Oscar winner Mahershala Ali played college hoops at Saint Mary’s

By ADAM ZAGORIA

Before he won an Oscar for co-starring in the Oscar-winning film “Green Book,” and before he co-starred in the revitalized Season 3 of “True Detective,” Mahershala Ali played Division 1 basketball.

According to Sports Illustrated, he is the first former D-1 player to win an Oscar. Ali won Best Supporting Actor on Sunday night.

Then known as Mahershala Gilmore, or Hershal Gilmore, he played at Saint Mary’s from 1992-96, where he averaged 7.0 points and 1.8 rebounds as a senior. He converted to Islam in 2000, thus the name change.

Mahershala Ali facts:

– Academy Award winner
– Former college hooper ?pic.twitter.com/6Bc577yh1i

— SB Nation (@SBNation) February 25, 2019

Ali told GQ he never thought about a potential pro career and simply wanted a scholarship to college.

“It was about getting a basketball scholarship to a Division I school. Once I got that, I didn’t set a realistic next goal on how to get to the NBA, which is perhaps for the best,” Ali told GQ in August. “I fell into acting. A teacher gave me an opportunity to be in a play and it came a little easy to me. When it got difficult was when I decided to study acting and I went to grad school. I felt like if I got [into NYU] this was what I was supposed to pursue. It just so happened that it worked out.”

Moonlight’s Mahershala Ali college basketball stats. https://t.co/AGniejJ6IZ pic.twitter.com/iavmJYC4hD

— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) February 27, 2017

(Via SI and SB Nation; Photo via Getty Images)

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