David Webber

David Ranier Webber (born April 5, 1980) is an American former basketball player. He played college basketball for Central Michigan of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) from 1998 to 2002. Webber played the point guard position and was the 2001 Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year. He was a first team All-MAC player in 2001 and an honorable mention All-MAC player in 2000 and 2002. Webber holds Central Michigan's all-time records for single-game free throws and home arena single-game points.

In high school, Webber won three Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) championships for Detroit Country Day School. He had a brief two-year professional career in the United States Basketball League and Continental Basketball Association. He is the youngest brother of Hall of Famer Chris Webber.

Early life Webber is the son of Mayce Webber, Jr. and Doris Webber. At Detroit Country Day, Webber was teammates with his brother Jason as a 1994–95 freshman while his brother was a senior. He performed the role of sixth man as a freshman before becoming a three-year starter. That team was the two-time MHSAA Class B defending champion and had climbed into the top 10 in the USA Today national poll prior to an injury to Battier and two subsequent losses. The team lost a third game without Battier and another starter to the Sergio McClain-led Illinois High School Association state champion Manual High School. The team healed up and repeated as Class B state champion, finishing the season with a 25–3 record. However, he often played a leading role during his senior season. In fact, he averaged 20 points over the first six games before focusing more on his role as the floor general because he felt the team had more success with him scoring less. As of March 26, 1998, Webber was being recruited by Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Boston College, Virginia and Maryland. On April 15, the Detroit News reported that he signed his National Letter of Intent with Central Michigan, who had already signed the team's leading scorer, Manciel. Jason had redshirted for the 1995–96 Michigan State Spartans and played for the 1996–97 team.

Webber holds the Central Michigan record for McGuirk Arena single-game points (51 vs. Ball State February 24, 2000), breaking the previous arena record set on December 5, 1977 by Larry Bird (45 points), which remained the visiting player record as of the March 2020 update of the Central Michigan Record Book. It was also the second-highest point total (highest in regulation) of the 1999–2000 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, trailing only 61 by Eddie House in double-overtime for against .

On February 11, 2001, he became one of 15 finalists (along with Battier) for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, presented by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. At the time, Central Michigan was on a 10-game winning streak (17–4); Webber was averaging 20.2 points per game, and the team had clinched its first winning season since Dan Majerle's 1987–88 senior season. He led the MAC in scoring (18.4 ppg) for the 2000–01 season and was the 2001 Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year. That season, he led Central Michigan in scoring, rebounding (5.2), (1=His rebounding lead was not total rebounds.) Chad Pleiness had 145 in 28 games=5.179 rpg and Webber had 140 in 27 games=5.185 rpg both showing as 5.2 in the record book. His Associated Press 2001 All-American honorable mention made him the second CMU player to receive any type of NCAA All-American recognition (Majerle) and third overall All-American (NAIA). He was a first team All-MAC player in 2001 and an honorable mention All-MAC player in the 1999–2000 and 2001–02 MAC seasons. With support from a bench that included Chris Kaman, he led (20–8, 14–4) to a first-place finish that marked the first time in MAC history a team had gone from worst-to-first. The 14.5 game turnaround was second in the nation to Boston College's 15 game turnaround.

The March 2020 update of the Central Michigan Record Book also shows that he holds the Central Michigan record for single-game free throws made (19, vs. 2OT January 5, 2002). In 2012, Webber was inducted into the CMU Athletics Hall of Fame.

Professional career The Detroit Pistons held workouts in May 2002 for point guards that Webber participated in. Webber went undrafted in the June 26, 2002 NBA draft. He subsequently participated in the Indiana Pacers minicamp in July 2002. Webber attended the October 2002 Sacramento Kings training camp when his brother, Chris, played for the team and survived the first cut. However, in late October, he was released along with Jason Sasser and Corsley Edwards when the Kings reduced their roster to 14 players.

In 2003, Webber played five games for the Oklahoma Storm of the United States Basketball League. Webber was selected by the Asheville Altitude in the 10th round of the 2003 NBA Development League draft. At the team's 16-man training camp he was vying for the point guard position against Andre Smith, Kareem Reid, and Jaquay Walls. On November 13, 2003, Webber was cut when the roster was reduced from 16 players to 12 along with other lower (7th and 9th) draft picks. On January 15, 2004, Webber signed with the Great Lakes Storm of the Continental Basketball Association. In 21 games with them, he averaged 6.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He was a teammate of his brother Jason at Central Michigan and Detroit Country Day. Chris and David were close, and David is credited with Chris' mid-career free throw shooting improvement.