Iverson Molinar

Iverson Latrell Molinar Jones (born December 3, 1999) is a Panamanian professional basketball player for the Wisconsin Herd of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Molinar and the second or maternal family name is Jones.
Iverson Molinar
Molinar with Mississippi State in 2022
No. 1 – Wisconsin Herd
PositionShooting guard / Point guard
LeagueNBA G League
Personal information
Born (1999-12-03) December 3, 1999
Panama City, Panama
Listed height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Listed weight86 kg (190 lb)
Career information
High school
CollegeMississippi State (2019–2022)
NBA draft2022 / Undrafted
Playing career2022–present
Career history
2022–presentWisconsin Herd
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-SEC (2022)
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life and high school career

Molinar grew up in Panama City, Panama.[1] He moved to the United States at age 15 to play for Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village, California.[2] As a junior at Covenant Christian Ministries Academy in Marietta, Georgia, Molinar averaged 21.5 points, six rebounds and five assists per game.[3] He played for Veritas National Prep School as a senior. Molinar also competed for Team Why Not, an Amateur Athletic Union program founded by NBA player Russell Westbrook.[4] He committed to playing college basketball for Mississippi State over offers from Arizona and Arizona State, among others.[1]

College career

On November 21, 2019, Molinar scored a freshman season-high 21 points in an 80–66 win over Tulane.[5] As a freshman, he averaged 5.9 points per game. He missed the first three games of his sophomore season after testing positive for COVID-19.[6] On January 9, 2021, Molinar recorded 24 points, eight rebounds and four steals in an 84–81 victory over Vanderbilt. He was subsequently named Southeastern Conference (SEC) Player of the Week.[7] As a sophomore, Molinar averaged 16.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game.[8] On January 12, 2022, Molinar scored 28 points in a 88–72 win against Georgia.[9] On January 25, 2022, he scored a career-high 30 points in a 82–74 overtime loss against Kentucky.[10] Molinar was named to the First Team All-SEC as a junior.[11] As a junior, he averaged 17.5 points, 3.6 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game. On March 25, 2022, Molinar declared for the 2022 NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility.[12] He later signed with an agent, forgoing his remaining eligibility.[13]

Professional career

Wisconsin Herd (2022–present)

On November 3, 2022, Molinar was named to the opening night roster for the Wisconsin Herd.[14]

National team career

Molinar played for Panama's junior national teams from the age of 10.[1] He made his debut with the senior national team at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup, averaging three points per game.[15]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019–20 Mississippi State 31815.4.489.371.7681.01.3.3.15.9
2020–21 Mississippi State 302932.6.478.436.8043.72.3.9.116.7
2021–22 Mississippi State 343434.1.454.252.8683.13.61.2.417.5
Career 957127.5.468.346.8312.62.4.8.213.5

Personal life

Molinar is the son of Leyza Jones and Manuel Molinar.[1] He is named after Hall of Fame basketball player Allen Iverson. He speaks English, Spanish and Italian.[16]

References
  1. Horka, Tyler (December 13, 2019). "'Panamanian Prince': How Iverson Molinar made it to Mississippi State". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  2. Zaldivar, Gabe (July 8, 2020). "Veritas Prep Is Reshaping American Basketball With Latino Flavor". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  3. Lowery, Logan (October 23, 2018). "MSU adds commitment from Molinar". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  4. Lowery, Logan (February 7, 2020). "Molinar made his own way to MSU". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  5. "Iverson Molinar, Mississippi State cruise past Tulane; Villanova is next in Myrtle Beach Invitational". The Clarion-Ledger. Associated Press. November 21, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  6. Coleman, Joel (December 3, 2020). "Iverson Molinar's return expected to boost Bulldogs as Mississippi State gets set to host North Texas". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  7. Middleton, Dalton (January 11, 2021). "MSU's Molinar named SEC Player of the Week". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  8. O'Connell, Robert (May 6, 2021). "Panamanians Division 1 players stats last season". Latinbasket. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  9. "Molinar scores 28, MSU hands Georgia 5th loss in row 88-72". ESPN. Associated Press. January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  10. "No. 12 Kentucky needs OT to give Calipari his 800th win". ESPN. Associated Press. January 25, 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  11. "Men's Basketball All-SEC Teams & Awards Announced" (Press release). Southeastern Conference. March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  12. Thompson, Khari (March 25, 2022). "Mississippi State basketball's Iverson Molinar declares for 2022 NBA Draft". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  13. Krajisnik, Stefan (April 26, 2022). "Mississippi State basketball's Iverson Molinar signs with agent, foregoes eligibility". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  14. "Wisconsin Herd Announces 2022-23 Opening Day Roster". oursportscentral.com. November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  15. "Iverson Molinar (PAN)'s profile - FIBA Americup 2017". FIBA. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  16. Andrade, Jonathan (January 14, 2016). "Iverson is the answer, too". The Acorn. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
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