Lennie McMillian
Lennie Lee McMillian (born 21 March 1959 in McRae, Georgia, United States) is a retired Irish/American professional basketball player.
After a standout career at the University of Pittsburgh,[1] including winning an Eastern Eight tournament MVP while helping Pitt win the 1981 conference championship, McMillian narrowly missed out on the NBA draft and opted to go overseas. McMillian decided to play professionally in Ireland at which time basketball was experiencing a boom in popularity. McMillian joined Burgerland in the summer of 1982,and quickly emerged as one of the stars of the league. In his first season, he won a championship. From there McMillian played with many teams including St Vincents, Tolka Rovers, Tridents, UCD Marian, North Mon and Denny Notre Dame.
McMillian has won four Irish National Cups (one with North Mon and three with Notre Dame), including one cup final MVP for Notre Dame in the 1996 cup final. During that season Lennie received the Irish Sportsman of the week award (an award given out by the Irish Independent) for his performance against Star of the Sea in the Sprite cup quarter final. He helped Notre Dame overcome a 30-point deficit on the way to their second cup win. He is now a basketball coach at Ongar Chasers Basketball Club and Alexandra College.
References
- Smizik, Bob (12 March 1981). "McMillian's Role Key In Pitt Success". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved 8 December 2010.