The NCAA’s all-time 3-point leader and former Wofford Terrier guard Fletcher Magee has signed a professional contract with Monbus Obradoiro in Spain.
Magee, who signed an NBA Summer League contract with Milwaukee, appeared in four games for the Bucks. The 6-foot-4 guard capitalized on his opportunities in Milwaukee’s last game against Portland, scoring 12 points in 17 minutes of play, going 5-for-8 from the floor and 2-of-4 from 3-point range.
During his time at Wofford, Magee, who graduated in May, scored 2,516 points while knocking down an NCAA record 509 3-pointers. As a senior, Magee averaged 20.3 points per game to help Wofford set program marks in wins (30) and wins in a regular season. The Orlando, Florida, native lifted Wofford to an Associated Press Top 25 ranking, a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament and the program’s first NCAA Tournament victory en route to AP All-America Honorable Mention, Lou Henson National Player of the Year, SoCon Athlete of the Year and SoCon Player of the Year honors.
Located in the northwest part of the country, Monbus Obradoiro competes in Liga ACB, which is the top league in Spain featuring teams such as FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Valencia.
Magee becomes the second Terrier to ink a contract in Europe this summer, joining teammate Cameron Jackson who signed with Mitteldeutscher Basketball Club in Germany.
Magee’s journey to becoming a professional basketball player took him through many sports, including golf, football and baseball. When he was about 8 years old, his grandfather took him to play golf for the first time. He shot 89 on 18 holes. It was his first time on a course. “I was better than I thought I would be, and it was fun,” he says. Football, baseball, basketball, golf — Magee was naturally good at all of them, and they were fun.
Magee competed in the U.S. Kids Golf Tour World Championship at Pinehurst but dropped competitive golf in middle school because it conflicted with other sports. “I didn’t have the time to stay good, and golf is really frustrating when you don’t have time to devote to your game,” he says.
Baseball fell to the wayside in the 9th grade, football in the 11th. Magee’s love of basketball won out, and after watching his success on the court, fans of the other sports will forever wonder “what if.”
Wofford knew that Magee was destined to become a Terrier when coaches scouted and recruited him — and they recruited him hard. “Wofford made me feel wanted, and I loved the coaches, the players and the culture,” says Magee, a sociology major. The only sticking point was the Benjamin Johnson Arena, and even that Magee knew soon would be replaced by the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
Rumor has it that Magee would practically sleep walk to the gym at night to shoot. He grins and shakes his head at that.
“Some of it is that I love basketball and I want to get better. I have a certain number of shots I put up every single day, so sometimes I come in early in the morning, or I stop by at random times,” he says. Magee even spends time off the court thinking about new shots to try.
He practices fadeaways to the right, to the left, backwards and forwards, always with game situations and results in mind.
“I practice all that different stuff because I don’t get a lot of slow open threes in a game. I practice the shots I’m going to shoot,” he says.
Back on campus for graduation, Magee looked back on the season and will tell anyone that this was definitely the most fun year of basketball he’s ever had.
“It was so special,” he says. “We had a group of guys that did not become complacent with success. That was the key. It’s so easy to have a slip up, but we stayed hungry.”
He has that same faith in next year’s team.
“We have so many good, young players, and Coach (Jay) McAuley is a great coach who helped us a bunch both offensively and defensively during the season,” says Magee. “It’s a different team, but they’re so dynamic.”
Magee is ready for what’s next, but he says he’ll miss the easy relationships he’s built across campus. He’s completely committed to playing basketball professionally but plans to find time for a round of golf or two. Even without practice he maintains a 7 handicap, but he may be sandbagging. Most of us would pick him with a 3.
Prepared by Wofford College.