BEYOND THE ARC: PERSPECTIVE ON GARY MCGHEE

November 9, 2006



Earlier this Fall, Pittsburgh reached out into the talent-rich state of Indiana for 6’10, 250 lb Gary McGhee of Anderson Highland High School. Yesterday, McGhee made that commitment official by signing his letter of intent with the University of Pittsburgh. Recently, Anderson Highland head coach Phil Spoljaric took some time to give us a perspective on his senior big man as they prepare for the season.

Last season was the most successful at Anderson Highland since 1997-1998 as they finished 11-12. Led by their team captain and team MVP Gary McGhee, they also won their first sectional game since 2000-2001 as they defeated Richmond. As a junior, McGhee averaged 16.3 PPG and a state-best 13.1 rebounds a game, along with 2 assists and 4.4 blocks a contest.

Over the summer McGhee had a strong showing on the AAU circuit with the SYF Players and at the Nike All-American Camp in Indianapolis where he was watched by Pittsburgh assistant coach Orlando Antigua. According to Coach Spoljaric, “Gary received offers from Wisconsin, Oklahoma State, Indiana, Florida, Bowling Green, Illinois State, DePaul, Ball State, Miami, South Florida and Xavier to name some.” Coach Spoljaric goes on to explain the hard work and dedication that McGhee is putting in to improve his game for the upcoming season, where he hopes to be honored as an Indiana All-Star, and his future at Pitt:

“Gary has become a great leader and role model for our program. He currently gets up at 5:30 am 5 days a week to workout with an assistant coach. Gary is truly committed to becoming stronger for his future at the University of Pitt. We are very excited as a staff to prepare Gary for the next level. We expect him to lead us this season to the first winning season of Anderson Highland HS in twelve years.”

Coach Spoljaric has graciously promised to keep us up to date on their season at Anderson Highland and the progress of Gary McGhee. We wish them both and the Anderson Highland team the best of luck this season and look forward to seeing Gary McGhee in the Big East in the future.