Magley Magic

Brother - sister duo bring size, talent to the Hill

Chris Acree and Andrew Robinson

Media Credit: Daniel Houghton

 

 

On Nov. 8, 2006, freshman forward D.J. Magley signed a national letter of intent to play basketball at Western.

About five months later, Magley's sister, junior forward Jessica Magley, decided to transfer to Western from Rhode Island.

Now they're on the Hill together.

"Going somewhere and to have my sister come with me is pretty awesome, I think," D.J. said.

Jessica is looking to make an impact on the Lady Toppers without playing a minute in a game this year. She is forced to sit out this season under NCAA transfer rules, though she will be able to practice and travel with the team.

"I've loved it so far," Jessica said. "We have such a great coaching staff that are so experienced and know what they are doing, and fabulous teammates who hold each other accountable."

Coach Mary Taylor Cowles thinks very highly of Jessica.

"Jessica Magley is an incredible young lady," Cowles said. "She's a very fundamental, solid basketball player. But even more so than that she's a very bright and talented young lady off the court."

D.J. said that Jessica's work ethic motivates him.

"I see her in the gym a lot, shooting and stuff. It just make me want to come and shoot too," D.J. said.

Athletic success runs deep in the Magleys' blood line.

Their father, Dave, was selected as Indiana's Mr. Basketball before going on to a four-year career at Kansas and a brief career in the NBA.

Their oldest sister, Jennifer, was a national champion and four-time tennis all-American selection at Florida.

Though they are both very competitive, don't expect to see a one-on-one matchup when the two are shooting together.

"We kinda stopped playing the one-on-one game back in middle school," D.J. said. "It just started getting a little too brutal. I'd go up and block a shot and she'd be like 'oh, that's not a foul? I'll show you what a foul is' and she'd whip her hair into my face and hit me and stuff. And I'm a guy so I'm not allowed to hit back."

Jessica reminisced on those times as well.

"We used to play back in the day and I used to beat him," Jessica said. "But there came a point in time when I realized I probably wasn't going to get a lot of points out of him."

Coach Darrin Horn said that D.J. should have an immediate impact with the Toppers and is a probable starter in Western's exhibition tonight against Campbellsville.

"I'm excited for my little brother," Jessica said. "I'm really excited for D.J. that he's going to be able to go there and do his very best as a freshman and I'm going to be cheering as hard as I can for him."