Ariel McDonald
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| Position | Point guard |
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| Height | 6 ft 2.5 in (1.89 m) |
| Weight | 176 lb (80 kg) |
| League | Spanish ACB League |
| Team | Akasvayu Girona |
| Born | January 13, 1972 Harvey, Illinois |
| Nationality | United States /Slovenia |
| Draft | Undrafted |
| Pro career | 1994–present |
| Former teams | Braine Castor (1994–1995) Interier Krsko (1995–1996) Olimpija Ljubljana (1996–1999) Maccabi Tel Aviv (1999–2002) Panathinaikos (2002–2004) Dynamo Moscow (2004–2005) |
| Awards | 2001 Suproleague Final Four MVP 2007 FIBA EuroCup Final Four MVP |
Ariel Rene McDonald (born January 13, 1972 in Harvey, Illinois) is an American-Slovenian basketball player, playing the Point guard position for Spanish ACB club Akasvayu Girona. A high quality floor general, McDonald played for top European teams like Olimpija Ljubljana, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Panathinaikos.
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[edit] Early life
Ariel began his high school career at Homewood-Flossmoor High School outside of Chicago. He averaged 24 points on 63% field-goals, and 10 assists per game. After two years at Homewood-Flossmoor, McDonald's family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina. Ariel took his new high school, Athens Drive, to the final four in North Carolina.
In the fall of 1989 Ariel arrived at the University of Minnesota. In his first year of college, Ariel was redshirted. He and the Gophers greatly improved over the next four years, winning the 1993 NIT and reaching the second round of the 1994 NCAA Tournament in McDonald's senior year.
[edit] Personal life
After playing for two years in Slovenia, McDonald became a Slovenian citizen in June 1997.[1]
[edit] European career
Ariel McDonald's highlight years were the three years in which he played for Maccabi Tel Aviv. But the man who had a tough time getting minutes in Minnesota had to play for small teams like Braine Castor (Belgium) and Interier Krsko (Slovenia). After his time in Interier Krsko he was taken to the top Slovenian basketball club: Olimpija Ljubljana. McDonald's next stop was Maccabi Tel Aviv. Soon Ariel McDonald became very famous in Israel, and together with Nate Huffman and Anthony Parker turned Maccabi into one of the best European basketball teams. In McDonald's three seasons with Maccabi the club won the Suproleague title (2001) and twice reached Euroleague Final Four (2000, 2002). One of McDonald's claims to fame in Israel was a Burger King commercial in which he said: "Listen to McDonald - only Burger King". Ariel McDonald played 139 games, scoring 1606 points for Maccabi Tel Aviv in three years. Finally he said goodbye and moved to one of Maccabi's biggest rivals: Panathinaikos. With Panathinaikos Ariel McDonald put up solid numbers and also 19 points in the first game he played against his former team Maccabi Tel Aviv. He plays for Akasvayu Girona in the Spanish ACB League from season 2005/06.
[edit] References
- Cited
- General
[edit] External links
