Video: Student Athlete of the Week: Artavious McDyess, Columbus HS, Boys Basketball

[syndicaster id=’6128631′] COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) — When you think of the name McDyess you think of the former N-B-A player Antonio McDyess. well this week we turn our attention to his son Artavious McDyess from Columbus High School. WCBI’s Jonathan Flippo has more with our student athlete of the week and what this young man that has the tools to hope one day be just like his father.

Artavious McDyess is in his senior season playing basketball for the Columbus Falcons. He moved to Columbus from Oklahoma City during his sophomore season, but his last name is already known in the region. His father Antonio McDyess played college basketball at the university of Alabama before he was drafted by the Denver Nuggets in 1995 and launched an N-B-A career spanning 16 years and five teams. Antonio was also a member of the 2000 Gold Medal winning Olympic Team. Artavious has looked up to his father since he was little and now hopes to follow his dad’s footsteps.

“We got good chemistry. We talk like on a daily basis and it’s just I’ve been really like looking up to him growing up and how good he was. I just been trying my hardest to get as good as him and achieve the goals that he achieved,” said Student Athlete Artavious McDyess.

Father and son share one common bond on the court, former Columbus Head Basketball Coach Sammy Smith coached both. Now first year Head Basketball Coach Luther Riley wants Artavious to step out of his fathers shadow.

“I think our second time I was in practice and I said we are going to give you your own identity, so I gave him the nickname “swat” for a lot of reasons. For on the court, he’s so athletic that you know when guys come in when he’s on defense of course he can block, swat the shot out. He can swat the ball out of the air or whatever it does to require on defense we gave that name and certainly he’s lived up to it and he’s made great strides and the player and that we want him to be,” said Head Coach Luther Riley.

McDyess’s teammate is also impressed with the nickname.

“We was practicing and he just started blocking like a whole bunch of shots and stuff so that’s where his name came from and coach was like your name is going to be “swat from now on,” said Teammate Demetrice Clopton.

For Artavious in his final season at Columbus, winning the schools first ever state championship would go a long way for the community and the school.

“I think we would like make history if we would win a state championship this year. We’ve never won one before. I think it would really just set like a landmark for us and Columbus going forward in the years,” McDyess said.

The Columbus Falcons will return to action on Saturday as they host the New Hope Trojans.