Eric Montross

Eric Scott "BIG Grits" Montross (born September 23, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for eight seasons with the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons, and Toronto Raptors. Born in Indianapolis, he played for Lawrence North High School before enrolling at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to play for the Tar Heels. High school Playing for Lawrence North High School, he was selected as a McDonald's All American in 1990. That same year, he was named to the USA Today All-USA first Team. After leading Lawrence North to the Indiana high school basketball championship Montross committed to the North Carolina Tar Heels. Montross was also a baseball pitcher in high school and was drafted by the Chicago Cubs with the 1,547th pick overall in the 1994 MLB draft. College career He was part of the UNC team that won the NCAA Championship against Michigan in 1993 and was named an All-American as a junior and senior. Montross' father and grandfather had played for Michigan. His father Scott was a teammate of Cazzie Russell in the 1960s and his maternal grandfather John Townsend was an All-American in the 1930s. In 4 seasons at UNC, Montross appeared in 139 games, averaging 11.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.