Mitch McGary took a deep breath. He wanted to tell the story of why he smoked marijuana one night in March, why the NCAA suspended him for a year because of it and why the confluence of those events is helping lead him to declare for June's NBA draft. It wasn't easy, so he started at the beginning.
For months, McGary had struggled to come to terms with the back injury that limited him to just eight games for the University of Michigan this season, none after mid-December. Less than a year earlier, he helped lead the Wolverines to the 2013 national title game as a star freshman. Now, he was a spectator.
One night in mid-March, with the NCAA tournament about to begin without him, McGary was hanging out with a group of friends at Michigan. He had a few drinks. Someone offered some marijuana – a common occurrence, he said, on campus.
"I always turned it down," McGary told Yahoo Sports. "But that night I didn't."
Less than two weeks later, McGary "dressed" for the Wolverines' Sweet 16 game against Tennessee. He was never going to play, but coach John Beilein thought the sight of him in maize and blue on the sideline, pumping up his teammates, would add some enthusiasm. Michigan eked out a 73-71 win.
Amid the post-victory celebration, an NCAA representative told McGary that he, of all people, had been selected to undergo a random drug test, even though he hadn't played in months.
SEC West Showdown Sends Alabama to Oxford to Meet with Ole Miss