SHARONVILLE, Ohio — Woodward High School senior point guard Paul McMillan IV has always wanted to pass LeBron James on the state's all-time scoring list. After Thursday night, he's one step closer.
McMillan moved into seventh place on the Ohio High School Athletic Association's all-time scoring list with 2,588 career points. He is just 58 points from tying Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, a 2003 Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary graduate.
"I'm lost for words right now," McMillan said. "I'm truly blessed and humbled by it. Anything LeBron did I wanted to be better than LeBron. Now to be 58 points away from my favorite NBA player and idol that I looked upt growing up is crazy."
McMillan, a three-time Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference player of the year, scored 22 points including 15 at halftime in a 97-49 win over Blanchester in a Division II sectional second-round game at Princeton.
He made a free throw with 6:58 left in the third quarter for his 16th point of the night and sole possession of seventh place.
The entire Woodward program is happy for McMillan and the magnitude of what he has accomplished over the years.
"Man, I'm trying so hard to not think about it; we're focused on one game at a time," Woodward boys basketball coach Jarelle Redden said. "We talk about things after the game. It's exciting to be a part of that and know he just passed three spots. It's beautiful what he's doing but our focal point is just to advance."
Woodward's ultimate goal is a state championship at University of Dayton Arena in March.
Woodward was running on all cylinders with a 7-0 run to start Thursday night's game. Woodward was also led by Quanny Bostic with 15 points and seven assists. Ru Mills, Kanye Moreland and Jeremith Hughes each had 10 points.
Woodward (21-3), the No. 1 seed in its sectional, has won 11 consecutive games. The Bulldogs host Indian Hill (11-10) Saturday night at Princeton in a district semifinal (7:30 p.m. tipoff).
McMillan, believed to be the first basketball player in Cincinnati Public School history to score 2,000 points, returned home Thursday night where he has plenty of King James items such as jerseys, shirts, hooded sweatshirts, posters and video highlights.
McMillan said he is humbled by being mentioned in the same sentence as the NBA legend in regards to OHSAA basketball history.
"Once I pass him (on the state list) hopefully he will give me a shout-out - that would be nice," McMillan said.
