C. J. McCollum

C. J. McCollum

McCollum with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2015.
No. 3 – Portland Trail Blazers
Position Shooting guard
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1991-09-19) September 19, 1991
Canton, Ohio
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight 200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school GlenOak (Canton, Ohio)
College Lehigh (2009–2013)
NBA draft 2013 / Round: 1 / Pick: 10th overall
Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers
Playing career 2013–present
Career history
2013–present Portland Trail Blazers
2014 →Idaho Stampede (D-League)
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Christian James "C. J." McCollum (born September 19, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). During his third year in the league in 2015–16, he was named the NBA Most Improved Player.

McCollum played college basketball for the Lehigh Mountain Hawks, and was the Patriot League Men's Basketball Player of the Year in both 2010 and 2012. He was selected by Portland with the 10th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft. After two seasons as a reserve, he became a full-time starter for the Trail Blazers.

High school career

McCollum was greatly undersized as a freshman at GlenOak High School in Canton, Ohio in 2005, standing just 5'2" tall.[1] He was the beneficiary of a late growth spurt, however, gaining 5 inches in height by the beginning of his second season and another 4 inches by the start of his junior year — enough size to put him on the radar for college recruitment.[1] In the first game of his junior year, McCollum scored 54 points to establish a new school record for single game scoring proficiency.[1]

Throughout his high school years McCollum continued to work on his shooting stroke, a successful effort reflected by his 29.3 points per game average during his senior year.[1] McCollum graduated as the leading scorer in Golden Eagles history with 1405 career points and was named as the Gatorade Ohio Boys Basketball Player of the Year for the 2008–09 season.[1]

College career

McCollum, listed at 6'3" and just 165 pounds, came to Lehigh in 2009 and made an instant impact.[1] In his freshman year, McCollum averaged 19.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. He made Patriot League history as he was the first freshman to be named conference player of the year.[2] In addition, he was named an AP honorable mention All-American. He led the Mountain Hawks to the 2010 NCAA Tournament, where he scored 26 points in a first-round loss to top seed Kansas.[3]

As a sophomore, McCollum increased his averages to 21.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. However, his shooting percentages and Lehigh's record slipped and McCollum was beaten out for conference player of the year honors by Bucknell's Mike Muscala. He was named first team All-Conference.[3]

As a junior, McCollum was again named Patriot League player of the year and earned his third straight first team all-conference designation.[4]

In the 2012 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, he scored 30 points as Lehigh won its first game against the Duke Blue Devils by 75–70, only the sixth time that a 15th seed had defeated a 2nd seed and the second of the night.[5]

McCollum's body continued to mature during his college years and he added 30 pounds of muscle during the interval.[1] Although he was already considered a top NBA draft prospect during his junior year, he explained his reasons for continuing his education at Lehigh in an article that he wrote for Sporting News.[6]

On November 25, 2012, McCollum scored 26 points in a 91–77 win over Sacred Heart, surpassing Rob Feaster as the Patriot League's all-time leading scorer.[7] On January 5, 2013, McCollum broke his left foot in a game versus Virginia Commonwealth University, ending his season. He was a 2012–13 Senior CLASS Award finalist.[8]

College awards and honors

College statistics

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2009–10 Lehigh 333131.9.459.421.8105.02.41.3.219.1
2010–11 Lehigh 313134.5.399.315.8457.82.12.5.721.8
2011–12 Lehigh 353533.1.443.341.8116.53.52.6.521.9
2012–13 Lehigh 121231.0.495.516.8495.02.91.4.323.9

Professional career

Portland Trail Blazers (2013–present)

2013–14 season

Despite his injury ending his career with Lehigh, McCollum became the first Lehigh player ever drafted when he was taken 10th overall in the 2013 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. On July 11, 2013, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Trail Blazers[9] and went on to play for the team in the 2013 NBA Summer League where he averaged 21 points and four rebounds per game.

When the 2013 rookie class convened for its annual photo shoot and filled out its NBA.com Rookie Survey, the class voted McCollum as the co-favorite 2013–14 Rookie of the Year (with Victor Oladipo).[10] McCollum sat out the first six weeks of the season with a foot injury. On January 1, 2014, he was assigned to the Idaho Stampede.[11] After being recalled by the Trail Blazers on January 5, he made his NBA debut three days later, scoring four points in a 110–94 win over the Orlando Magic.[12] On February 8, he scored a season-high 19 points in a 117–110 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.[13]

2014–15 season

On October 27, 2014, the Trail Blazers exercised their third-year team option on McCollum's rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2015–16 season.[14] On April 29, 2015, McCollum scored a then career-high 33 points in Portland's first-round playoff loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.[15]

2015–16 season

On September 30, 2015, the Trail Blazers exercised their fourth-year team option on McCollum's rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2016–17 season.[16] With the departures of Nicolas Batum, LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews and Robin Lopez, McCollum was elevated to the starting shooting guard spot for the 2015–16 season, teaming up with point guard Damian Lillard. On October 28, 2015, McCollum scored a career-high 37 points (including 22 points in the first quarter) in the Trail Blazers' 112–94 season opening win over the New Orleans Pelicans.[17] With an injury to Lillard in late December, McCollum moved over to the point. On December 27, he recorded 35 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in a 98–94 win over the Sacramento Kings. No Blazers player in the previous 29 years had put up numbers similar to McCollum's near triple-double. Clyde Drexler had at least 34 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists on five occasions.[18] McCollum returned to the starting shooting guard on January 4 following the return of Lillard from injury.[19] On February 12, he was named as a participant in the 2016 Three-Point Contest.[20] On April 5, he recorded his eighth 30-point game of the season in a 115–107 win over the Sacramento Kings.[21] McCollum finished the regular season with an average of 20.8 points per game, while Damian Lillard averaged 25.1 – making them the first backcourt in Blazers' history to average 20 or more points apiece.[22] McCollum subsequently earned NBA Most Improved Player honors for the 2015–16 season.[23]

NBA 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

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2013–14 Portland 38 0 12.5 .416 .375 .676 1.3 .7 .4 .1 5.3
2014–15 Portland 62 3 15.7 .436 .396 .699 1.5 1.0 .7 .1 6.8
2015–16 Portland 80 80 34.8 .448 .417 .827 3.2 4.3 1.2 .3 20.8
Career 180 83 23.5 .443 .408 .784 2.2 2.4 .9 .2 12.7

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014 Portland 6 0 4.0 .091 .000 1.000 .2 .0 .0 .0 .7
2015 Portland 5 1 33.2 .560 .478 .769 4.0 .4 1.2 .2 17.0
Career 11 1 17.3 .423 .393 .800 1.9 .2 .5 .1 8.1

Personal life

McCollum's older brother, Errick, is also a professional basketball player. McCollum is interested in journalism, and has written material for various websites regarding the NBA.[24] He has also interviewed NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.[25]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Freeman, Joe (July 9, 2013). "McCollum's Desire is Just the Right Size: The Once-Slender Guard Has Blossomed into a Hard-Working Playmaker". The Oregonian. pp. D1, D4.
  2. ↑ "Patriot League Men's Basketball All-League Teams and Awards Announced". Retrieved November 14, 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Lehigh athletics biography". Retrieved November 14, 2011.
  4. ↑ "2011–12 Men's Basketball All-Patriot League Teams and Major Awards Announced" (Press release). Patriot League. February 27, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
  5. ↑ Housenick, Tom (March 16, 2012). "NCAA basketball: Lehigh pulls off monumental upset of Duke". The Morning Call. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  6. ↑ "C.J. McCollum: Why I'm returning to Lehigh for my senior year". Sporting News. April 9, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  7. ↑ "McCollum breaks record in 91–77 win at Sacred Heart". Lehigh University. November 25, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Hulls Named Finalist for Senior CLASS Award". IUHoosiers.com. February 6, 2013. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Trail Blazers sign rookie CJ McCollum". OregonLive.com. July 11, 2013. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  10. ↑ Schuhmann, John (August 26, 2013). "Magic's Oladipo among rookie favorites to stand out in 2013–14". NBA.com. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Trail Blazers assign CJ McCollum to D-League". InsideHoops.com. January 1, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Notebook: Blazers 110, Magic 94". NBA.com. January 8, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  13. ↑ "C.J. McCollum 2013-14 Game Log". Baksetball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  14. ↑ "TRAIL BLAZERS EXERCISE TEAM OPTIONS ON MEYERS LEONARD AND CJ MCCOLLUM". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. October 27, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Grizzlies advance, beating Trail Blazers 99-93 in Game 5". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. April 29, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Trail Blazers Exercise Team Options On McCollum, Plumlee and Vonleh". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. September 30, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  17. ↑ "McCollum scores 37 as Blazers down Pelicans 112-94". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. October 28, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  18. ↑ "McCollum scores 35 as Trail Blazers beat Kings 98-94". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. December 27, 2015. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Randolph leads Grizzlies to 91-78 win over Trail Blazers". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. January 4, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  20. ↑ "CJ MCCOLLUM TO COMPETE IN FOOT LOCKER THREE-POINT CONTEST AT NBA ALL-STAR WEEKEND". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. February 12, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  21. ↑ "McCollum has 30 as Trail Blazers beat Kings 115-107". NBA.com. April 5, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Playoff destination sealed, Blazers beat Nuggets 107-99". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. April 13, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Blazers' McCollum named Kia NBA Most Improved Player". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. April 22, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  24. ↑ "C.J. MCCOLLUM: 'MORE THAN JUST A BASKETBALL PLAYER'". June 27, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  25. ↑ "CJ SITS DOWN WITH THE COMMISH". NBA. July 9, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2015.

External links

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