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Eric Scott “Big Grits” Montross (born September 23, 1971) is an American former professional
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
player who played in the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(NBA) for eight seasons with the
Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...
,
Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. Th ...
,
New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
,
Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...
,
Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...
, and
Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...
. Born in
Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
, he played for
Lawrence North High School Lawrence North High School is a public high school in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The school was founded in 1976 and graduated its first class in 1978. Lawrence North is one of two high schools in the Metropolitan School District of Law ...
before enrolling at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
to play for the
Tar Heels Tar Heel is a nickname applied to the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is also the nickname of the University of North Carolina athletic teams, students, alumni, and fans. The origins of the Tar Heel nickname trace back to North Carolina's promi ...
.


High school

Playing for
Lawrence North High School Lawrence North High School is a public high school in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The school was founded in 1976 and graduated its first class in 1978. Lawrence North is one of two high schools in the Metropolitan School District of Law ...
, he was selected as a
McDonald's All American The McDonald's All-American Game is the All-star game, all-star basketball game played each year for American and Canadian boys' and girls' High school (North America), high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team pla ...
in 1990. That same year, he was named to the USA Today All-USA first Team. After leading Lawrence North to the Indiana high school basketball championship Montross committed himself to the
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and S ...
. Montross was also a baseball pitcher in high school and was drafted by the
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...
with the 1,547th pick overall in the
1994 MLB draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1994 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation picks Compensation Picks Other notable players * Troy Glaus, 2nd round, 37th overall by the San Diego Padres, but did no ...
.


College career

He was part of the UNC team that won the NCAA Championship against
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
in 1993 and was named an All-American as a junior and
senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...
. Montross' father and grandfather had played for Michigan. His father Scott was a teammate of
Cazzie Russell Cazzie Lee Russell (born June 7, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. An NBA All-Star, he was selected by the New York Knicks with the first overall pick of the 1966 NBA draft. He won an NBA championship with ...
in the 1960s and his maternal grandfather John Townsend was an All-American in the 1930s. In 4 seasons at UNC, Montross appeared in 139 games, averaging 11.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.


Professional career

Montross was selected by the
Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...
with the ninth overall pick in the
1994 NBA draft The 1994 NBA draft took place on June 29, 1994, at Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. Two NBA rookies of the year were picked in the first round, as Jason Kidd and Grant Hill were co-winners of the award for the 1994–95 NBA season. Kidd and Hill w ...
. During his first year in the NBA, he averaged 10 points per game, and was selected to the 1995 Rookie All-Star Game and named to the NBA All-Rookie 2nd Team. However, Montross would never again reach this level of production. The Celtics came under fire for selecting Montross over players such as Eddie Jones,
Jalen Rose Jalen Anthony Rose (born January 30, 1973) is an American sports analyst and former professional basketball player. In college, he was a member of the University of Michigan Wolverines' " Fab Five" (along with Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy ...
, and
Aaron McKie Aaron Fitzgerald McKie (born October 2, 1972) is an American basketball coach and former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently the head coach for his alma mater Temple Un ...
. During his career in the NBA, Montross played with the Celtics,
Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. Th ...
,
New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
,
Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...
,
Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...
, and the
Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...
. Montross announced his retirement on August 26, 2003, due to a foot injury and was waived by the Raptors in February, 2004. During his career, Montross averaged 4.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 0.6 blocks and 0.4 assists per game. He played in 465 games and started 288.


Post basketball

Montross is now a
color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and the ...
on the Tar Heel Sports Network men's basketball broadcasts, having worked the position since former color analyst Mick Mixon left to become the
play-by-play In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...
voice of the
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...
. With the Pan-American Health Organization, Montross co-founded an organization called Vaccine Ambassadors, which aims to distribute vaccines all over the world, especially to developing countries, and help children. In 1994, he started the Eric Montross Fathers Day Basketball Camp. The camp has raised over one million dollars for the UNC Children's hospital.


Career statistics


College

Source , - , style="text-align:left;", 1990–91 , style="text-align:left;",
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and S ...
, 35 , , 9 , , 15.2 , , .587 , , - , , .612 , , 4.2 , , .3 , , .2 , , .9 , , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1991–92 , style="text-align:left;",
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and S ...
, 31 , , 25 , , 25.3 , , .574 , , - , , .624 , , 7 , , .6 , , .5 , , 1 , , 11.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1992–93 , style="text-align:left;",
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and S ...
, 38 , , 36 , , 28.3 , , .615 , , - , , .684 , , 7.6 , , .7 , , .6 , , 1.2 , , 15.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1993–94 , style="text-align:left;",
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and S ...
, 35 , , 35 , , 31.7 , , .560 , , - , , .558 , , 8.1 , , .8 , , .5 , , 1.8 , , 13.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 139 , , 105 , , 25.2 , , .585 , , - , , .624 , , 6.8 , , .6 , , .5 , , 1.2 , , 11.7


NBA

Source


Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1994–95 , style="text-align:left;",
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...
, 78 , , 75 , , 29.7 , , .534 , , .000 , , .635 , , 7.3 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 0.8 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1995–96 , style="text-align:left;",
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...
, 61 , , 59 , , 23.5 , , .566 , , - , , .376 , , 5.8 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 0.5 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1996–97 , style="text-align:left;",
Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wi ...
/
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, 78 , , 77 , , 23.5 , , .456 , , - , , .339 , , 6.6 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.9 , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1997–98 , style="text-align:left;",
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
/
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
, 48 , , 30 , , 14.4 , , .424 , , - , , .400 , , 4.1 , , 0.2 , , 0.3 , , 0.6 , , 2.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
, 46 , , 2 , , 12.5 , , .525 , , .000 , , .344 , , 3.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.6 , , 2.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
, 51 , , 0 , , 6.5 , , .309 , , - , , .500 , , 1.4 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 0.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
/
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...
, 54 , , 21 , , 12.0 , , .406 , , - , , .258 , , 3.2 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 0.5 , , 2.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...
, 49 , , 24 , , 13.4 , , .402 , , .000 , , .323 , , 2.9 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 0.5 , , 2.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 465 , , 288 , , 18.2 , , .490 , , .000 , , .478 , , 4.6 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 0.6 , , 4.5


Notes


External links


Basketball-Reference stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montross, Eric 1971 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American men's basketball players American people of Dutch descent American people of French-Canadian descent American radio sports announcers Basketball players at the 1991 Pan American Games Basketball players from Indianapolis Boston Celtics draft picks Boston Celtics players Centers (basketball) College basketball announcers in the United States Dallas Mavericks players Detroit Pistons players McDonald's High School All-Americans New Jersey Nets players North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball announcers North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in basketball Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Philadelphia 76ers players Toronto Raptors players Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games