Eugene McDowell (December 31, 1963 – August 24, 1995) was an American professional basketball player. A strong big man who primarily played as a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

, he was one of the top prospects in the 1981 high school class. He was a 4-year starter playing

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

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, and he was a 3rd-round pick in the

1985 NBA draft The 1985–86 NBA season, 1985 NBA draft took place on June 18, 1985. It was also the first NBA draft of the "NBA draft lottery, lottery" era. It was also around this time where the league decreased the amount of rounds the draft spent, with the ...

; however, he never played in the NBA and he had a 7-year career playing professional basketball in Europe (Italy, Spain and Turkey) and in the CBA. He died in 1995 of an enlarged heart. He was inducted in the SEC Hall of Fame in 2009.

High school career

McDowell was born in Cross City, Florida, and at birth the doctors found his leg bones to be too soft to correctly sustain his body, and they had him use braces in order to move: the physicians predicted that he would not be able to walk without them. However, McDowell managed to gain enough strength to move without braces, and by the age of 15 he was already playing basketball at a good level. He attended Dixie County High School, where he was a first team all-state selection in his junior and senior year: he was considered by several scouts to be the best player in the state of Florida. In his senior year he missed 8 games due to a foot injury, and he averaged 26 points, 20 rebounds and 4 blocks per game. His successful senior season earned him a selection in the ''Parade'' All-America Third Team and he was named a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Brothers ...

. In the 1981 McDonald's game, which was played in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

, he scored 8 points, shooting 4/7 from the field. 1981 game and rosters at page 68. He also played in another high school all-star game, the Capital Classic, where he scored 4 points (2/7 shooting).

College career

McDowell was recruited by Auburn,

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

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and South Alabama, but in March 1981 he signed a letter of intent with Florida. Coach

Norm Sloan Norman Leslie Sloan Jr. (June 25, 1926 – December 9, 2003) was an American college basketball player and coach. Sloan was a native of Indiana and played college basketball and football at North Carolina State University. He began a long career ...

regarded McDowell as a promising player who could help the team with his ability to score in the paint. At Florida McDowell wore jersey number 40, and chose to major in

broadcasting Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

. Coach Sloan selected McDowell as the starting center since his freshman year: he played 27 games, averaging 33.2 minutes of playing time. He finished the season with 9.9 points per game, along with 8.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks, leading the team in rebounds and blocks. Florida had a negative season overall, finishing last in the SEC with a 2–16 record in conference play. McDowell's sophomore season was arguably the best of his college career. He scored a career-high 40 points in a 92–72 win against Biscayne on December 21, 1982, he recorded one of the best field goal percentages in SEC history when he shot 92.9% from the field (13 for 14) against

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

, and he also led the SEC for field goal percentage with .646 (only the second sophomore to do so after

Bernard King Bernard King (born December 4, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player at the small forward position in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 14 seasons with the New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Golden State Warrior ...

did in 1976). He ended his season with averages of 16.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.5 blocks, and he was selected in the All-SEC third team. McDowell was the top shot blocker of his team, and the second scorer and rebounder behind Ronnie Williams The Gators finished last in the SEC for the second year in a row with a 5–13 conference record. In his junior season McDowell experienced a slight decrease in his scoring, which dropped to 12.4 points per game, but he was the best rebounder of the team with a 9.2 average, and he was also the player with the highest minutes per game average. He was selected in the All-SEC third team for the second consecutive year, and the team had a better result, finishing third in the SEC with a 11–7 record. McDowell's last year of college basketball saw his best numbers in rebounds (9.8) and assists (3.1), and he played a team-high 36.4 minutes per game. At the end of the season he was named in the All-SEC first team and he was an AP Honorable Mention

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. His 43 career

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the ter ...

s are a Florida record, and he was the second player in the program history to reach 1,000 rebounds. Starting all his 117 games, he scored a total of 1,565 points, recorded 1,063 rebounds, played 4,100 minutes, and had 150 blocks. His career-highs of 40 points and 21 rebounds are both single-game records of the

O'Connell Center The Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, also known as the O'Dome, is a 10,500-seat multi-purpose arena located on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida. The facility is named for the sixth president of the univ ...

. He also was a notably poor free throw shooter: in every season he played at Florida, his field goal percentage was higher than his free throw percentage.

College statistics

, - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" ,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, 27 , , 27 , , 33.2 , , .528 , , – , , .519 , , 8.8 , , 1.1 , , 0.4 , , 1.3 , , 9.9 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" ,

, 31 , , 31 , , 34.3 , , .646 , , – , , .600 , , 8.5 , , 1.1 , , 0.9 , , 1.5 , , 16.5 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,

, 29 , , 29 , , 36.2 , , .615 , , – , , .513 , , 9.2 , , 2.3 , , 1.0 , , 1.2 , , 12.4 , - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" ,

, 30 , , 30 , , 36.4 , , .580 , , – , , .557 , , 9.8 , , 3.1 , , 0.6 , , 1.0 , , 14.2 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 117 , , 117 , , 35.0 , , .597 , , – , , .555 , , 9.1 , , 1.9 , , 0.7 , , 1.3 , , 13.4 , -

Professional career

After his final college season McDowell was automatically eligible for the

: 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

selected him with the 21st pick of the 3rd round (68th overall). However, he never played an NBA game for the franchise, and moved to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

where he signed for Napoli Basket (known as Mulat Napoli for sponsorship reasons). He played the 1985–86 season in the Italian top league, averaging 17.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. The Bucks officially released him in July 1986, and McDowell transferred to

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

team CB Zaragoza, joining fellow American Claude Riley: coach Manel Comas chose McDowell for his defending and rebounding skills, along with his powerful physique. In his first season in the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

he averaged 15.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 38.8 minutes per game in regular season play. In the playoffs he played 5 games, averaging 17.8 points and 9.0 rebounds. His good performance with Zaragoza was noticed by Aito Garcia Reneses, the coach of one of Spain's top teams, Barcelona, which signed him for the following season. McDowell played with

Audie Norris Audie James Norris (born December 18, 1960) is an American retired professional basketball player and coach. Norris played for the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, from 1982 to 1985. His former teammate Mychal Thompson, who is the father of Klay Tho ...

, and averaged 12.2 points and 6.9 rebounds in 25 regular season games where he played 30.6 minutes per game: in the playoffs he was less used, and only recorded 6.5 points and 5.8 rebounds. At the end of the season, he won both the Spanish league title and the King's Cup with Barcelona. He played part of the 1988–89 season with Cajabilbao, but he was cut for Mike Giomi who could provide more scoring: McDowell averaged 14.9 points and 7.2 rebounds in 25 games for Cajabilbao, recording a career-high 32 points during the season. He then moved to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, where he played between 1989 and 1991 for two teams, Çukurova Sanayi and Paşabahçe. He had a trial for the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

in 1990, but he was not selected for the season roster. Back in the USA he played two seasons in the CBA: for the Pensacola Tornados he played 33 games, and in 39 minutes per game he averaged 15.7 points, 10.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. The following year he played for the Birmingham Bandits, and in the regular season he appeared in 32 games, averaging 26.9 minutes, 7.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 0.4 blocks. He also played 4 games in the CBA playoffs, averaging 3.8 points and 3.8 rebounds in 9.5 minutes. He then retired in 1992.

Death

After his retirement from professional basketball, McDowell worked in a sportswear store. In the early morning hours of August 25, 1995, the police responded to a call reporting an unconscious person in the bathroom of ''Puzzles'', a club in

Casselberry, Florida Casselberry is a city in Seminole County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Greater Orlando, Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its population was 28,794 at the 2020 census. Geography The approximate coor ...

. The man was McDowell, who died at Florida-Altamonte Hospital. His death was initially linked to drug abuse, but later on Shashi Gore, the medical examiner who performed the autopsy on his body, declared that there was no drug in McDowell's system, and that his death was due to

hypertrophic cardiomyopathy Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM, or HOCM when obstructive) is a condition in which muscle tissues of the heart become thickened without an obvious cause. The parts of the heart most commonly affected are the interventricular septum and the ...

, a condition which developed from preexistent heart problems (McDowell had been diagnosed with

atrial fibrillation Atrial fibrillation (AF, AFib or A-fib) is an Heart arrhythmia, abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) characterized by fibrillation, rapid and irregular beating of the Atrium (heart), atrial chambers of the heart. It often begins as short periods ...

in 1983 and was prescribed medication for it, but stopped taking it around 1986).

References

External links

Stats at Sports-Reference.com

Italian league stats

Spanish league stats

Turkish league stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDowell, Eugene 1963 births 1995 deaths American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Basketball players from Florida Birmingham Bandits players CB Cajabilbao players CB Zaragoza players Centers (basketball) FC Barcelona Bàsquet players Florida Gators men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Milwaukee Bucks draft picks Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Paşabahçe S.K. players Pensacola Tornados (1986–1991) players People from Dixie County, Florida Power forwards 20th-century African-American sportsmen Deaths from cardiomyopathy