Ariel McDonald

Ariel McDonald
	McDonald, in 2007
Personal information
Born	January 5, 1972 (age 52); Harvey, Illinois, U.S.
Nationality	American / Slovenian
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school	Homewood-Flossmoor; (Flossmoor, Illinois); Athens Drive; (Raleigh, North Carolina);
College	Montepaschi Siena
Career highlights and awards
	As player: FIBA SuproLeague champion (2001); FIBA SuproLeague Final Four MVP (2001); 2002); FIBA EuroChallenge champion (2007); FIBA EuroChallenge Final Four MVP (2007); FIBA EuroChallenge All-Star Day (2007); Italian League champion (2009); 2× Greek League champion (2003, 2004); Greek Cup winner (2003); 3× Israeli League champion (2000–2002); 3× Israeli Cup winner (2000–2002); Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP (2000); 3× Slovenian League champion (1997–1999); 3× Slovenian Cup winner (1997–1999); NIT champion (1993);

Ariel Rene McDonald (born January 5, 1972) is an American-Slovenian former professional

Akasvayu Girona, and Dynamo Moscow

.

Early life and career

McDonald began his high school career at Homewood-Flossmoor High School, outside of Chicago. He averaged 24 points per game, on 63% field-goal shooting, and 10 assists per game. After two years at Homewood-Flossmoor, McDonald's family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina. McDonald took his new high school, Athens Drive High School, to the final four in North Carolina.

College career

In the fall of 1989, McDonald arrived at the

1994 NCAA Tournament

, in McDonald's senior year.

Professional career

McDonald began his pro career in Europe, playing with small teams like

1997 EuroLeague Final Four

.

McDonald's next stop was

2002). He was the 2000 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP

McDonald played in 139 games, scoring 1,606 points for Maccabi Tel Aviv in three years. Finally, he said goodbye to the club, and moved to one of Maccabi's biggest rivals:

Akasvayu Girona in the Spanish ACB League, from the 2005–06 season, up until July 2008. Then he returned to Dynamo Moscow, for which he had previously played with, in the 2004–05 season.^[1]

National team career

McDonald was also a member of the senior men's

FIBA EuroBasket 2001.^[2]

Coaching career

After he retired from playing professional basketball, McDonald became a high school

basketball coach at Providence Academy, in Plymouth, Minnesota

.

Personal life

After playing for two years in Slovenia, McDonald became a Slovenian citizen in June 1997.^[3] One of McDonald's claims to fame in Israel, was a Burger King commercial, in which he said: "Listen to McDonald - only Burger King".

References

^ Dynamo Moscow brings back Arriel McDonald Archived 2008-07-10 at the Wayback Machine
^ Ariel Rene MC DONALD (SLO) participated in 2 FIBA / FIBA Zones events.
^ "ACB Profile". Archived from the original on 2012-10-13. Retrieved 2007-10-01.

External links

Euroleague.net Profile
FIBA Profile
FIBA Europe Profile
Eurobasket.com Profile
Spanish League Profile (in Spanish)
Italian League Profile (in Italian)
McDonald's vs. McDonald Archived 2012-08-13 at the Wayback Machine

[1] Dynamo Moscow brings back Arriel McDonald Archived 2008-07-10 at the Wayback Machine

[2] Ariel Rene MC DONALD (SLO) participated in 2 FIBA / FIBA Zones events.

[3] "ACB Profile". Archived from the original on 2012-10-13. Retrieved 2007-10-01.

[1]

[2]

[3]