BALTIMORE, Md. (July 6, 2023) -- Former Morgan State men's basketball player Keith McGee and former football player Brian Gentry have been drafted to compete in the relaunch of SlamBall, which debuts on ESPN on July 21.
The Ozone drafted McGee in the second round, and the Slashers selected Gentry in the seventh round. The duo will be among 56 players chosen to compete.
The new iteration of SlamBall is a revival of the original sport which first launched in 2002. The five-week season plus playoffs will be contested at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nev. with ESPN covering 30+ matches across its platforms.
McGee, 24 , finished his senior season at Arcadia High School with the most dunks in school history, MVP honors, All-Greater Rochester Area First Team recognition and a 40-point game. Across McGee's four years at South Plains College, New Mexico and Morgan State, he averaged 7.9 points per game and was named 2018 NJCAA Tournament MVP his freshman year. In his final year of eligibility at Morgan State, McGee scored a career-high 27 points, shooting a lights-out 92 % (12-13), with eight steals and two rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench vs. PSUGA.
McGee will play as a handler, which is the primary ball handler on the team. It is the handler's job to run the offense and organize the other members while controlling the flow of the game.against the opposing team. McGee's team will be coached by SlamBall legend Trevor Anderson, whose son, Bryan Bell-Anderson (former DB at Columbia Univ.), was picked seventh in Round 1.
Brian Gentry, 26, hails from Winston Salem, NC and is much more than just a football player. As a high school star at East Forsyth in Winston Salem, Gentry left his mark as he obtained All-State, All-Conference and All-Northwest honors which earned him over 15 college offers. After committing to Morgan State, Gentry majored in social work and even worked as a behavioral therapist. This led him to his mantra of never back down.
Gentry will play as a stopper, the defensive player on the team and is primarily there to stop the opposition from scoring. The stopper is the heart of the defense, his job is to block the gunners and he only goes on offense when needed.
SlamBall is a version of basketball played with four trampolines in front of each net and boards around the court edge. It is a contact sport, with blocks, collisions and rough physical play as part of the game, similar to elements of American football and ice hockey.
Of the 56 players drafted, 68% have basketball backgrounds, while 16% played football, 9% were on track and field squads, and 7% participated in multiple sports . The average age of the players is 26.9 years. The tallest SlamBall player is the Ozone's 6'9" Vincent Boumann (Newberg, OR), a former Western Oregon basketball player, while conversely the Slashers' Tony Crosby II, a former track star at Grand Canyon University and international slam dunk champion(Inglewood, CA), stands at 5'6".
For complete player and coach bios and team logos visit http://www.slamballleague.com.
ABOUT SLAMBALL
Launched originally in 1999 by founders Mason Gordon and Mike Tollin, SlamBall is a one-of-a-kind sports and entertainment property with a rich history of success in the United States and in markets around the world. It is a compelling hybrid combination of the best elements of basketball, football and hockey, infused with the essence of a video game come to life. The new, enhanced league is set for relaunch in the summer of 2023. Amid the current resurgence of interest in alternate sports, the hashtag #BringBackSlamBall has garnered more than 200 million views on social media, offering a powerful foundation of fandom for the sport's revival.
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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.
