Gary McLain is a former American collegiate

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player at

Villanova University Villanova University is a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1842 and named after Saint Thomas of Villanova. The university is the oldest Catholic university in Penns ...

High school and college career

McLain was a highly recruited point guard while at

Methuen High School Methuen High School is a public secondary school located in the city of Methuen, Massachusetts, United States. Methuen High serves grades nine through twelve for about 1,900 students. It is one of five public schools in Methuen and it is the onl ...

. His high school coach Bill Donlon was his legal guardian. He was recruited by several college programs and chose to attend Villanova and was a part of the

Villanova Wildcats The Villanova Wildcats are the athletic teams of Villanova University. They compete in the Big East (NCAA Division I) for every sport; except football and rowing where they compete in the Colonial Athletic Association ( Football Championship ...

's 1981 heralded recruiting class that also featured

Ed Pinckney Edward Lewis Pinckney (born March 27, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. College career He attended Villanova University and was a part of the Villanova Wildcats' 1981 heralded recruiting class that included Gary McL ...

and

Dwayne McClain Dwayne Eddie McClain (born February 7, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Indiana Pacers in the second round (27th pick overall) of the 1985 NBA draft. He played in the NBA for one season and was ...

, which the three had collective nickname of "The Expansion Crew". His basketball career lasted from 1981 to 1985 and played point guard. McLain graduated with a degree in Communication Arts. McLain was starting point guard in the 1985 squad which defeated

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

, 66–64 to win to the NCAA title over the heavily favored Hoyas. This game is widely considered as one of the greatest NCAA tournament upsets of all time. This game is featured in the book ''The Perfect Game'' by Frank Fitzpatrick.

After Villanova

McLain was selected in the seventh round of 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 ...

by the

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 ...

and was later selected by the Wildwood Aces of the

United States Basketball League The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...

, but did not play for either team. He worked as a recruiter with TLA Consultants.

Sports Illustrated Article

In the March 1987 issue of Sports Illustrated, Gary McLain revealed that he had been using drugs since junior high school and began a

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

habit while at Villanova. He also acknowledged using cocaine before Villanova's Final Four victory over Memphis State, but maintained that he did not use drugs before the 1985 national championship game against Georgetown.https://www.si.com/vault/issue/702407/46/1 ''Sports Illustrated''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLain, Gary Living people African-American basketball players Basketball players from Massachusetts New Jersey Nets draft picks People from Methuen, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Essex County, Massachusetts Villanova Wildcats men's basketball players American men's basketball players Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American people