The Scoop: Season 6, Episode 35

Aaron McKie heard from a good friend two days before it happened.

It was December of 1997, and the former Temple star was more than four seasons into his NBA career and happy where he was with the Detroit Pistons.

But that friend was on the other line, telling McKie there were radio rumors that he could be headed back to Philadelphia in a trade involving the 76ers. McKie had always dreamed of playing for his hometown team.

Just not now, he thought.

But six days before Christmas, McKie got the call. There was a plane waiting for him and teammate Theo Ratliff at the airport. They were headed to Philly, along with a future first-round draft choice, in exchange for center Eric Montross and guard Jerry Stackhouse. Philadelphia head coach Larry Brown had determined things just weren't working out with Stackhouse and future Hall of Famer Allen Iverson in the same backcourt, so it was time for a change.

It would prove to be a change for the better, but McKie admitted he didn't see it that way at the time.

"I'm just like, 'No .. to Philadelphia," McKie thought. "I'm going to my hometown, and they stink."

But the culture, McKie said, started to shift,

"When you think it's a bad situation that you're going to," he said, "it's one of the best situations that happened to me from a basketball standpoint."

By 2001, the Sixers were the best team in the NBA's Eastern Conference. And although their run stopped short of an NBA title at the hands of a loaded Lakers team, it was a season that captivated the city of Philadelphia and proved to be a milestone in McKie's life.

Twenty years later as he's set to embark upon his third year as Temple's head coach, McKie can continue to look back fondly upon that 2001 season. He averaged what was then a career-high 11.6 points per game, posted consecutive triple doubles on an important West Coast road trip, and went on to win the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award.

McKie joined OwlScoop.com's podcast, The Scoop, Wednesday to reflect back upon that 2001 season. He talked about what the Sixth Man of the Year Award meant to him and why he felt he was able to be a mentor and friend to a Hall of Famer like Iverson, in addition to sharing some anecdotes about their time together as teammates.

McKie also has several reasons for optimism as he enters his third season on North Broad Street. He talked about what incoming recruits Hysier Miller, Zach Hicks and Wake Forest transfer Emmanuel Okpomo could bring to the Owls, and it sounds like former Wildwood Catholic High School standout Jahlil White could have a big role moving forward after missing his freshman season with a meniscus injury.

McKie also answered some readers mailbag questions in an episode packed with lots of great Sixers anecdotes and Temple basketball insight.

You can listen to this week's episode here.

Front page photo courtesy of The Associated Press.