Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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per game. He was named the Columbia All-Area Player of the Year as well as being added to the AllState team. And to round out his junior year, McKie was named to the Street and Smith and Nike AilAmerican teams. With the oncoming of McKie's senior season, only more of the same could he expected. Through McKie's senior season he averaged Z5.U points per game and 4.3 steals per game and he broke Irmo's all-time career scoring record with 1,848 points. He also set a state record for the most points scored in a AAAA state championship game with 42, as he and the Yellow Jackets took home their second straight state title. McKie was named to two more AilAmerican squads and played in the McDonald's Ail-American game with current Minnesota Timberwolves' second year phenom Kevin Garnett. He was also dubbed Player of the Year by five different organizations, including The Charlotte Observer. But maybe more importantly than his awards was the fact that BJ McKie decided to stay in his home state to play at the University of South #MD with Muse ^44 Cc New & Used Major I Cnilare _ Amnc . Hrn viuiiui o ~ nm^w w Equipment (And Other Musical Ins ALL at Discount P s *BUY *SELL *TRi Cl^ l\ l^BI j|yi Depai ^ FOI Call Carolina. After considering other basketball programs such as Virginia, Tennessee, Florida, and Clemson, it almost sounds like McKie's decision to attend school only 15 minutes from home was a no-brainer. "I'm pretty much a family-oriented type person, and I grew up here. I knew my family and friends would get the chance to come here and see me play night in and night out and I didn't see any reason for leaving the state of South Carolina. "I felt confident in this program and felt that this was an up-and-coming program. I had a lot of trust and confidence in Coach Fogler and his staff and I felt that they felt the same about me," McKie said. Since his arrival last fall, McKie has exceeded everyone's expectations besides mavbe his own. He finished last season averaging 15.4 points (the second best point per game average for the Gamecocks last season), 3.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists (also second on the team) per game and over the last 15 games of the season, McKie was phenomenal. Over that span, McKie averaged 18.4 points and FHECROSSROADS A is where help and hope meet for people i neuromuscular diseases. mdh ular Dystrophy Association -800-572-1717 37 Devine Street )lumbia, S.C. d Brands If ms - PA ML 1 truments) rices ttHUDE J ;an Become a Certified I eorooics instructor ? fun helping others get into shape! ?es start January 15, 1997 isses meet on Wednesdays, from 8:30 pm for a total of 13 sessions. Topics will include: instructor teaching techniques robics class format 1 Floor work w intensity aerobic dance i Lower body strengthening (to include abdominals) Sponsored by UNIVERSITY OF sm JTHfAROI INA rtment of Health Promotion I and Education R MORE INFORMATION 777^62550^777^8519 a BJ doesn't nave a flamboyant game. He has a solid game...BJ can do some things with a basketball that nobody's ever seen, but that's just not his game/' - Bernard McKie, BJ's father made 32 of his 43 three-pointers for the season. McKie broke former NBA great and Carolina alumnus Alex English's freshman scoring record with 478 g ' rJJPwQ . So...lfy< We're I Department of Student Life points for the season along with breaking three other freshman records, including three-pointers attempted (123), free throws attempted (185), and free throws made (141). He scored 24 points twice, McKie's season high, against Arkansas and Tennessee, and against Arkansas he netted 21 of those in the second half on 8-12 shooting from the field. During the off-season, Fogler called McKie 'one of the finer freshman in the nation last year,' and no one believes that more than his parents, Bernard and Beverly McKie. "I think BJ exceeded everyone's expectations. Nobody picked him for Freshman of the Year or anything else," says Bernard McKie, who along with his wife, are McKie's two biggest fans. The couple still resides in Irmo which is not much more than a stone's throw from the USC campus and they both go to as many games during the season as possible. And no one knows BJ's game better, besides BJ, than his father. "You have to understand BJ's game," explains the elder McKie, who minus the glasses is almost a dead ringer for his son. niramurai Basketball :/ Division of Student Affairs/ Ur Chris Jackson JMailjltFFCOflT ^EALTORy* INCORPORATED ;e: 252-6332 Beeper: 612-0705 -Mail: ACTIONJ247.aol.com 3ur looking for A.C.T.I.O.N.... C. fax, Jlay in' Bask* dA I A 1 "BJ doesn't have a flamboyant game. He has a solid game. He's not a flashy passer. He's not a jump-outof-the-gym player. He doesn't shoot a i i i ?/ / . r? i ? lot. nes emcient. oo, wnen you re a player like that, you don't get all of the accolades." said Bernard McKie. "You don't see him whip it around his back and so on, but he can do all of that. BJ can do some things with a basketball that nobody's ever seen, but that's just not his game." Defining his role in the USC backcourt may be a little harder than tht roles of both Davis and Watson. Larry Davis assumes the role of the pure shooter and Melvin Watson fits the mold of the true point guard. And McKie? "I think BJ is a combination of both," says Coach Whipple. "I think BJ can create and get inside and score a little better than Melvin because of his size and strength. And BJ has been a little more consistent from the perimeter, but he's probably not the pure shooter that Davis is. So, I think that BJ is a mix of the two." 4g" It's that mix that the Carolina faithful hopes will lead the Gamecocks deep into postseason play. Inside this Realtor: A wareness C ommitment T horoughness I nnovation 0 ptimism N imbleness ;(J itball... liversity of South Carolina i.1