Mike Conley, Jr.

Michael "Mike" Alex Conley, Jr. (born October 11 1987, in Fayetteville, Arkansas) is an American professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA. Conley is the son of Olympic gold and silver medalist triple jumper Mike Conley, Sr. and the nephew of former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Steve Conley. Conley attended Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he played with friend and former Ohio State teammate Greg Oden.

High school

Conley led Lawrence North to three straight state championships in high school and an amazing 103 wins and 7 losses in his four years as the starting point guard. His senior year, he dished out a total of 123 assists. Conley finished second in the voting of the Indiana Mr. Basketball to his teammate Greg Oden, who was the national player of the year. He was selected to the McDonald's All American team, which is the highest individual honor in high school basketball today. In that game, Conley led his team with a game-high 10 rebounds. He was later named a Parade magazine All-American in his senior year. Conley shocked and upset many Indiana basketball fans when he turned down offers from in-state schools Indiana and Purdue, as well as Wake Forest, and chose to attend Ohio State University. He went to Ohio State in the number two recruiting class in the country that year with fellow AAU teammates Daequan Cook and Greg Oden.

College

Conley averaged 11.7 points and was the leader in the Big Ten Conference in assists with 6.1 per game. Conley led the Buckeyes to the Big Ten championship game, where they defeated Wisconsin to receive a number one seed into the NCAA tournament. He and fellow freshman star Greg Oden then led Ohio State to the national championship game. On the road to the championship game, the Buckeyes defeated Central Connecticut State, Xavier, Tennessee, Memphis and Georgetown, only to lose in the championship game to the repeat national champions Florida. Conley's best performance came against Xavier, when the Buckeyes were being threatened with an early exit out of the tourney. In the overtime period, Mike Conley dominated the game while teammate Greg Oden was on the bench after fouling out. Conley scored 11 points in the extra period to add on to his 21-point total for the game. He also scored the first seven points for Ohio State in overtime, then four free throws in the last 1:03. He led the team with four assists, two steals, and three blocks.^[1] Conley ended his season with 441 total points and 238 total assists. Following his freshman season, Conley announced his intention to enter the 2007 NBA Draft along with Oden. Conley initially did not sign with an agent in order to preserve his eligibility should he decide to withdraw from the process and return to Ohio State,^[2] but signed with his father several weeks before the draft.

NBA career

Mike Conley joined fellow Buckeye teammate Greg Oden in leaving early for the NBA Draft, and the two were represented by Conley's father, who had become certified as an agent by the NBA. Conley was drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies as the fourth pick in the 2007 NBA Draft after Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, and Al Horford, the third player out of the top four draft picks that year who were freshmen in college prior to entering the draft. Only Horford, a junior, was an upperclassman.

Notes

External links

• Michael Conley's Official Yardbarker Blog
• Mike Conley, Jr. Player Info at NBA.com