CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois men’s basketball added depth to the backcourt as head coach Bryan Mullins announced the signing of 6-foot-5 guard R.J. McGee Monday. The Chicago, Illinois native comes to SIU with a year of eligibility remaining after a four-year career at Tulane.
“I am thrilled to welcome R.J. and his family to our program. He has tremendous character and will provide great experience to our team this upcoming season,” Mullins said. “He is a versatile guard who can score in multiple ways and can guard multiple positions. I love his toughness and competitiveness. All he talked about was how badly he wants to win a championship next year. He will be a great fit for our program.”
McGee played in 105 games over four seasons in New Orleans, starting in 27 for the Green Wave. He holds a career field goal percentage of 45.1 percent (121-268) and shot 31.6 percent from behind the arc.
He is coming off his best scoring season, averaging 4.4 points over 16.9 minutes per game. McGee posted a 16-point game in Tulane’s season-opening win over UMBC while also going 6-for-9 from the field for 14 points against Memphis. The guard put together his best scoring outburst in the AAC Tournament with 17 points against Wichita State.
McGee played in 27 games while starting in 10 for Tulane as a junior, averaging 17.6 minutes, 4.0 points, and shooting .493 from the field.
In 2020-21, McGee played in all 23 games and made eight starts. He averaged 4.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 0.8 steals in 16.6 minutes per game. He shot 26-of-74 (.351) from the field, 10-of-38 (.263) beyond the arc, and 30-of-37 (.811) at the free throw line. He led the team in rebounding a team-high seven times and scored in double-figures four times.
He appeared in 25 games as a freshman, shooting 10-for-23 from the field and 4-for-10 from downtown. McGee also earned a spot on the AAC All-Academic Team.
Before heading to Tulane, he played one season at Academy in Pensacola in 2018-19, starting all 28 games and averaged 19.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.3 steals per game while shooting 48 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range. He scored a career-high 39 points and made eight 3s against East Central Community College.
McGee attended Kenwood High School and averaged 18 points and 6.0 rebounds per game as a senior. He was named a 2018 all-city honorable mention and played in the South-West City All-Star Game.
