Roderick McDonald (basketball)

Roderick McDonald (April 9, 1945 – January 17, 2015) was an American professional basketball player. McDonald was born in Jacksonville, Florida. He spent his early childhood in Japan, New York and Panama. He graduated from Cloverpark High School in 1963.

Roderick McDonald

McDonald, circa 1970
Personal information
Born	(1945-04-09)April 9, 1945 Jacksonville, Florida
Died	January 17, 2015(2015-01-17) (aged 69) San Jose, California
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school	Clover Park (Lakewood, Washington)
College	Whitworth (1963–1967)
NBA draft	1967: 9th round, 101st overall pick
Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics
Playing career	1970–1973
Position	Small forward / power forward
Number	14
Career history
1970–1973	Utah Stars
Career highlights and awards
ABA champion (1971)
Career statistics
Points	282 (3.2 ppg)
Rebounds	197 (2.3 rpg)
Stats at Basketball Reference

College career

McDonald played at Whitworth University, for the Pirates basketball team. He was an NAIA All-American in 1967. Later in life, he would be inducted into the Whitworth University Heritage Hall of Fame.

Professional career

He was drafted in the ninth round (110th overall) by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1967 NBA draft, but he never played for them. After a stint in the Army where he earned an honorable discharge, he was drafted by the Utah Stars, starting with the 1970 season. Nicknamed "The Rocket", he played for three years, winning an ABA Championship in 1971. In those playoffs, he played 5 games and averaged 3.6 points and 2.6 rebounds. In his two subsequent playoff experiences, he would score an average of 6.0 and 0.7 points per game, while only playing 1 and 3 games, respectively.

He played 87 games in his career.

After his career ended, he moved to San Jose with his wife, whom he was married to for 43 years. On January 17, 2015, McDonald died. He was survived by his two children and four grandchildren.