E. J. Montgomery
No. 35 – Birmingham Squadron | |
---|---|
Position | Power forward |
League | NBA G League |
Personal information | |
Born | Fort Pierce, Florida | September 12, 1999
Nationality | American |
Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
Listed weight | 228 lb (103 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | |
College | Kentucky (2018–2020) |
NBA draft | 2020: undrafted |
Playing career | 2021–present |
Career history | |
2021 | Nevėžis Kėdainiai |
2021–2022 | Soproni KC |
2022–2024 | Aomori Wat's |
2024–present | Birmingham Squadron |
Career highlights and awards | |
Stats at Basketball Reference |
Efrem "E. J." Montgomery Jr. (born September 12, 1999) is an American basketball player for the Birmingham Squadron of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats.
High school career
[edit]Montgomery attended Lincoln Park Academy in Fort Pierce, Florida for middle school and started playing at the varsity level as a 6'8" seventh grader. As an eighth grader, Montgomery and the Greyhounds won the Florida District 12-4A championship.[1][2]
Montgomery first attended Montverde Academy for his freshmen and sophomore year, where he played alongside current Net Ben Simmons.
He later transferred to Wheeler High School for his junior and senior year. He averaged 25.6 points, 13.6 rebounds, and 4.3 assists at Wheeler.[3]
Recruiting
[edit]Montgomery originally committed to Auburn University on September 22, 2016. However, when Auburn was involved in the college basketball corruption scandal, Montgomery decommitted on September 27, 2017.[4]
On April 9, 2018, Montgomery committed to play college basketball at the University of Kentucky.[5]
Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
E. J. Montgomery PF |
Fort Pierce, FL | Wheeler (GA) | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Apr 9, 2018 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 93 | ||||||
Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 11 247Sports: 6 ESPN: 14 | ||||||
Sources:
|
College career
[edit]Montgomery had his first double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds in a win over South Carolina. As a freshman, Montgomery averaged 3.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.[6] On December 7, 2019, Montgomery scored a career-high 25 points as Kentucky defeated Fairleigh Dickinson 83–52.[7] In the regular season finale versus Florida, Montgomery hit the game-winning tip-in with 11 seconds left. He averaged 6.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game.[8] Following the season, he declared for the 2020 NBA draft.[9]
Professional career
[edit]After going undrafted in the 2020 NBA draft, Montgomery signed with the Milwaukee Bucks.[10] He was waived on December 17.
On January 4, 2021, he signed with Nevėžis-OPTIBET of the Lithuanian Basketball League.[11] On September 1, Montgomery signed with Soproni KC of the Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A.[12]
On August 3, 2022, Montgomery signed with Aomori Wat's of the Japanese B.League.[13]
On October 28, 2024, Montgomery joined the Birmingham Squadron.[14]
Career statistics
[edit]GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
[edit]Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018–19 | Kentucky | 37 | 10 | 15.1 | .480 | .200 | .567 | 4.1 | .4 | .4 | 1.0 | 3.8 |
2019–20 | Kentucky | 28 | 25 | 24.1 | .518 | .167 | .667 | 5.4 | .6 | .4 | 1.1 | 6.1 |
Career | 65 | 35 | 19.0 | .500 | .188 | .625 | 4.6 | .5 | .4 | 1.1 | 4.8 |
Personal life
[edit]E. J. is the son of Efrem and Glenda Montgomery and has two sisters Brittni and Brandy.
References
[edit]- ^ "St. Lucie County Notebook: Seventh-grader Montgomery turning heads at Lincoln Park". www.tcpalm.com. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
- ^ "2014-2015 District 12-4A high school boys basketball preview | Poll". www.tcpalm.com. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
- ^ "2018-19 Men's Basketball Roster : E. J. Montgomery". Ukathletics.com. June 6, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- ^ "Auburn Loses Five-Star Recruit Amid FBI Investigation". Si.com. September 27, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- ^ "5-star former Auburn commit EJ Montgomery commits to Kentucky". Al.com. April 9, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- ^ Fisher, Chris (May 30, 2019). "What the return of EJ Montgomery means for Kentucky". 247 Sports. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- ^ "No. 8 Kentucky rolls Fairleigh Dickinson, 600th win at Rupp". ESPN. Associated Press. December 6, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- ^ Fisher, Chris (March 18, 2020). "Wildcats face difficult draft decisions". 247 Sports. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
- ^ "EJ Montgomery completes Kentucky starters' exit for NBA draft". ESPN. Associated Press. April 15, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
- ^ Fisher, Chris (November 19, 2020). "EJ Montgomery signs with Bucks". 247 Sports. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
- ^ Lupo, Nicola (January 4, 2021). "E.J. Montgomery signs with Nevezis". Sportando. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
- ^ Gabor, Winter (September 1, 2021). "E.J. Montgomery agreed terms with Sopron KC". Eurobasket. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
- ^ "イー・ジェイ・モンゴメリー選手2022-23シーズン契約合意について". Aomori-Wats.jp (in Japanese). August 3, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
- ^ "Birmingham Squadron Announce 2024-25 Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. October 28, 2024. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
External links
[edit]- 1999 births
- Living people
- 21st-century American sportsmen
- American expatriate basketball people in Hungary
- American expatriate basketball people in Japan
- American expatriate basketball people in Lithuania
- American men's basketball players
- Aomori Wat's players
- Basketball players from Florida
- BC Nevėžis players
- Birmingham Squadron players
- Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players
- McDonald's High School All-Americans
- Montverde Academy alumni
- Power forwards
- Soproni KC players
- Sportspeople from Fort Pierce, Florida