By By Austin Bishop
EMG regional sports director
Maybe it's not quite as far from Meridian to the big time as it seems.
Former Meridian Community College basketball standout Ronald Murray was taken in the second round by Milwaukee in Wednesday's NBA draft, and is projected as a backup to starting point guard Sam Cassell.
It was during Murray's sophomore year that MCC won the Region 23 title and finished fifth in the NJCAA National Men's Basketball Tournament held annually in Hutchinson, Kan.
Murray, who played a small forward at MCC, signed with the University of New Orleans, but never played for the Privateers. Instead he wound up at NCAA Division II Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C. It wound up being a good move for Murray.
Murray, a native of Philadelphia, Penn., led the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association in scoring at 23.5 points per game, and was ninth in NCAA Division II in assists at 6.2. He was third on the team in rebounding with an average of 6.3.
Brooks said having a player drafted by the NBA would be a plus for the MCC program.
Murray (6-4, 195) averaged 22 points a game as a sophomore at MCC.
He was one of four players including three in the second round to be drafted by the Bucks.
Milwaukee drafted the University of Tennessee's 6-foot-10 Marcus Haislip in the first round, while taking 6-foot-11 Dan Gadzuric of UCLA, Murray, and 6-foot-11 Jamal Sampson of California in the second round. Murray was the 42nd pick overall.
Antonio McDyess of Quitman and Derrick McKey of Meridian are currently playing in the NBA. McDyess was just traded to the New York Knicks, while McKey played last season with the Philadelphia 76ers.