Maurice Ager

Early life

Ager was raised in Detroit, Michigan. His mother, Mattie Ager, was a doo-wop singer and married an architect and instrumentalist, Melvin Rucker. Ager attended Crockett High School where he averaged 24 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists as a senior on the basketball team.

College career

Ager attended Michigan State from 2002 to 2006. In his freshman year, he averaged 6.7 points per game as the Spartans advanced to the Elite Eight before losing to Texas. As a sophomore in 2004, he increased his scoring average to 8.5 points per game while averaging 22.5 minutes per game.

In 2005, Ager was the top scorer for Michigan State, averaging 14.1 points per game while averaging 26.3 minutes per game. He led the Spartans to the Final Four by defeating Kentucky in a double-overtime game in the Elite Eight. He was named to the Austin All-Regional team after averaging 16.8 points and 5 rebounds a game. Ager scored 24 points against North Carolina in the Final Four, but the Spartans lost to the eventual national champions.

Ager again led the Spartans in scoring in 2006, as he averaged 19.3 points per game as a senior. On November 22, 2005, at the Maui Invitational Tournament, Ager faced off against Gonzaga's Adam Morrison. Down by three, Ager sank a three-point shot at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. Despite Ager's team-high 36 points, Gonzaga knocked off the Spartans in triple overtime 109–106. The next day Ager led the Spartans with 20 points to defeat Arizona 74–71 in overtime.

Ager finished his career with 1,554 points with the Spartans.

Professional career

Ager was selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA draft with the 28th overall pick.

While with the Mavericks in 2006, Ager was assigned to the Fort Worth Flyers of the D-League. Ager would appear in 32 games in his rookie season for the Mavericks. He appeared in 12 games for the Mavericks in 2007–08. On February 19, 2008, Ager was traded by the Mavericks to the New Jersey Nets in a multi-player deal involving point guard Jason Kidd. During this time, he also played in the NBA's D-League. Ager would appear in 14 games for the Nets and 20 games in 2008–09. Following his stint with the Nets, he played in the D-League and Spain. After appearing four games for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2010, he was waived on November 11, 2010.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|- | 32 || 1 || 6.7 || .314 || .333 || .606 || .7 || .2 || .1 || .1 || 2.2 |- | 12 || 3 || 6.4 || .185 || .000 || .833 || .3 || .3 || .0 || .1 || 1.3 |- | 14 || 0 || 6.3 || .421 || .273 || .167 || .6 || .3 || .0 || .0 || 2.6 |- | 20 || 0 || 4.9 || .349 || .000 || .500 || .5 || .2 || .1 || .1 || 1.7 |- | 4 || 0 || 7.3 || .545 || .750 || .000 || .5 || .3 || .3 || .0 || 3.8 |- | 82 || 4 || 6.2 || .339 || .250 || .566 || .6 || .2 || .1 || .1 || 2.1

Playoffs

|- | 3 || 0 || 8.0 || .556 || .667 || .500 || 1.0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || 5.0 |- | 3 || 0 || 8.0 || .556 || .667 || .500 || 1.0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || 5.0

Post-playing career

Record production

In 2010, Ager relocated to Los Angeles, California, and embarked on a career as a hip hop record producer. In July 2011, he signed a non-exclusive deal with Akon's record label 50/50 Konvict Muzik.

Ager received ballot consideration for the 56th Annual Grammy Awards for his single, "Far From Home." Ager's single, "Forever I'm a Spartan," was released as an anthem for the Michigan State University football team in 2010.

Basketball camps

Ager lived in China from 2017 to 2019 and hosted basketball camps for children. He moved to Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2019 and ran the Moe Ager Hoop School.

Personal life

Ager was raised as a devout Christian by his mother. During his college career, his Michigan State head coach, Tom Izzo, moved team practices on Sunday to afternoons so Ager could attend morning church services.

References

References

1. (September 12, 2011). "Maurice Ager's second act".
2. "2002-03 Michigan State Spartans Roster and Stats {{!}} College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com".
3. "2004-05 Michigan State Spartans Roster and Stats {{!}} College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com".
4. "Maurice Ager - M. Basketball".
5. "Maurice Ager Michigan State profile". [[Michigan State Spartans]].
6. Dye, Dave. (December 11, 2005). "Ager's stellar game does his talking now". [[Chicago Tribune]].
7. (November 23, 2005). "Spartans beat out Wildcats in close game, finish third in Maui Invitational". [[CBSSports.com]].
8. "Maurice Ager College Stats {{!}} College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com".
9. (July 1, 2006). "Mavericks sign first-round pick Maurice Ager". [[ESPN.com]].
10. "You are being redirected...".
11. Beck, Howard. (February 21, 2008). "New Nets Arrive, but Harris's Debut Is Delayed".
12. (November 12, 2010). "Wolves waive Ager, look to sign free-agent PG".
13. (July 11, 2015). "Former NBA first-round pick, Grammy nominee follows passions". Sporting News.
14. (2010-07-06). "Ex-MSU basketball player Maurice Ager turns hip-hop music maker".
15. (2015-11-02). "Two Dreams, One Lifetime: The Maurice Ager Story".
16. (June 27, 2019). "Vietnamese hoop dreams with Moe Ager".
17. (November 21, 2005). "FINAL FOUR REGULARS IN RECENT YEARS, THE SPARTANS ARE PRIMED FOR A RETURN TRIP".