Jamaal Magloire

Jamaal Magloire (born May 21 1978 in Toronto,
Ontario, Canada) is a professional basketball
player, currently playing for the New Orleans
Hornets of the National Basketball Association. 

A 6'11", 259-pound (2.11 m, 117.5 kg) center
(basketball)|center, Magloire started 12 games as
a sophomore for the University of
Kentucky|Kentucky Wildcats team that won the NCAA
Men's Division I Basketball Championship|national
championship in 1998.  He finished his college
career as Kentucky's all-time leader in blocked
shots, with 268.

He was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets with the
19th pick of the 2000 NBA Draft, but filled a
reserve role for his first two NBA seasons, in
which he averaged 6.5 points in 16.8 minutes per
game.  But in 2002-03, the Hornets' first year in
New Orleans, he started all 82 games, averaging
10.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

2003-04 was the season in which Magloire really
began to get some respect from coaches and peers
around the NBA.  He averaged 13.6 points and 10.3
rebounds per game while starting all 82 games, and
was even named to the Eastern Conference All-Star
Team.  Magloire being named an All-Star was
perhaps a controversial decision at the time, with
many pundits and sportswriters asking, "Who the
heck is Jamaal Magloire?"  But he more than held
his own against the best the NBA had to offer,
contributing 19 points and 8 rebounds in his 21
minutes of action.