Stars Use Summer Season to Gear Up for Senior Year
Purchase, NY (Nov. 11, 2010) – Looking for an encore to top their superior junior seasons on the hardwood, Purchase standouts Marvin Billups and Michael McNair went right back to work last spring, gearing up for a summer of hoops that the two believe has made them stronger, faster and ultimately better for their final college seasons this winter.
Billups (SR/Chester, NY) and McNair (SR/Valley Cottage, NY) could have rested on their laurels, but instead rededicated themselves to the game with the hopes of improving on the greatest single season in Purchase hoops history and possibly a chance to play at the next level.
If there summer seasons are indications of their talents, the sky is truly the limit for the dynamic duo on the basketball court. Billups, who won just about every award you could imagine last winter, including Skyline Player of the Year and tournament Most Valuable Player in leading the Panthers to the league crown, played on a traveling USA collegiate team in Brazil over the summer. McNair, the clutch, sharp-shooting Sixth Man, who helped the Panthers take that championship step in 2009-10, starred locally this summer in the Empire State Games.
"It's a testament to how much our guys want to improve," Purchase head coach Jeff Charney said of Billups and McNair. "We won it all last year. They want to experience that again, and they want to build on our first NCAA Tournament appearance by making an ever better run this winter."
McNair netted 21 points against NYC in the opener of the Empire State Games before adding 17 against Adirondack Region in the second game of the tournament. But after a subpar performance against Western in which McNair finished with seven points, the flashy shooting guard saved his best for last, scoring 21 against Western the second time around in the championship game, leading his team to victory.
"I loved Empire States, the people, the coaching and the experience of having that talent together and watching it work together in such a short amount of time," said McNair. "The hat goes off to our coach. He put together the right pieces to help us win.
"A lot of people felt we wouldn't win the first game but we went in there as individuals and all came out as a family. We stayed together, laughed, fought – all as a family. No one was better than anyone else and we stayed on that chain. That's how you win and that's what I learned from ESG."
Billups played five games in Brazil, averaging 15 points per game. His team split time between the cities of Jundiaí and Rio de Janeiro, taking on a series of military and pro-like teams from the country that also featured Olympic athletes.
Purchase's star swingman said he wouldn't trade the experience for anything.
"How many basketball players out of the millions of them can say they got to represent their country in another country?," Billups said. "How many players could say they got to play in Brazil?
"The trip was great all around from the food to the people I went with, but seeing the legendary statue of St. Crystal (Christ Redeemer Statue) had to be the best part of it all. In Rio, you can see that statue from everywhere sitting atop a mountain. It's like when you hear about something great and very meaningful when you finally get to see how amazing it is, it's just that much more special."
Billups' best moment?
"It happened on the first game of the tour, in Jundiaí, when I caught a pass from our center as a cut thru the lane and I just jumped as high as I could and dunked it with one hand. I think there was about 200 people at the game and they all just went wild. The locals screamed and jumped up. I basically surprised everyone with my athleticism. Even the cameraman came and told me, 'If I would have known you could do that I would just keep the camera on you and wait for the next dunk.' That moment basically established me on the team. After the game I basically had a group of about 10 to 15 people who waited for me outside and wanted to take pictures with me. They asked for my facebook and wanted my autograph. The basically followed me everywhere I went while I was in that city."
Like McNair, Billups said he learned a lot from his summer of hoops action. "I learned how different the game is outside of the US. It's a lot more physical…a lot more physical.
"Also they don't just throw the ball around aimlessly; they are very consistent in not turning over the ball. They might not be the most athletic guys but they are good at what they do."
The Panthers are hoping the lessons learned in the dynamic duo's summer school of hoops translate into another big winter for Purchase on the hardwood.
"It's great for the program," Chaney said of Billips and McNair's exploits on the summer circuit. "I think it's going to go a long way for us this season too."
-Bobby Ciafardini, SID