Jim McIlvane Explores Interests Beyond Basketball

While the life of a professional athlete can oftentimes be glamorous, in many ways it can cause headaches. Constant travel and months away from loved ones are some of the major pitfalls, but there’s another that can last far beyond the days that an athlete’s playing career comes to an end.

Many forget it, but athletes are human beings that have varied interests away from the game that they play. With their career choice however, they often get shoehorned into one of their particular interests and aren’t able to completely explore beyond that.

Retiring at the young age of 28, former New Jersey Nets center Jim McIlvaine has had the opportunity to delve into a number of things beyond the game of basketball. Before he was able to get to that point though, he excelled at the game he loved.

Growing up in Wisconsin and starring throughout his days in high school, McIlvaine wanted to expand his boundaries right when he graduated from St. Catherine’s High School in his native Racine, Wisconsin. As he tells Nothin’ But Nets, he put that dream on hold temporarily.

“It wasn’t an easy decision to go to Marquette. At the time I was coming out of high school, Wisconsin-Green Bay and Wisconsin-Milwaukee were the top two programs in the state because Wisconsin hadn’t won a championship in decades and Marquette was in quite a state of disarray.”

He continued, “I didn’t really like the cold weather and I had schools like Florida State, UCLA and Vanderbilt recruiting me, so I had my heart set on going somewhere warm. My parents were about to retire at the time, too, so they were probably going to move if I had went to a school in a warm area. When Kevin O’Neill, who was an assistant at Arizona and was recruiting me there, took the Marquette job, he really turned things around there and sold me on the program,” McIlvaine said.

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Throughout his four years with the school, he helped return the program to prominence. Making the NCAA Tournament his junior year and then leading them to the Sweet Sixteen in his senior year while scoring 13.6 points per game and swatting away 4.3 shots each night, McIlvaine had drew interest from all over the NBA.

“I had worked out for just about any team that wanted me to. Portland had a higher pick and I had a really good workout there and they said that they were going to take me if Aaron McKie wasn’t there at 17. No one really knew, but I had heard that late-first, early-second round was where I should end up, but it was just speculation.”

Even as draft day arrived, the picture didn’t become much more clear. He waited as the first round came and went, but when the Washington Bullets were up with the fifth pick in the second round, he finally heard his name called.

“I remember at one point I called my agent and he told me that he had no idea what was going to happen, so it was an interesting process. When the Bullets drafted me I didn’t really know where I would fit in given that they had a couple of centers already on the roster, but my agent said that it would be a good spot for me to get a chance to play.”

An injury during training camp set him back a bit, but a couple of weeks into the season he was able to make his NBA debut. While it was an exciting moment, he was thrown into the fire against the league’s best right out of the gate.

“The first game I was able to play in was in Orlando against Shaq. Scott Skiles had joked that opposing big men would get ’Shaq-flu’ before they went against Shaq, but I knew that if I could hold him to under 50% shooting I’d basically look like a rockstar. I was never intimidated when I went up against guys like that because I didn’t really have anything to lose.”

While McIlvaine had not been given the opportunities offensively that he had in college, he had quickly established himself as a dominant defender in the post as well as an outstanding rim protector. While he had quite a few bright moments during his career, one that stands out in the minds of many is a block that he had against one of the greatest players of all-time, Michael Jordan.

“Honestly I hadn’t even remembered that I did that until I saw that someone had posted a clip of it on YouTube. I thanked the guy that made that video and told him that I would buy him dinner if I was ever in the area.”

While it was a fond memory for him, the general NBA life is something that provided him with a greater experience to look back upon.

“For me, the plays that you had against specific players weren’t as cool as just the overall experience of being a rookie in the NBA. Five years before my debut, I was laying in my room looking at a poster of the guys that I was now sharing the court with, so it was just pretty ridiculous that things could change so fast. You have to get passed the surreal aspect of it pretty quickly though because you have a job to do and can’t get caught up with all of that.”

Due to some careful maneuvering by his agent after his first year in the league, McIlvaine was set to hit the free agent market just when a big portion of teams around the league had cap space.

“My agent Ron Grinker, who was the best ever in my opinion, had a strategy from day one, because after the Bullets had offered me a three-year deal I was really excited, but he wanted a one-year deal so that I would be able to become an unrestricted free agent sooner. He didn’t want me in Washington, either, because at the time it was such a poorly ran franchise. After my first year, I played well enough that Minnesota gave me a multi-year offer sheet to come in and be a good presence for Kevin Garnett. My agent eventually got it down to a one-year deal and as Washington sat on my offer sheet, I missed training camp again and they eventually matched it.”

He went on, “In addition to knowing that after two contracts I would become an unrestricted free agent, my agent knew that there was a ton of salary cap space opening up around the league after my second year. The Celtics, Houston and Cleveland all wanted me, but I wanted to go to Seattle because I thought that they were close to a championship and that’s what I wanted to play for.”

Ultimately he got his way and ended up signing in Seattle. He was happy with the new challenges that the move was going to bring, but once the pen hit the paper on his contract he was already under intense scrutiny. Signing a deal that many considered to be a bit high for a player that had started only one game in his career to that point, McIlvaine heard the criticism but wasn’t phased.

“I didn’t really feel any additional pressure from the contract because I had already put pressure on myself regardless of if I was making the NBA minimum or on a multi-million dollar contract. I figured that any time that I spent away from the gym or the weight room, someone else was using that time to get better and because of that I made a lot of sacrifices as far as my interests outside of basketball.”

In preparation for the season, McIlavine worked to add to his frame so that he was able to keep up with the dominant centers that packed the Western Conference. This plan made sense, only to be thrown out once he joined the team.

“I spent tons of time in the weight room, especially, because I felt like I needed to get stronger to compete with the stronger centers like Shaq and Sabonis. When I got to Seattle though, the first thing that George Karl said when he saw me was that I should lose 15 or 20 pounds so that I was able to get up and down the court quickly.”

Along with the fans questioning his contract and George Karl recommending that he change his build, McIlvaine was also at the center of a controversy in the media when it was reported that SuperSonics star Shawn Kemp was unhappy regarding the team bringing in a higher paid big man.

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“It was totally media-generated. The team got along well and Shawn Kemp is one of the few guys that I still keep in contact with. I think if Shawn had anyone to be upset at it would be his own agent who locked him into a long-term deal without realizing the cyclical nature of salary cap space. I think the media tries to make stories out of it and sometimes you’ll get an ignorant player that doesn’t understand how the system works, but that wasn’t the case with Shawn and we got along fine, but it made a good story in the media.”

Despite all of the hoopla that had occurred before he even stepped on the court, things clicked in Seattle. Starting nearly every game for the team, McIlvaine eclipsed career highs in every major category and provided the interior defense that they had previously lacked. They won 57 games and McIlvaine was able to experience the playoffs for the first time in his career.

“I was just really happy to be there, but it was an old hat for Seattle because they had been through it a bunch of times. You’re on the mountain, but you want to get as high as you possibly could. It was disappointing for me that I had started every regular season game, then George changed things up in the playoffs, but you have to put your faith and trust into your coach and people who had done this before, so I just wanted to win basketball games and I supported them 100%.”

Though he was contributing in a big way on the defensive end and doing the little things well on offense, fans were still against him every step of the way. Many would have considered it frustrating, especially given the overall success of the team, but McIlvaine used it to his advantage.

“I think sometimes the fans being against you makes it easier. It’s an 82-game season and it can be a grind. I rarely noticed the fans, but if a guy like that can grab your attention and give you a changeup, it can motivate you and I’ve seen it happen with a lot of guys in different sports.”

“I’ve always looked at it as entertainment. They may be yelling because they care about the team or what my contract is doing for the team’s cap space, or they could be yelling about problems in their own life that they’re not able to express anywhere else so they take their frustrations out on me. I’ve never taken it personally or let it affect me, though.”

His second year came and went and McIlvaine was starting nearly every game once again all while the Sonics won 61 games. They had strong regular season success, but were bounced in the second round of the playoffs which led to the organization to consider ways of shaking things up.

Starting with the trade of Shawn Kemp before the season, Seattle began to make big changes. Once the year had concluded, McIlvaine was on the move as well, heading to New Jersey in a trade that included his former teammate, Don MacLean.

“I kind of expected that it was going to happen, but I was disappointed because I really liked the organization, coaching staff and my teammates. I was never George Karl’s guy though and before I signed, I didn’t realize that George and our GM didn’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, so if I had understood that things may have turned out differently with my free agency.”

He wasn’t happy to be leaving Seattle, but the move to New Jersey gave him the opportunity for a fresh start with an organization that was on board with what he brought to the table.

“The Nets GM at the time was John Nash and he was the guy that drafted me in Washington, so while you’re disappointed to leave such a successful team, the Nets had just given the Bulls a run for their money and I knew that management wanted me there. I was excited to play for John Calipari, too, so there were some positives to it.”

His career with the Nets got off to a rough start unfortunately, as injuries held him to just 22 games during his first year with the team and a combined 84 over the following two seasons.

“A few guys have been lucky to go relatively injury-free throughout their careers, but for most people injuries follow you throughout your career. Every year in the league I was breaking something or tearing something and oftentimes going under the knife after the season ended. It’s not easy on your body and I was fortunate to be able to recover from mine with relative ease and avoid the more serious knee injuries. When you see a guy like Wesley Mathews tear his Achilles, you just pray that he has a good quality of life after he retires from basketball because you don’t want to be limping around when you’re 50 years old.”

After missing large amounts of time over the last three seasons he had played in, McIlvaine decided to call it a career and retire from the game of basketball.

“With the injuries each year and new management in New Jersey, I knew that they wanted to change things up in a significant way. I had seen guys closer to the ends of their careers refuse to take buyouts or something like that and it dragged the energy of the team down and I didn’t really want to do that. They had approached me about taking a buyout and said that they wanted to have flexibility to try to compete for a championship, so with the position that I was in, I wanted to take a sacrifice for the good of the team. I had some offers around the league and I could have torn up my body some more for a couple of years, but with my kids getting into school age it just didn’t make sense for me to keep going.”

While it wasn’t how he had envisioned his playing career coming to an end, his retirement from basketball has allowed him to be involved in all sorts of different things.

“Before I even retired I started writing articles for car magazines. The first one I wrote about was actually about Fred Dryer, a former professional player, and his 9C1 Caprice Classic. While some of the other guys would be going out to the bar or something like that, I stayed occupied by writing these articles. I had always had a passion for the automotive industry and I wanted to be able to go to all of these events, but have someone else pay for it. I worked my way through the industry and was able to get a job with Optima Battery and now I’m able to go to the coolest automotive events in the world.”

In addition to his work in the automotive world, he hasn’t left basketball completely behind him. A few years ago, he stepped up to offer his assistance to players in the NBA D-League.

“The opportunity to mentor current players in the D-League was brought to me through the Retired Players Association. It was a bit of a culture shock, to be honest. I went to mentor a guy and I took him out to dinner and rather than talking to me about his career, he had his head down in his Blackberry the entire night. They discontinued the program at some point and teams have chosen to bring in their own life coaches that travel with them and I think that’s really important in helping them succeed.”

He’s also returned to his alma mater as a radio color analyst for Marquette’s basketball team.

“I was retired and living in Wisconsin and doing a few games per year and the Associate Athletic Director asked if I would be willing to fill in for their normal color guy because he had other obligations on some dates. I got asked to fill in for a game, then he asked for four and I said that we should wait until we figured out that I wasn’t terrible, but it ended up working out and I’ve taken it on full-time.”

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Even with everything else that he has going on, he still manages to maintain a blog known as The Bizarre World of Jim McIlvaine, where he delves into different sports-related topics, as well as some other issues.

“As we were broadcasting the games, my partner on the broadcasts eventually said that I was a renaissance man with all of the stories that I had to tell throughout our time on the road and he told me that I should start doing a blog, so I picked up one on an ESPN affiliate. I continued doing that until one of my friends was involved with SportsBlog.com and she pitched me on writing there and due to the Google authorship markup, I was able to get higher visibility and more reach so it’s something that I enjoy doing.”

With the flexibility that he’s been able to enjoy McIlvaine knows that he has a bright future ahead of him with whatever he chooses to do next. While he has many interests left to explore, he has a few plans for what’s ahead of him.

“I think if Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz or Donald Trump get elected I’m going to move to Texas. Actually, I’m going to move to Texas anyways when my kids get out of school because my wife doesn’t like the winters. I’ll keep doing the car stuff and work with community camps and I’m just going to enjoy my time.”

A standout shot blocker and defender during his time in the league, Jim McIlvaine is a great example of the type of well-rounded person with diverse interests that professional athletes can bring to the table.

Quick Questions

Why #22?
Don MacLean had #34 on the Bullets and that was my number in high school, and I was the second pick in the second round.

Who was your favorite player growing up?
Wilt Chamberlain was one of my favorites because of all the stuff I read about him in the Guinness World Record Book, but I wasn’t really able to see him play. I liked Marquis Johnson and had his poster hanging in my room. I liked Brian Winters, too, because if nothing else he had a big, shaggy beard and I always thought of how hot it had to be to play basketball with, it helped that he was really talented, too.

What is something about playing in the NBA that most people don’t realize?
The socks are phenomenal. I still have a couple of socks left over from the NBA. They never wear out, they’re very comfortable and they fit your feet and there’s a bountiful, endless supply. If they pay that much attention to the socks, imagine how great everything else is.

What will be key for big men to adapt to the new NBA?
I don’t watch much NBA anymore because I don’t understand it like I used to. If it’s a game that focuses on being up-tempo and on the three-point shot, you have to be able to get up and down the court and an asset to get them open shots and grab rebounds. You can’t teach height and there’ll always be a place for big men in the NBA, though. I wonder how much the physicality would have helped me or hurt me, but regardless I would block a lot more shots in today’s game. With that being said, I don’t want to be an old player that says I would have done so much better in this age, because the players today are the most talented, most well-prepared and the most-skilled guys that the game has seen.

How do other players react when teammates get big contracts?
Everyone is making money in the NBA and I played with enough guys on 10-day contracts that you want to see everyone make it. I think guys are generally happy because in theory you should be set for life, so aside from winning a championship your main goal is to help your teammates get into the best situations. My numbers were what they were before and after the deal and I don’t feel like I was misleading anyone. I know that a lot of people don’t look past points and rebounds or what you can find on a basketball card, but the things that don’t show up on there are really important.

Who is in your all-time starting five?
Kevin Duckworth, Jerome Kersey, Drazen Petrovic, Dwayne Schintznus and Jack Haley. I miss all of these guys that I played with or played against and it would be great to be able to hangout with all of them a little bit longer.

Have you personally eaten the McIlveighty prime rib?
They don’t name it if you can’t eat it. Ward’s House of Prime was sponsoring an event and they wanted me to eat one of the cuts of meat that they had already named so that I was able to get my name on the wall. I was going to come in and eat a 54 oz., but some girl who was probably 5 foot nothing and 100 pounds that was a student at Marquette had eaten a bigger cut and I was kind of shamed into eating more. I saw that no one was at 80 oz, so they came out with a few more ounces and they gave me my own cut.