Age: 53
Darnell Mee
Age: 53
LaFarrell Darnell Mee (born February 11, 1971) is an American-Australian former professional basketball player who played in the NBA and other leagues. He was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the 34th overall pick (2nd round) of the 1993 NBA Draft. He became an Australian citizen in late 2006 after coming to the NBL as an import in mid 1990s.
College career
A 6'5" (196 cm) guard, Mee played college basketball at Western Kentucky University for three seasons between 1990 and 1993, playing in 91 games and averaging 13.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3 assists per game. In his last college season, the 1992-93 season, he averaged 18.9 points per game and was named as an All-American. WKU reached the Sweet 16 that year with victories over Memphis State and Florida State.
Professional career
Mee was drafted by the Golden State Warriors and traded to the Denver Nuggets. He played 40 games in the NBA, plus 3 of the Nuggets' 12 playoff games in 1994. He was mostly a 12th man, averaging 1.9 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.
He also played in the CBA for the Yakima Sun Kings, France for BCM Gravelines, Italy for Kinder Bologna, and Germany for Leverkusen, before finally settling in Australia to play for the Canberra Cannons in the NBL.
He played for the Cannons for one season (1996) before signing with the Adelaide 36ers. There he was joined by former Denver teammate Kevin Brooks. The import duo helped the 36ers to win the 1998 and 1998-99 NBL championships. Mee continued with the team until the end of the end of 2001. He them moved to the Cairns Taipans for 2003 before moving again to the Wollongong Hawks for the 2004-05 NBL season. He then returned to the Taipans where he played until retiring at the end of the 2008-09 season.
During his NBL career, Mee was often regarded as the best defensive player in the league, winning the NBL's Best Defensive Player award in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005 and 2006. He was also selected to the NBL's First Team in 2001 and 2005 and won selection in several NBL All-Star Game's including 2005.