ROCHESTER, N.Y. — It's been a decade since Javon McCrea dominated Section 5 basketball. The 2010 Newark grad continued his dominance at the University of Buffalo where he's still the Bulls all-time scoring leader.

"Playing in Newark, they put me under the rim. Buffalo they put me under the rim again," said McCrea. "I learned a lot there with coach Witherspoon. They really pushed me a lot."

What You Need To Know

  • Newark and UB grad Javon McCrea is home from Europe

  • He is hoping to work his way onto an NBA roster

  • The 6'6" forward working to re-define his skill set.

  • He wants to add to his legacy so that his son can look back

McCrea also credits Greece Athena and Syracuse star John Wallace with his development.

"I met John was I was 13," he said. "That was my first AAU team. I played CYO for a couple of months and John saw me there. John and I used to go and work out and he would just sit with me and work me and just work me out for three hours straight after the AAU practice. If it wasn't for John, I would not be where I am."

"Great hands. Finishes around the basket. Rugged around the basket," said Wallace. "Javon put in a lot of work and he's had a good career overseas." 

Undrafted after graduating from UB in 2014, McCrea played for teams in Germany, France, Israel, and Japan. Now as he looks to continue his career in the NBA, the 6'6" forward is working to re-define his skill set.

"I can't score inside in the NBA against seven footers. I have to make a more perimeter game and ball handle more and that's some stuff that I never really did when I grew up."

"Working on my game, hitting jump shots and dribbling more, I feel like I'm very suited," said McCrea.

The 27-year-old McCrea is motivated to make it in the NBA and adding to his legacy.

"It's going to be tough to see my son idolize somebody else," he said. "I just want to make sure that, at least when I played, I just want to make sure that my career was as good as possible so that when he looks back at it, he can say my dad was alright."

Several teams have been in touch with McCrea, but any workouts not likely to happen until early next year.