Kevin Dornell Magee (January 24, 1959 – October 23, 2003), was an American

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 most of his professional career for

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

. He played at the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

and

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 eccentrici ...

positions. Magee played

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 UCI Irvine Anteaters, earning All-American honors in both seasons. In 1993–94, he led the

Israel Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional competition in Israeli club basketball, making it Israel's primary basketball co ...

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

College career

Magee went to

Southeastern Louisiana University Southeastern Louisiana University (Southeastern) is a public university in Hammond, Louisiana. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims as Hammond Junior College. Sims succeeded in getting the campus moved to north Hammond in 1928, when it becam ...

and then the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

, but he was not ready for school, dropping out both times without playing basketball. He went to

Saddleback College Saddleback College (Saddleback) is a public community college in Mission Viejo, California. It is part of the California Community College system and awards over 300 associate degrees, academic certificates, and occupational skills awards in 19 ...

Mission Viejo, California Mission Viejo ( ; corruption of ''Misión Vieja'', Spanish for "Old Mission") is a commuter city in the Saddleback Valley in Orange County, California, United States. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities eve ...

, before transferring to the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and pr ...

, where he played two years for the

Anteaters Anteater is a common name for the four extant mammal species of the suborder Vermilingua (meaning "worm tongue") commonly known for eating ants and termites. The individual species have other names in English and other languages. Together with ...

in the

Pacific Coast Athletic Association The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

(PCAA, now Big West Conference). A two-time All-American in the early 1980s, Magee was also the PCAA Player of the Year in 1980–81 and 1981–82. In those two seasons, he averaged 26.3 points and 12.3

per game along with a

field goal percentage Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Although three-point field goal percentage is often calculated separately, three-point field goals are included in the gener ...

of 66%. He was a first-team All-PCAA and first-team All-District 8 both seasons, was named District 8 Most Valuable Player in 1982, and was ranked in the nation's top 10 in scoring, rebounding, and field-goal percentage both seasons. He was named a first-team All-American by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

in 1981, when he became the first player in NCAA history to finish in the top four in three statistical categories, finishing third in the country in scoring (27.5), second in field goal percentage (67.1) and fourth in rebounding (12.5). His was the first to have their number retired in UCI history, and he was inducted into the UCI Hall of Fame in 1997.

Professional career

Magee was selected by the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

, in the 2nd round (39th overall) of the 1982 NBA Draft; however he never played in the

NBA 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 St ...

. He played in Europe, for Spanish side

CAI Zaragoza Basket Zaragoza 2002 S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Basket Zaragoza and as Casademont Zaragoza for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Zaragoza, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB. Their home arena is th ...

, with whom he won Spanish King's Cup in 1984, and with them, he was also a

FIBA Korać Cup The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the third-tier level club competition in European basketball, after the FIBA European Champions' Cup (later renamed th ...

semifinalist. Later, he played for

, winning with them 6 Israeli League championships (1985–1990), and 5 Israeli State Cups (1985–1987, 1989, 1990). He was also a two-time EuroLeague semifinalist (1985, 1986), and a three-time

Finalist The final of a competition is the match or round in which the winner of the entire event is decided. In sports competitions following a knockout system, where only two individuals or teams compete in each match, the final is usually played between ...

(1987, 1988, 1989). At the peak of his career in Israel, he became a national sensation, being one of the first celebrities featured in advertisements. Most notable was his commercial for Telma peanut butter. He rejoined CAI Zaragoza in 1991, and was a FIBA European Cup Winner's Cup

, in the 1990-91 season. While playing with

Auxilium Torino Auxilium Pallacanestro Torino was an Italian professional basketball club that was based in Turin, Piedmont. It competed in the first division of Italian basketball, the LBA for the last time in the 2018–19 season. The club won one trophy, wh ...

of the Italian

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier le ...

, he led the league in rebounding, in the 1991-92 season. In 1993-94 he was the top rebounder in the Israel Basketball Premier League.

Awards and accomplishments

*6× Israeli League Champion: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990 (

) *5×

Israeli State Cup The Israel State Cup ( he, גביע המדינה, ''Gvia HaMedina''), is a knockout cup competition in Israeli football, run by the Israel Football Association (IFA). The State Cup was first held in 1928 as the People's Cup. Because it involve ...

Winner: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990 (

) * Spanish King's Cup Winner: 1984 (

) *3× EuroLeague

: 1987, 1988, 1989 (

) *2× EuroLeague Semifinalist: 1985, 1986 (

) * FIBA European Cup Winner's Cup (FIBA Saporta Cup)

: 1991 (

) *

Semifinalist: 1984 (

)

Personal life

On October 23, 2003, Magee died at age 44 in a car accident on

Interstate 55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The h ...

, south of

Amite, Louisiana Amite City ( or ; commonly just Amite) is a town in Tangipahoa Parish, of which it is the parish seat, in southeastern Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,141 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Hammond Micropolitan Statistical A ...

References

External links

Italian League Profile
Retrieved 15 June 2015 *
1982 NBA Draft Review

Spanish League Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magee, Kevin 1959 births 2003 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Auxilium Pallacanestro Torino players Basketball players from Gary, Indiana Centers (basketball) CB Zaragoza players Israeli Basketball Premier League players Lega Basket Serie A players Liga ACB players Maccabi Rishon LeZion basketball players Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. players Pallacanestro Varese players Paris Racing Basket players Phoenix Suns draft picks Power forwards (basketball) Road incident deaths in Louisiana Saddleback Gauchos men's basketball players UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball players