Through 33 games in the French Pro B League, 6'6" John McCord (Cornell '97, 1st Team All Ivy League '97) is averaging 15.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game for Antibes.
John McCord, Cornell '97 inbounds the ball for Antibes in French B League action.
McCord, an athletic slasher takes the ball to the basket.
McCord finishes a drive with a slam.CORNELL'S MCCORD, A LATE BLOOMING IVY
By Wayne Coffey
New York Daily News
February 28, 1997Steve DeMeo, an assistant coach at Iona, was the head man at Monroe Community College in the Bronx a few years back when a long, lean kid named John Allen McCord walked into the gym one day.
DeMeo's team was never the same, and neither was the young life of McCord, who has emerged as one of the unlikeliest stars of the college basketball season.
"It's an amazing story," DeMeo said.
The 6-6, 215-pound McCord is a high-jumping, late-blooming forward for Cornell, by way of West 183d St. in the Bronx. He turned 24 two days ago. He finishes his one and only Ivy season tonight at Penn, and tomorrow in Princeton, the sole question being:
How good might he be if he'd played at Walton HS? If he'd started in organized ball before age 20?
"I think about it a lot," McCord says. "I wish I had pursued basketball more when I was (younger)."
McCord leads the Ivy League in scoring (18.4 ppg), is second in rebounding (9.2) and fourth in blocks (1.3). He's shooting 59% from the floor. He had 26 points and 11 boards in his Big Red debut. In Cornell's first victory over Penn in six years, McCord put up 23 points and 20 rebounds.
Born in Orangeburg, S.C., McCord is the son of Annie and John McCord. He never met his father, John Allen McCord Sr., who died in a car accident the very day his son was born.
Annie McCord, a home health aide, moved the family to the Bronx. John enrolled at Walton, grew from 5-10 to 6-3 before his sophomore year, and began to develop his slashing, explosive game, albeit on the playgrounds and in summer tournaments. But despite the urging of friends, including Kerry Thompson, point guard at Florida State, he opted not to play on the school team. McCord had gotten a job at Pius XII Youth Center, two blocks from home, and enjoyed working with kids and earning some money.
"By me working there, it showed me the light of what it takes to be responsible," McCord said.
McCord continued at Pius XII for two years after high school before attending Bronx CC, and transferring to Monroe CC, following his friend, Stanley Green, who finally convinced him to play on the team. McCord was an instant sensation at Monroe, becoming a first-team JUCO All-American as a sophomore, leading DeMeo's team to a 28-3 record. By then Cornell assistant Tyrone Pitts had seen him, and loved him. Other suitors included UConn, Alabama, Long Beach State and Iona, but McCord elected to become an Ivy Leaguer.
"He's like a natural, man," Pitts said. "It's almost like you don't even have to show him. He knows how to do it instinctively."
Cornell made him sit out his junior year to aid in his academic adjustment, and though he thought of leaving, McCord stuck it out. His college career, as sparkling as it has been brief, has two games left. John Allen McCord is a candidate for Ivy Player of the Year.
"You don't find kids like him every day," DeMeo said.
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