| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1975-08-02)August 2, 1975 (age 49) Florida |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Benjamin N. Cardozo (Queens,New York) St. Raphael Academy (Pawtucket, Rhode Island) |
| College | George Mason (1993–1996) Cal State Bakersfield (1996–1997) |
| NBA draft | 1997:undrafted |
| Playing career | 1997–2007 |
| Position | Guard |
| Career history | |
| 1997–1998 | Hapoel Tel Aviv |
| 1998–1999 | Mansfield Hawks |
| 1999 | Hapoel Tel Aviv |
| 1999 | Trotamundos de Carabobo |
| 1999–2000 | BC Kyiv |
| 2000 | Olympique Antibes |
| 2000–2001 | Montpellier Paillade |
| 2001 | Marinos de Oriente |
| 2001–2002 | CSKA Moscow |
| 2002–2003 | Montepaschi Siena |
| 2003 | Dakota Wizards |
| 2003–2004 | KK Split |
| 2004 | Limoges CSP |
| 2004–2005 | Hapoel Tel Aviv |
| 2005 | Ural Great Perm |
| 2005–2006 | JDA Dijon |
| 2006 | Benfica |
| 2006–2007 | Ironi Ramat Gan |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Curtis Reynard McCants (born August 2, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6-footpoint guard, he playedcollege basketball atGeorge Mason for 3 years, being namedCAA Rookie of the Year in 1994 and first team All-Conference in 1996 before leaving the program after a fight with a teammate. He finished his college career atCal State Bakersfield in theNCAA Division II and started his professional career in 1997 playing inIsrael. In 2001 he was thetop scorer of theLNB Pro A inFrance. In 10 years of pro career he played in several countries inEurope andSouth America. McCants has a daughter, Asia McCants, who played Division 1 basketball at Howard University.
McCants was born in the state ofFlorida[1] but grew up inQueens,New York with his mother and grandmother, attendingBenjamin N. Cardozo High School.[2][3] He then moved toRhode Island, where he attendedSt. Raphael Academy inPawtucket. In his junior year he earned first team All-State honors, averaging 34.9 points per game and recorded a career-high 55 points in a single game.[4] In his senior year he was again named first team All-State, with averages of 32 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists per game,[5] and was named Rhode Island Gatorade Player of the Year.[6]
McCants signed to play forGeorge Mason and during his first season he was named theCAA Rookie of the Year after averaging 14.6 points, 2 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game[7] while shooting 39.6% from the 3-point line, one of the best marks in a single season in the history of George Mason.[8] He ranked second on his team in scoring (behind junior Donald Ross) and assists.[9] In his sophomore year of college McCants improved his assists numbers, and had several games with 10+ assists;[10] on February 22, 1995, he recorded 15 assists versusRichmond, the single-game record for George Mason[11] that still stands as of 2019.[12] At the end of the 1994–95 season he ranked 2nd in assists in the whole NCAA Division I with an average of 9.3 per game, behindNelson Haggerty ofBaylor.[13] He also had a new George Mason record for most assists in a single season with 251[14] and ranked second on the team in scoring behind Nate Langley.[15]
McCants' junior year at GMU saw him become the primary scoring option of the team, and he averaged 22 points per game, leading his team in both scoring and assists.[16] He recorded a career-high 38 points versusCal Poly-SLO on January 13, 1996[10] and a season-high 14 assists againstHampton on December 28, 1995,[10] For the second consecutive season McCants ranked 2nd overall in assists per game in the NCAA with 8.3 behindRaimonds Miglinieks ofUC Irvine,[17] and was named in the All-CAA First Team.[7] He holds George Mason's records for total assists with 598,[8] career average with 7.3,[14] and most assists in a season with 251 in 1994–95,[14] all still standing as of 2019.[18]
On April 20, 1996, McCants was charged withdisorderly conduct and arrested after getting into a fistfight with Camerron Taylor,[19] a former GMU player.[20] Following the incident, McCants was removed from the team.[19] Facing the possibility of sitting out the whole season, he transferred toCal State Bakersfield in theNCAA Division II,[21] where he played his last season of college basketball. He played 24 games, averaging 14.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 0.7 steals per game in 28.5 minutes per contest, shooting a career-high 40.2% from three.[22]
Source[22]
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993–94 | George Mason | 27 | 22.9 | .472 | .396 | .757 | 2.0 | 4.6 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 14.6 | |
| 1994–95 | George Mason | 27 | 29.1 | .435 | .360 | .801 | 3.2 | 9.3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 15.2 | |
| 1995–96 | George Mason | 27 | 31.2 | .442 | .312 | .833 | 4.0 | 8.3 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 22.0 | |
| Career | 81 | 27.7 | .448 | .345 | .803 | 3.1 | 7.4 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 17.3 |
After the end of his senior season, McCants was automatically eligible for the1997 NBA draft, but he was not selected by an NBA franchise. He briefly signed for theConnecticut Skyhawks of theUSBL, being released on May 10, 1997,[23] and moved toIsrael, joiningHapoel Tel Aviv, playing in the Israeli second level and averaging 20.6 points per game.[3] In 1998 he came back to the United States to play for theMansfield Hawks of theIBA[24] before going back to Hapoel Tel Aviv in 1999, where he played 10 games averaging 19.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists. He then joinedTrotamundos de Carabobo inVenezuela, and then moved toUkraine ending the 1999–2000 season withBC Kyiv.[2][24]
In 2000 he signed forOlympique Antibes inFrance, and after 3 games where he averaged a league-leading 23.0 points,[2] he moved toMontpellier Paillade, where he played the remainder of the season, averaging 21.6 points in 26 games for a total average of 21.7, the best in the league, and won theLNB Pro A Best Scorer title. After experiencing success in France he moved toRussia after a brief experience in Venezuela withMarinos de Oriente, and signed forCSKA Moscow. He competed in the2001–02 Euroleague, averaging 13.8 points in 19 games.[25] In the Russian league he played 34 games (25 starts) averaging 9.5 points and 4.1 assists per game.[24]
In 2002 he moved toItaly, signing forMontepaschi Siena, and averaged 5 points in 19.8 minutes per game in 4 appearances. He also played 7 games in the2002–03 Euroleague, averaging 4.1 points per game.[25] In 2003 he played in theCBA with theDakota Wizards, averaging 5.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 5 games played.[26] He then joinedKK Split inCroatia. On December 16, 2003, he recorded 9 steals in anABA League game againstKK Zagreb, a new ABA League record.[27] He also recorded12 assists versusCholet Basket in the2003–04 ULEB Cup, and averaged 15.1 points and 6.8 assists in the competition.[25] He then went back to France, this time signing withLimoges CSP where he averaged 13.8 points and 6.9 assists per game over 17 appearances.
In 2004 he joined Hapoel Tel Aviv for the third time in his career,[3] and averaged 13.9 points and 7.7 assists in 15 games before moving toUral Great Perm in Russia, where he finished the season with 15.5 points and 5.3 assists in 4 games played. In 2005–06 he played for Dijon in France (9 games with 11.9 points and 7.7 assists per game) andBenfica inPortugal (averaging 9.1 points and 5.8 assists in 9 games). He played his last season in 2006–07 in Israel withIroni Ramat Gan, playing 8 games and averaging 11.9 points and 5.5 assists.