It was the 1998 season when Bob McCann blew onto the Raptors scene, signing the type of contract that all ball players dream of.....the 10 day. Signed January 6, 1998, McCann's time as a Raptors was short but, compared to past one-hit wonders, more significant statistically. McCann was property of the Raptors for all of 6 days. In those 6 days however, McCann entered one ball game, wearing the ever popular number 6, and logged a full 5 minutes of game time. In those five minutes, McCann hoisted 1 shot (miss), grabbed a board on the defensive end and also ended up with a personal foul. Unfortunately, that rebound was not enough to keep him around past the 12th of January.
McCann was 34 when he signed the 10 day contract with the Raps. Upside was obviously not a consideration when the Raps signed this 6'7", 248 lbs forward from the basketball powerhouse Morehead State University. Originally hailing from Morristown, New Jersey, McCann, after one year at Upsala moved his high power scoring to MSU where he averaged 18.6 ppg and over 10 rpg in his final season. He was First-Team All Conference in the Ohio Valley Conference during those three years and OVC player of the year 1987/88. His performance during his three years of university was good enough for the Milwaukee Bucks to draft him in the second round of the 1987 NBA Draft. Compared to Charles Barkley when drafted, unfortunately things went sour for Miwaukee's first pick that year and he quickly garnered the nickname Bob McCan't.
In fact, McCann did not see his first NBA action for three years, and by that point he was suiting up for the Dallas Mavericks. In total McCann played 5 seasons in the NBA with Dallas, Detroit (where he saw action in 1 playoff game scoring 6 points), Washington, Minnesota and Toronto. His best season came in 1993 with the T-Wolves when he played in 79 of 82 games (7 starts) and averages 6.9 ppg and 3.6 rpg. On a 40 minute basis McCann would have averaged 12.9 ppg and 7.9 rpg, some fairly solid numbers. Also notable is that in his last 23 games with the Wolves McCann blocked 26 shots. Oddly, after a career season McCann did not re-appear on the NBA scene again until 1996 at the age of 31. All of his NBA game time would have earned him approximately $1 M US. Not bad for a guy from Morehead State.
Between his time spent in the NBA McCann also played in the CBA and was known for having huge hands and a soft touch.
Amazingly enough McCann's career was actually notable compared to other former Raps who have donned the number 6, including Clifford Rozier, Jermaine Jackson and Jerome Moiso. We expect MLSE will have an exceptionally difficult time determining which #6 should have their jersey retired in the ACC.
HOWLAND