4 blocks per game. His successful senior season earned him a selection in the ''Parade'' All-America Third Team and he was named a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger ...

. In the 1981 McDonald's game, which was played in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

, he scored 8 points, shooting 4/7 from the field. 1981 game and rosters at page 68. He also played in another high school all-star game, the Capital Classic, where he scored 4 points (2/7 shooting).

College career

McDowell was recruited by

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and

South Alabama South Alabama is the various parts of southern Alabama. Although it is not a strictly defined geographic region, it generally includes all Alabama counties south of the Black Belt. In that view, ''South Alabama'' consists of just the two counties ...

, but in March 1981 he signed a letter of intent with Florida. Coach

Norm Sloan Norman Leslie Sloan Jr. (June 25, 1926 – December 9, 2003) was an American college basketball player and coach. Sloan was a native of Indiana and played college basketball and football at North Carolina State University. He began a long career a ...

regarded McDowell as a promising player who could help the team with his ability to score in the paint. At Florida McDowell wore jersey number 40, and chose to major in

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...

. Coach Sloan selected McDowell as the starting center since his freshman year: he played 27 games, averaging 33.2 minutes of playing time. He finished the season with 9.9 points per game, along with 8.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks, leading the team in rebounds and blocks. Florida had a negative season overall, finishing last in the SEC with a 2-16 record in conference play. McDowell's sophomore season was arguably the best of his college career. He scored a career-high 40 points in a 92-72 win against Biscayne on December 21, 1982, he recorded one of the best field goal percentages in SEC history when he shot 92.9% from the field (13 for 14) against

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univers ...

, and he also led the SEC for field goal percentage with .646 (only the second sophomore to do so after

Bernard King Bernard King (born December 4, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player at the small forward position in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 14 seasons with the New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Golden State Warriors ...

did in 1976). He ended his season with averages of 16.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.5 blocks, and he was selected in the All-SEC third team. McDowell was the top shot blocker of his team, and the second scorer and rebounder behind Ronnie Williams The Gators finished last in the SEC for the second year in a row with a 5-13 conference record. In his junior season McDowell experienced a slight decrease in his scoring, which dropped to 12.4 points per game, but he was the best rebounder of the team with a 9.2 average, and he was also the player with the highest minutes per game average. He was selected in the All-SEC third team for the second consecutive year, and the team had a better result, finishing third in the SEC with a 11-7 record. McDowell's last year of college basketball saw his best numbers in rebounds (9.8) and assists (3.1), and he played a team-high 36.4 minutes per game. At the end of the season he was named in the All-SEC first team and he was an AP Honorable Mention All-American. His 43 career

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

s are a Florida record, and he was the second player in the program history to reach 1,000 rebounds. Starting all his 117 games, he scored a total of 1,565 points, recorded 1,063 rebounds, played 4,100 minutes, and had 150 blocks. His career-highs of 40 points and 21 rebounds are both single-game records of the

O'Connell Center The Stephen C. O'Connell Center, also known as the O'Dome, is a 10,500-seat multi-purpose arena located on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida. The facility is named for the sixth president of the university, Stephen C. O'C ...

. He also was a notably poor free throw shooter: in every season he played at Florida, his field goal percentage was higher than his free throw percentage.

College statistics

, - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" ,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, 27 , , 27 , , 33.2 , , .528 , , – , , .519 , , 8.8 , , 1.1 , , 0.4 , , 1.3 , , 9.9 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" ,

, 31 , , 31 , , 34.3 , , .646 , , – , , .600 , , 8.5 , , 1.1 , , 0.9 , , 1.5 , , 16.5 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,

, 29 , , 29 , , 36.2 , , .615 , , – , , .513 , , 9.2 , , 2.3 , , 1.0 , , 1.2 , , 12.4 , - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" ,

, 30 , , 30 , , 36.4 , , .580 , , – , , .557 , , 9.8 , , 3.1 , , 0.6 , , 1.0 , , 14.2 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 117 , , 117 , , 35.0 , , .597 , , – , , .555 , , 9.1 , , 1.9 , , 0.7 , , 1.3 , , 13.4 , -

Professional career

After his final college season McDowell was automatically eligible for the

: the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

selected him with the 21st pick of the 3rd round (68th overall). However, he never played an NBA game for the franchise, and moved to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

where he signed for Napoli Basket (known as Mulat Napoli for sponsorship reasons). He played the 1985–86 season in the Italian top league, averaging 17.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. The Bucks officially released him in July 1986, and McDowell transferred to

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

team CB Zaragoza, joining fellow American

Claude Riley Claude Edward Riley Jr (born September 8, 1960) is an American retired professional basketball player. College career Riley played in the NCAA, with the Texas A&M Aggies. Professional career Riley was drafted by the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, ...

: coach Manel Comas chose McDowell for his defending and rebounding skills, along with his powerful physique. In his first season in the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

he averaged 15.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 38.8 minutes per game in regular season play. In the playoffs he played 5 games, averaging 17.8 points and 9.0 rebounds. His good performance with Zaragoza was noticed by Aito Garcia Reneses, the coach of one of Spain's top teams, Barcelona, which signed him for the following season. McDowell played with

Audie Norris Audie James Norris (born December 18, 1960) is an American retired professional basketball player and coach. Norris played for the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, from 1982 to 1985. His former teammate Mychal Thompson, who is the father of Klay Thomp ...

, and averaged 12.2 points and 6.9 rebounds in 25 regular season games where he played 30.6 minutes per game: in the playoffs he was less used, and only recorded 6.5 points and 5.8 rebounds. At the end of the season, he won both the Spanish league title and the King's Cup with Barcelona. He played part of the 1988–89 season with Cajabilbao, but he was cut for Mike Giomi who could provide more scoring: McDowell averaged 14.9 points and 7.2 rebounds in 25 games for Cajabilbao, recording a career-high 32 points during the season. He then moved to

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, where he played between 1989 and 1991 for two teams, Çukurova Sanayi and Paşabahçe. He had a trial for the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

in 1990, but he was not selected for the season roster. Back in the USA he played two seasons in the CBA: for the Pensacola Tornados he played 33 games, and in 39 minutes per game he averaged 15.7 points, 10.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. The following year he played for the Birmingham Bandits, and in the regular season he appeared in 32 games, averaging 26.9 minutes, 7.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 0.4 blocks. He also played 4 games in the CBA playoffs, averaging 3.8 points and 3.8 rebounds in 9.5 minutes. He then retired in 1992.

Death

After his retirement from professional basketball, McDowell worked in a sportswear store. In the early morning hours of August 25, 1995, the police responded to a call reporting an unconscious person in the bathroom of ''Puzzles'', a club in

Casselberry, Florida Casselberry is a city in Seminole County, Florida, United States. The population was 26,241 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Casselberry is located at . Accordin ...

. The man was McDowell, who died at Florida-Altamonte Hospital. His death was initially linked to drug abuse, but later on Shashi Gore, the medical examiner who performed the autopsy on his body, declared that there was no drug in McDowell's system, and that his death was due to

hypertrophic cardiomyopathy Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM, or HOCM when obstructive) is a condition in which the heart becomes thickened without an obvious cause. The parts of the heart most commonly affected are the interventricular septum and the ventricles. This r ...

, a condition which developed from preexistent heart problems (McDowell had been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation in 1983 and was prescribed medication for it, but stopped taking it around 1986).

References

External links

Stats at Sports-Reference.com

Italian league stats

Spanish league statsTurkish league stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDowell, Eugene 1963 births 1995 deaths African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Basketball players from Florida Birmingham Bandits players CB Zaragoza players Centers (basketball) FC Barcelona Bàsquet players Florida Gators men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Milwaukee Bucks draft picks Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Paşabahçe S.K. players Pensacola Tornados (1986–1991) players People from Dixie County, Florida Power forwards (basketball) 20th-century African-American sportspeople