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Xavier McDaniel
S.C. Athletic Hall of Fame

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Known as X-man, McDaniel led A.C. Flora High to the 1981 state championship.  He went on to Wichita State to become a consensus first-team All-American and two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year.   As a senior in 1985, the 6-7 small forward became the first player in NCAA history to lead the nation in scoring (27.0) and rebounding (14.8) in the same season.  The Seattle Supersonics selected McDaniel in the first round, the No. 8 pick overall, in the 1985 draft.  He made co-rookie of the year by Basketball Digest and made the NBA All-Rookie team with average of 17.1 points and 8.0 rebounds.  McDaniel led the Sonics to a playoff upset of highly favored Dallas in 1987, scoring 29 points in the series clincher.  He averaged more than 20 points for his first three seasons and made the NBA All-Star team in 1988.  He made a reputation as a tough, aggressive defender.  For his career, he averaged 15.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and shot 49 percent on field goals.  Since retiring to his hometown, McDaniel has starred off the court in a series of IBM commercials and he served as spokesman for "A Better Way" program.

South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame