Is John Rhys Plumlee related to Mason Plumlee?
College basketball fans will probably remember the last name Plumlee when watching UCF Knight quarterback John Rhys Plumlee play. That's because the signal-caller shares a last name with former Duke basketball center Mason Plumlee, who played with the Blue Devils between 2009 and 2013.
Mason is the brother of Miles Plumlee, who also played for Duke between 2008 and 20012.
Is John Rhys Plumlee related to Mason Plumlee?
John Rhys Plumlee is not related to Mason Plumlee. It is quite natural for college sports fans to think that they are linked to each other. Well, that's not the case. John Rhys is from the southern state of Mississippi, while the Duke brothers are from the Midwestern state of Indiana.
Plumlee brothers' Duke career
Mason is by far the most accomplished of the two, although both players were first-rounders in their respective NBA draft classes. Miles was drafted with the 26th overall pick by the Indiana Pacers in 2012, while Mason was the Brooklyn Nets 22nd overall pick in the 2013 draft. Both players were part of the 2010 Duke national championship team.
Mason was a Consensus All-American (2013), First Team All-ACC (2013), Third Team All-ACC (2012) and a recipient of the Pete Newell Big Man Award in 2013.
In the NBA, he has played with the Brooklyn Nets, Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets, and is currently with the Los Angeles Clippers.
For its part, Miles is no longer playing at the NBA level but did so for eight years between 2012 and 2019 with the Indiana Pacers, Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Hornets and Atlanta Hawks.
John Rhys Plumlee's college career
John Rhys Plumlee's journey at the college level began with the Ole Miss Rebels in the SEC before transferring to the AAC school looking for regular playing time.
With the Rebels, he was a semi-regular starter in his freshman season, starting in eight games and throwing for 910 yards, with four touchdowns and three interceptions. Later, head coach Lane Kiffin moved him to the wide receiver position. In his freshman season, he set a rushing yards freshman record at Ole Miss with 1023 yards.
Last season, his first playing quarterback since 2019, he threw for 2586 yards, 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He led the Knights to an 8-5 record.
He also plays college baseball as an outfielder and has done it in both at Ole Miss and UCF.