McCoy McLemore Jr. (April 3, 1942 – April 30, 2009) was an American 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 in the 1960s and 1970s. He played college basketball for

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. Hi ...

Basketball career

Early years

Born in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, McLemore attended Houston's

Jack Yates High School Jack Yates Senior High School is a public high school located at 3650 Alabama Street, very near Texas Southern University, in the historic Third Ward in Houston, Texas, United States. Yates High School handles grades nine through twelve and is par ...

College

McLemore first attended

Moberly Area Community College Moberly Area Community College (MACC) is a public community college based in Moberly, Missouri. In addition to the Moberly campus, MACC has four campuses across a large portion of Northeastern and central Missouri: Columbia, Hannibal, Kirksville ...

, but then transferred to

, leading his team to be co-

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

champions. McLemore was inducted posthumously into the National Junior College Athletic Association Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.

Professional career

He was a third-round pick by the

San Francisco Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

in 1964. McLemore was a member of the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

' inaugural team after being selected in the 1966 expansion draft. Two years later, 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 ...

drafted McLemore in the 1968 expansion draft. In the middle of the 1968 season, he was traded to the

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 ...

. 1970 marked the third time McLemore was selected in an expansion draft, this time by the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

. The Cavailers then traded McLemore to 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 ...

, where

Eddie Doucette Eddie Doucette (born June 15, 1940) is a former television and radio sportscaster and currently the president of Doucette Promotions Inc. Doucette was the original radio play-by-play voice of the Milwaukee Bucks, where he broadcast games for 16 ye ...

described him as "a good rebounder off the bench." The Bucks waived McLemore in November 1971, and the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

signed him in December 1971. The Rockets did not renew his contract for the 1972 season.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1964–65 , align="left" ,

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, 78 , , - , , 22.2 , , .337 , , - , , .714 , , 6.3 , , 1.0 , , - , , - , , 8.3 , - , align="left" , 1965–66 , align="left" ,

, style="background:#cfecec;", 80* , , - , , 18.3 , , .426 , , - , , .743 , , 6.1 , , 0.7 , , - , , - , , 7.4 , - , align="left" , 1966–67 , align="left" ,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 79 , , - , , 17.5 , , .385 , , - , , .772 , , 4.7 , , 0.8 , , - , , - , , 9.2 , - , align="left" , 1967–68 , align="left" ,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 76 , , - , , 27.6 , , .398 , , - , , .779 , , 5.7 , , 1.7 , , - , , - , , 12.7 , - , align="left" , 1968–69 , align="left" ,

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, 31 , , - , , 22.9 , , .385 , , - , , .773 , , 5.4 , , 1.6 , , - , , - , , 11.8 , - , align="left" , 1968–69 , 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 th ...

, 50 , , - , , 18.2 , , .396 , , - , , .808 , , 4.7 , , 0.9 , , - , , - , , 7.3 , - , align="left" , 1969–70 , align="left" ,

, 73 , , - , , 19.5 , , .466 , , - , , .821 , , 4.6 , , 1.1 , , - , , - , , 8.0 , - , align="left" , 1970–71 , align="left" ,

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, 58 , , - , , 31.7 , , .388 , , - , , .773 , , 8.0 , , 3.0 , , - , , - , , 11.7 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 1970–71† , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, 28 , , - , , 14.8 , , .368 , , - , , .829 , , 3.8 , , 1.1 , , - , , - , , 4.7 , - , align="left" , 1971–72 , align="left" ,

, 10 , , - , , 9.9 , , .321 , , - , , .917 , , 3.4 , , 1.2 , , - , , - , , 2.9 , - , align="left" , 1971–72 , align="left" ,

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, 17 , , - , , 8.6 , , .442 , , - , , .750 , , 2.3 , , 0.6 , , - , , - , , 2.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 580 , , - , , 21.1 , , .394 , , - , , .771 , , 5.5 , , 1.3 , , - , , - , , 8.8

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1966–67 , align="left" ,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 3 , , - , , 15.0 , , .400 , , - , , .867 , , 3.0 , , 1.3 , , - , , - , , 12.3 , - , align="left" , 1967–68 , align="left" ,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 5 , , - , , 28.4 , , .388 , , - , , .762 , , 4.8 , , 1.0 , , - , , - , , 10.8 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" , 1970–71† , align="left" ,

, 10 , , - , , 5.2 , , .250 , , - , , .500 , , 1.6 , , 0.8 , , - , , - , , 0.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 18 , , - , , 13.3 , , .374 , , - , , .789 , , 2.7 , , 0.9 , , - , , - , , 5.4

Post-career life

McLemore was a color analyst in the late 1980s for Rockets' television broadcasts on

Home Sports Entertainment Bally Sports Southwest is a Texan regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group (a joint-venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios), and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts regional c ...

Death

McLemore died of cancer, aged 67, on April 30, 2009.

References

External links

NBA stats
at basketballreference.com
JC and College stats
1942 births 2009 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Houston Centers (basketball) Chicago Bulls expansion draft picks Chicago Bulls players Cleveland Cavaliers expansion draft picks Cleveland Cavaliers players Deaths from cancer in Texas Detroit Pistons players Drake Bulldogs men's basketball players Houston Rockets players Milwaukee Bucks players Moberly Greyhounds men's basketball players Phoenix Suns expansion draft picks Phoenix Suns players Power forwards (basketball) San Francisco Warriors draft picks San Francisco Warriors players {{1940s-US-basketball-bio-stub