E. J. Montgomery

American basketball player

E. J. Montgomery
No. 7 – Aomori Wat's
PositionPower forward
LeagueB.League
Personal information
Born (1999-09-12) September 12, 1999 (age 24)
Fort Pierce, Florida
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight228 lb (103 kg)
Career information
High school
  • Montverde Academy
    (Montverde, Florida)
  • Wheeler
    (Marietta, Georgia)
CollegeKentucky (2018–2020)
NBA draft2020: undrafted
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021Nevėžis Kėdainiai
2021–2022Soproni KC
2022–presentAomori Wat's
Career highlights and awards
  • McDonald's All-American (2018)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Efrem "E. J." Montgomery Jr. (born September 12, 1999) is an American basketball player for Soproni KC of the Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A. He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats.

High school career

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

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]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
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: Scout: N/A   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 93
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 11  247Sports: 6  ESPN: 14
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Kentucky 2018 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  • "2018 Kentucky Wildcats Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  • "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 4, 2018.

College career

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

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]

Career statistics

Legend
  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

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

E. J. is the son of Efrem and Glenda Montgomery and has two sisters Brittni and Brandy.

References

  1. ^ "St. Lucie County Notebook: Seventh-grader Montgomery turning heads at Lincoln Park". www.tcpalm.com. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  2. ^ "2014-2015 District 12-4A high school boys basketball preview | Poll". www.tcpalm.com. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  3. ^ "2018-19 Men's Basketball Roster : E. J. Montgomery". Ukathletics.com. June 6, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  4. ^ "Auburn Loses Five-Star Recruit Amid FBI Investigation". Si.com. September 27, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  5. ^ "5-star former Auburn commit EJ Montgomery commits to Kentucky". Al.com. April 9, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  6. ^ Fisher, Chris (May 30, 2019). "What the return of EJ Montgomery means for Kentucky". 247 Sports. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  7. ^ "No. 8 Kentucky rolls Fairleigh Dickinson, 600th win at Rupp". ESPN. Associated Press. December 6, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  8. ^ Fisher, Chris (March 18, 2020). "Wildcats face difficult draft decisions". 247 Sports. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  9. ^ "EJ Montgomery completes Kentucky starters' exit for NBA draft". ESPN. Associated Press. April 15, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  10. ^ Fisher, Chris (November 19, 2020). "EJ Montgomery signs with Bucks". 247 Sports. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  11. ^ Lupo, Nicola (January 4, 2021). "E.J. Montgomery signs with Nevezis". Sportando. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  12. ^ Gabor, Winter (September 1, 2021). "E.J. Montgomery agreed terms with Sopron KC". Eurobasket. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  13. ^ "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" (in Japanese). Aomori Watts. August 3, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.

External links

  • Kentucky Wildcats bio
  • USA Basketball bio