text: mitch mcgary mitchell neil william " mitch " mcgary ( born june 6 , 1992 ) is an american professional basketball player for the oklahoma city thunder of the national basketball association ( nba ) . a native of chesterton , indiana , mcgary declared for the nba draft after completing his sophomore season for the 2013 – 14 michigan wolverines men 's basketball team . he was drafted 21st overall by the thunder in the 2014 nba draft . at the time of his national letter of intent signing with michigan wolverines basketball , espn.com and scout.com ranked mcgary as the number two player in the united states high school class of 2012 , while rivals.com ranked him as the number three prospect . he was not only the consensus top power forward recruit in the nation , but also the top big man according to most sources at the time . after his signing , however , mcgary fell down in the rankings as his underdeveloped offensive skills became apparent . at michigan , mcgary became the sixth man as well as the leading shot blocker and rebounder for the 2012 – 13 michigan wolverines men 's basketball team . during the season , he was twice named big ten freshman of the week . he became the regular starter during the 2013 ncaa men 's division i basketball tournament and earned south all - regional team and ncaa all - tournament team recognition as he helped the team reach the championship game . he led all big ten freshman in rebounding . background mitch mcgary was born on june 6 , 1992 , and grew up in the chesterton , indiana , area . he played in ymca and amateur athletic union ( aau ) basketball leagues as a youth , and his father , tim , who had never played organized sports , coached him until fourth grade . mcgary 's mother is named valerie . when mcgary was younger , his father thought his athletic future was in baseball . mcgary played on the 2007 – 08 chesterton high school junior varsity team as a freshman , while eventual three - time michigan wolverines captain zack novak was a senior on the varsity team . that year he also was a 6 - foot - 6 - inch ( 1 . 98 m ) , 190 - pound ( 86 kg ) freshman tight end on the high school football team , but his father made him quit football as he continued to grow . his local indiana players aau basketball team included future michigan teammates max bielfeldt and glenn robinson iii , son of glenn robinson . mcgary joined the varsity basketball team the following season and played two years . mcgary is afflicted with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder . he eventually transferred to brewster academy , a prep school in wolfeboro , new hampshire , to repeat his junior year because his parents thought the discipline would be good for him . before transferring to brewster , mcgary was the tallest kid in his school and in the basketball conference that he played in . mcgary shoots left - handed . as late as march 2011 , mcgary ranked 92nd in the national class of 2012 by rivals.com. during the lebron james skills academy in july , mcgary stood out as the best player in attendance . he was invited to participate in the 5th annual nike global challenge the following month . due to an ankle injury he did not participate . however , later that month , he participated in the boost mobile elite 24 event , where he shattered a backboard . his other 2011 summer camps included pittsburgh jam fest , the national basketball players association top 100 camp and the under armour best of the best camp , where he was the most valuable player . also in august , espn reported that mcgary had narrowed his list of schools to six : university of florida , university of maryland , university of north carolina , university of michigan , duke university and university of kentucky . because mcgary does not like to be the bearer of bad news , when he narrowed his list , he had his father contact the coaches of the teams no longer in contention for his services . mcgary scheduled his official michigan visit for the beginning of september . mcgary completed his official campus visits to university of michigan , university of north carolina , and duke university , in that order , by october 4 . however , due to injuries suffered a few weeks earlier while shattering the backboard , he only played pick - up games at duke . he also made an unofficial visit to florida prior to these official visits . while michigan assistant coach bacari alexander was recruiting him , a brewster academy groundskeeper relayed a story about mcgary consoling a freshman who was in tears when his parents dropped him off on the first day of school . alexander says the groundskeeper told him that " mcgary spotted the kid from a distance , stopped his conversation and ran to him , consoled him and brought him into school with his group of friends . " alexander said that mcgary 's character made him a great fit for michigan . his reported best friend , robinson had committed to michigan on september 14 , 2010 . in a press conference broadcast on espnu on november 3 , 2011 , mcgary announced his verbal commitment to michigan over his other two finalist florida and duke . within hours of the commitment , espn ranked michigan 's recruiting class the fifth best in the nation . after several other schools announced their commitments , michigan , which had been outside the top 25 at the end of october , ranked the number 7 class in the nation , according to espn . he waited until november 9 to sign his national letter of intent so that his parents , who were still living in indiana , could be present . both of his parents had liked head coach mike krzyzewski and had hoped that he would choose duke . at the time of their november 2011 national letter of intent signings , nik stauskas , robinson and mcgary gave michigan a consensus top 10 entering class for its 2012 class . mcgary was technically eligible for the 2012 nba draft . brewster entered the 2012 nepsac class aaa boys ' basketball tournament undefeated and ranked number 1 in the nation according to the five - star basketball rankings published in sports illustrated , but lost in the semifinals of the tournament to northfield mount hermon school , who was led by future teammate spike albrecht , in overtime on march 2 . in the overtime period , mcgary missed a game - tying free throw with 17 . 3 seconds remaining . his brewster team defeated massanutten military academy and notre dame prep to reach the march 7 championship game in the national prep championship against hargrave military academy . brewster won the national prep championship game . the 2011 – 12 brewster team was reported to have eight future division i basketball players , including florida state commit aaron thomas , xavier commit christon , nc state commit t. j. warren , and sampson . sampson earned both the 2012 national prep championship mvp and new england preparatory school athletic council ( nepsac ) aaa player of the year , leaving mcgary with a supporting role . mcgary was invited to participate in the four - team all - american championship along with future teammate robinson in new orleans on april 1 , 2012 . six days later , mcgary represented usa basketball at the 15th annual nike hoops summit as part of the 2012 usa junior national select team . following the season , he was named as one of 40 parade all - americans . during his senior season , scouts became aware that mcgary was less polished offensively than he had appeared . by january , his ranking had been reduced from number 2 overall to about number 20 . he eventually settled between 26th and 30th by scout.com , espn and rivals.com in the final class of 2012 overall rankings . college career the 2011 – 12 michigan wolverines men 's basketball team had been co - champions of 2011 – 12 big ten conference , but lost both of its co - captains , zack novak and stu douglass , to graduation and three players as transfers . the team was returning a nucleus of all - big ten players trey burke and tim hardaway , jr . freshman in the third game of the season and the third of his career , mcgary posted a game - high 9 rebounds in 17 minutes of play off the bench against cleveland state on november 13 . mcgary also went 3 - for - 3 on his field goals . mcgary reached double figures in scoring for the first time december 4 against western michigan ( michigan 's eighth game of the season ) when he scored 10 points on 5 - for - 5 shooting in 14 minutes of play off the bench . he had his first 10 - rebound game on december 11 against the binghamton bearcats . on december 20 , he posted his first double - double with a then career - high 11 rebounds and 10 points as well as a then career - high 3 steals in just 18 minute of play against eastern michigan . on december 24 , he was recognized as big ten freshman of the week . on january 6 , mcgary tied then career high with 11 rebounds , tied a then career high 2 assists and set a career high with 3 blocked shots against iowa . on january 28 , michigan was ranked number one in the ap poll with 51 of the 65 first place votes . it marked the first time michigan ranked atop the ap poll since the fab five 1992 – 93 team did so on december 5 , 1992 . after enduring an injured ankle against illinois , starting center jordan morgan sat out the january 30 northwestern game . mcgary posted 11 rebounds again , against northwestern . in the subsequent games , morgan continued to be in a day - to - day condition , playing minimal or no minutes . mcgary played a career - high 29 minutes , tallying then career highs of 14 points and 4 steals , along with 6 rebounds , on february 5 in an overtime victory against ohio state . on february 9 , mcgary played 32 minutes in an overtime loss to wisconsin , totaling 12 points , 3 steals and 8 rebounds . for his efforts in two overtime games on the week , mcgary earned his second big ten freshman of the week honor on february 11 . on february 12 in michigan 's 25th game of the season , mcgary made his first appearance in the starting lineup in the rivalry game against michigan state . michigan lost 75 – 52 with mcgary posting a team - high 4 rebounds . morgan returned to the starting lineup in the february 17 penn state contest , but he only played 7 minutes . although mcgary started again against illinois on february 24 , morgan played more minutes than mcgary and jon horford . on march 14 , in the first round of the 2013 big ten conference men 's basketball tournament against penn state , mcgary posted his second career double - double , reaching 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first half , but only adding one more rebound in the second half . prior to the 2013 ncaa men 's division i basketball tournament , jeff goodman of cbssports.com named michigan with mcgary first among tournament teams in terms of having the most future nba talent on its roster ( in the absence of kentucky who was relegated to the 2013 national invitation tournament ) . as a number four seed , michigan defeated its first ncaa tournament opponent , south dakota state , 71 – 56 on march 21 with mcgary making his third start of the season and contributing 13 points and 9 rebounds . the 27th victory of the season gave the team its most wins in 20 years and matched head coach john beilein 's career high . two days later mcgary made his fourth career start , adding career highs of 21 points on 10 - for - 11 shooting and 14 rebounds against vcu in a 78 – 53 victory . in the first two tournament games combined , he shot 16 - for - 20 . on march 29 against kansas , mcgary earned his third consecutive start and 5th start of the season . he scored a career - high 25 points and career - high tying 14 rebounds , marking his second consecutive and fourth career double - double . he shot 12 - for - 17 in the game . mcgary joined blake griffin ( 2009 ) as the only two players in the last 15 ncaa men 's division i basketball tournaments to achieve 14 or more rebounds and 21 or more points in back - to - back games . with his tournament run , mcgary became the big ten conference leader in field goal percentage ( although he slipped just below victor oladipo at the end of the season ) . in the regional finals on march 31 against florida , mcgary contributed 9 rebounds and 11 points , including 8 points as michigan opened up a 13 – 0 lead to start the game . mcgary , also added a career - high 5 steals during his fourth consecutive start . mcgary and stauskas joined most outstanding player trey burke on the 5 - man south all - regional team . following the regional championship postgame prayer and with mrs. beilein 's consent , mcgary and tim hardaway , jr. gave head coach john beilein a shower . in the april 6 national semifinal against syracuse , mcgary contributed 10 points and 12 rebounds along with a career - high 6 assists . two nights later , michigan lost in the championship game to louisville by an 82 – 76 margin as mcgary contributed 6 points , 6 rebounds , a steal , a block and an assist . mcgary made the 7 - man all - tournament team ( which was revised multiple times ) along with teammates burke and albrecht . in his six ncaa tournament starts , he averaged a double - double with 14 . 3 points and 10 . 8 rebounds . mcgary finished the season as the big ten conference freshman leader in rebounding and placed second to victor oladipo in field goal percentage ( 59 . 87 % vs. 59 . 82 % ) . 2013 nba draft prior to the final four , mcgary stated that he would not enter the 2013 nba draft , but a few days later said he had been caught off guard and would prefer to respond after he has time to reflect on his season . on april 9 before boarding the airplane to return from the ncaa final four , beilein met with burke , hardaway , robinson and mcgary to direct them to seek the advice of the nba advisory committee . the draft board has until april 15 to develop each individual report and the players have until april 28 to enter the draft . on april 12 , espn journalist myron medcalf described mcgary 's likelihood of entering the draft as " borderline , " noting that his ncaa tournament performance may have given him a sudden chance to be a lottery selection . several sources regarded him as a likely first round draft choice in the nba draft , so there was much speculation about him entering his name into the draft . on april 18 , he and robinson held a joint press conference to announce that they would not enter the draft . this came after burke and hardaway entered the draft on the 14th and 17th , respectively . sophomore preseason on april 30 , espn 's eamonn brennan named him a first team 2013 - 14 pre - offseason all - american selection . in june 2013 , sporting news ' mike decourcy named mcgary the best center for the upcoming season . mcgary declined an invitation to try out for the usa basketball team that competed at the 2013 summer universiade , opting instead to attend the nike skills academy for big men featuring amar 'e stoudemire and anthony davis and the lebron james skills academy . on september 6 , sporting news named mcgary to its preseason all - american first team ( along with doug mcdermott , marcus smart , jabari parker and andrew wiggins ) , as well as the best overall player in the big ten conference after he led michigan to the championship game by averaging 14 . 3 points and 10 . 7 rebounds per game in the tournament . nbc sports named him a second team selection . later that month , mcgary joined mcdermott , smart , wiggins and julius randle as first team preseason all - americans by usa today sports 2013 - 14 college basketball preview magazine . however , usa today sports staff later selected him as second team . blue ribbon college basketball yearbook named mcgary a preseason second team all - american . lindy 's sports selected mcgary to the preseason all - big ten second team and named him the nation 's second best power forward . athlon sports selected mcgary to its preseason all - american second team and preseason all - big ten first team . cbs sports selected mcgary as a second team preseason all - american . dick vitale selected mcgary to his all - solid gold preseason first team ( along with mcdermott , smart , russ smith and aaron craft ) . on november 4 , mcgary was named first team preseason all - american by the associated press along with , smart , wiggins and smith . mcgary was on the 50 - man naismith award and wooden award preseason watchlists . in september , mcgary experienced an unspecified lower back condition that impaired his basketball activity . he sat out the first exhibition game on october 29 against concordia university . mcgary was a preseason all - big ten selection in both the official media poll released by the big ten conference and the unofficial media poll released by the big ten network . he was also on the 15 - man oscar robertson trophy preseason watch list . regular season mcgary sat out the season opener on november 8 due to his back problems . by november 11 , head coach beilein stated that mcgary had begun participating in limited full - speed workouts . after missing the preseason and first two regular season games , mcgary returned to play against iowa state on november 17 posting 9 points , 6 rebounds and 4 steals . mcgary posted a 14 - point and 12 rebound double - double in his third game , which was the november 22 puerto rico tip - off semifinal against florida state . with leading scorer stauskas sidelined with an injury , the november 29 contest against coppin state was mcgary 's first start of the season . on december 3 , mcgary had 15 points and 14 rebounds against duke . mcgary tied his career high with 6 assists as michigan defeated houston baptist by the 54 points on december 7 . on december 21 , mcgary sat out against stanford due to assorted ailments . on december 27 , mcgary announced that he would have back surgery . on january 3 , the surgery date was announced as january 7 . by march 15 , he had progressed to running on hardcourt surfaces , after some time spent running on an underwater treadmill . he was nearing jumping activities . the 2013 – 14 team advanced to the elite eight round of the 2014 ncaa men 's division i basketball tournament before being eliminated by kentucky on march 30 . professional career 2014 nba draft following the season , mcgary , who had slipped from a projected 2013 first round selection to a projected 2014 second round selection , stated that he had to evaluate whether he was mentally and physically ready to pursue a professional career . mcgary and teammates robinson and stauskas all submitted evaluation requests to the nba undergraduate advisory committee which must respond by april 14 , giving the players until april 27 to make themselves eligible for the draft if they so choose . many in the press felt he should return to " rebuild his draft stock " . upon learning that he had tested positive for marijuana following the sweet sixteen victory over tennessee and was facing a one - year suspension , mcgary declared for the draft , following teammates stauskas and robinson who had declared ten days earlier . of michigan 's prior 14 early nba draft entrants , 10 were selected in the first round and 3 in the second . mcgary was tested 18 days before the ncaa decided to reduce the automatic punishment for marijuana use to a half a season and his appeal for lenience was unsuccessful . during his two years with michigan , the school enjoyed its winningest two - year stretch in school history marked by a total of 59 wins . mcgary signed with sports agent mark bartelstein ( along with teammate stauskas ) . bartelstein is the father of former michigan teammate josh bartelstein , and agent for former teammate tim hardaway , jr . due to his continuing rehabilitation for his back , it was unclear whether mcgary would attend the nba draft combine . mcgary and decided that mcgary should not participate in combines at less than 100 % . oklahoma city thunder ( 2014 – present ) mcgary was drafted 21st overall by the oklahoma city thunder . with teammates stauskas and robinson also being drafted , it marked the first time michigan had at least three draft picks since the 1990 nba draft . with burke and hardaway having been drafted the year before , every player that started in the 2013 ncaa men 's division i basketball championship game was drafted either in the 2013 or 2014 nba draft . on july 5 , 2014 , mcgary signed with the thunder and joined them for the 2014 nba summer league . on the first possession of his first nba summer league game , mcgary issued a halfcourt pass for a lob slam dunk by jeremy lamb , highlighting the passing that he is known for . on october 8 during training camp , mcgary fractured the second metatarsal of his left foot , causing him to be sidelined for an estimated six weeks . this occurred three weeks before the team 's october 29 season opener and meant mcgary was expected to miss the first 14 games of the season . after missing the first 14 games , he began to be a limited participant in practices . mcgary debuted with the thunder on december 14 with 4 rebounds and 3 points in 7 : 15 of play against the phoenix suns . subsequently , mcgary was sidelined for 2 – 3 weeks with ( inflammation ) in his left tibia . he returned from injury on february 2 as he appeared in just his second nba game in a 104 - 97 win over the orlando magic . on february 8 , in his third nba game , mcgary posted a double double with 19 points and 10 rebounds against the los angeles clippers , while energizing the crowd and team . then on february 9 , he posted a 17 - point , 10 - rebound double double against the denver nuggets . he was one of the finalists for nba western conference rookie of the month . on march 13 , mcgary made his first start against the minnesota timberwolves in place of an injured serge , scoring 12 points in 22 minutes . at power forward , his defensive assignment was supposed to have been kevin garnett , but garnett sat out a third consecutive game and was replaced by fellow rookie ( and former michigan state rival ) adreian payne who had replaced garnett in the two previous games as well . mcgary had made his first college basketball start against payne 's 2012 – 13 michigan state team . on march 16 , mcgary established a new career high by nabbing 11 rebounds in his first 6 minutes of play before going on to post a double double with 13 rebounds and 12 points in 17 minutes against dallas mavericks . in the april 15 season finale against the minnesota timberwolves , mcgary posted a season - high 4 blocked shots in just 14 : 54 of play . during his rookie and sophomore seasons , he had multiple assignments with oklahoma city blue , the thunder 's d - league affiliate . on october 16 , 2015 , mcgary suffered a loose ball collision with matt barnes of the memphis grizzlies that resulted in concussion - like symptoms . on october 21 , the thunder exercised their third - year team option on mcgary 's rookie scale contract , extending the contract through the 2016 – 17 season . on october 26 , he was cleared for the october 28 season opener . however , mcgary did not appear in the game . on july 8 , 2016 , mcgary was suspended for five games by the nba for a failed drug test . nba career statistics regular season personal life mcgary 's father is a chesterton high school alumnus and his mother worked there as the school treasurer . mcgary entertains his teammates with rapping on and off the court . mcgary 's older brother ryan bought him a unicycle for his 12th birthday and mcgary quickly became proficient , eventually delivering newspapers on unicycles with his childhood friend spencer who had a paper route and also had a unicycle . according to his aau basketball coach , wayne brumm , mcgary is said to have thrown a baseball in the mid to high 80 miles per hour range . mcgary is an avid skateboarder , with a set of skateboard ramps built by his father in his backyard .