Maurice Darnell Ager (born February 9, 1984) 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. He played at the collegiate level for the

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and wh ...

from 2002 until 2006, and earned a spot on the 19-and-under USA basketball team in the summer of 2004. As a junior, Ager led the Spartans to the NCAA Final Four in 2005, averaging 14 points per game. As a senior, Ager led the Big Ten in scoring, averaging just below 20 points per contest, and participated in the dunk contest at the 2006 Final Four. Ager was selected by the

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 (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

in the NBA draft with the 28th overall pick. In 2008, Ager was included in a trade between the Dallas Mavericks and

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, ...

. Ager is also a music producer and was considered for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for his song "Far From Home." Ager released his debut album, '' Moe Town Vol. 1'', in 2013. In 2014, Ager created "Moe Ager Hoop School," a basketball enrichment program which serves to develop young, up-and-coming basketball players worldwide. Ager has provided his program all over the world in areas including America, Canada, Spain, China, South America, Africa, and is currently active in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Basketball career

College

Ager attended Michigan State from 2002–2006. In his

freshman year A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

, he averaged 6.7 points per game as the Spartans advanced to the

Elite Eight In the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In Division I and Divis ...

before losing to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. As a sophomore in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, he increased his scoring average to 8.5 points per game while averaging 22.5 minutes per game. In

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, Ager was the top scorer for Michigan State, averaging 14.1 points per game while averaging 26.3 minutes per game. He led the Spartans to the Final Four by defeating

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

in a double-

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...

game in the

. He was named to the Austin All-Regional team after averaging 16.8 points and 5 rebounds a game. Ager scored 24 points against

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 So ...

in the Final Four, but the Spartans lost to the eventual national champions. Ager again led the Spartans in scoring in 2006, as he averaged 19.3 points per game as a senior. On November 22, 2005, at the

Maui Invitational Tournament The Maui Invitational, currently known as the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, is an annual early-season college basketball tournament that takes place Thanksgiving (US), Thanksgiving week, normally in Lahaina, Hawaii, Lahaina, Hawaii, at the Lahaina ...

, Ager faced off against Gonzaga's

Adam Morrison Adam John Morrison (born July 19, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. Morrison played for three years at Gonzaga University and was considered to be one of the top college basketball players in 2005–06. He was a finalist ...

. Down by three, Ager sank a three-point shot at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. Despite Ager's team-high 36 points, Gonzaga knocked off the Spartans in triple overtime 109–106. The next day Ager led the Spartans with 20 points to defeat

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

74–71 in overtime. Ager finished his career with 1,554 points with the Spartans.

Professional career

On June 28, 2006, Ager was selected by the

in the NBA draft with the 28th overall pick. While with the Mavericks in 2006, Ager was assigned to the

Fort Worth Flyers The Fort Worth Flyers were a minor league basketball team in the NBA Development League (D-League) based in Fort Worth, Texas. They began play in the 2005–06 season and were shut down for the 2007–08 season. Franchise history In 2005, Sout ...

of the

D-League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

. Ager would appear in 32 games in his rookie season for the Mavericks. He appeared in 12 games for the Mavericks in 2007–08. On February 19, 2008, Ager was traded by the Mavericks to the

in a multi-player deal involving

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

Jason Kidd Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded as one of the greatest point guards ...

. During this time, he also played in the NBA's

. Ager would appear in 14 games for the Nets and 20 games in 2008–09. Following his stint with the Nets, he played in the D-League and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. After appearing four games for the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

in 2010, he was waived on November 11, 2010.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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Playoffs

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, align="left" ,

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Music career

In 2010 Ager created his own music production company called "Moe Ager Productions". In 2013, he was nominated for Producer of the Year at the EOTM Awards in Los Angeles. Ager received ballot consideration for the 56th Annual Grammy Awards for his single, "Far From Home." He has produced for not only himself but artists such as

Royce Da 5'9 Markus Bennett is an American hip-hop recording artist. People Surname * Ed Royce (born 1951), American politician * Elwyn E. Royce (1868–1960), American politician * Henry Royce (1863–1933), cofounder of the Rolls-Royce automobile company * H ...

E-40 Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the rap group The Click, and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 26 studio albums to date, a ...

Layzie Bone Steven Howse (born September 23, 1974), known professionally as Layzie Bone, is a rapper known primarily for being a member of the group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. He has also gone by the names L-Burna and The #1 Assassin. He is the younger brother ...

Tobe Nwigwe Tobechukwu Dubem "Tobe" Nwigwe (born March 8, 1987) is an American rapper, singer and actor. As of 2022, Nwigwe co-stars in the Netflix television series '' Mo'' and received a nomination for Best New Artist at the 65th Grammy Awards. Persona ...

, Major Williams, Marcus Moody, Yukmouf, Rashaun Will, and B-Real of Cypress Hill. Ager's single, "Forever I'm a Spartan," was released as an anthem for the Michigan State University football team in 2010. Ager released 3 projects in the winter of 2018,"Moe House","Lost in Translation" and "Visa Run".

References

External links

*
Player profile

Former MSU basketball player receives grammy nomination
at ''statenews.com'' by Ariel Ellis, October 31, 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ager, Maurice 1984 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Spain Basketball players from Detroit Real Betis Baloncesto players Dallas Mavericks draft picks Dallas Mavericks players Fort Worth Flyers players Liga ACB players Maine Red Claws players Michigan State Spartans men's basketball players Minnesota Timberwolves players New Jersey Nets players Shooting guards Tulsa 66ers players American men's basketball players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people