BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh junior guard C.J. McCollum was one of only 25 players in the nation named a 2012 Lute Olson All-American, as announced on Tuesday. McCollum joins elite company as 14 of the 25 were from a BCS conference, including Harrison Barnes of North Carolina, Anthony Davis of Kentucky and more. McCollum was the only Patriot League player honored after averaging 21.9 points and 6.5 rebounds while leading the team with 124 assists on the season.
McCollum is now eligible for the Lute Olson Award, presented annually to the nation’s top Division I player who has played at least two seasons with his respective team. Freshmen and first-year transfers can be named to the All-America team, but are not eligible to receive the Player of the Year honors.
McCollum capped off a tremendous season in style this past weekend, scoring 30 points in a historic 75-70 win over Duke. He added six rebounds and six assists in a dominant all-around effort. Lehigh became the sixth 15 seed to defeat a two seed, and second of the day (after Norfolk State topped Missouri mere hours earlier).
The Duke win has garnered endless national attention for the Mountain Hawks, in outlets like ESPN’s SportsCenter, CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated and much more. It marked Lehigh’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win and only the third by a Patriot League squad.
McCollum surpassed the 2,000 career point mark in the Patriot League Semifinals vs. American; he currently stands at 2,074, good for second in school and third in league history, just 150 from tying the record of 2,224.
The Lute Olson Award is named in honor of coaching great Lute Olson, who won 780 games in 34 seasons, 24 of which were spent at the University of Arizona. During that stretch he led the Wildcats to 11 Pac-10 Conference titles, 23 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, four Final Four appearances and a National Championship in 1997.
The winner of the 2012 Lute Olson Award will be announced on March 30 in New Orleans, site of the NCAA men’s basketball championship. Connecticut’s Kemba Walker was the recipient of the 2011 award.
| Harrison Barnes | 6-8 | So. | North Carolina |
| Isaiah Canaan | 6-0 | Jr. | Murray State |
| D.J. Cooper | 5-11 | Jr. | Ohio |
| Jae Crowder | 6-6 | Sr. | Marquette |
| Anthony Davis | 6-10 | Fr. | Kentucky |
| Marcus Denmon | 6-3 | Sr. | Missouri |
| Michael Kidd-Gilchrist | 6-7 | Fr. | Kentucky |
| Michael Glover | 6-7 | Sr. | Iona |
| Draymond Green | 6-7 | Sr. | Michigan State |
| Tu Holloway | 6-0 | Sr. | Xavier |
| Scoop Jardine | 6-2 | Sr. | Syracuse |
| Kevin Jones | 6-8 | Sr. | West Virginia |
| Orlando Johnson | 6-5 | Sr. | UC Santa Barbara |
| Damian Lillard | 6-3 | Jr. | Weber State |
| Scott Machado | 6-1 | Sr. | Iona |
| Kendall Marshall | 6-4 | So. | North Carolina |
| C.J. McCollum | 6-3 | Jr. | Lehigh |
| Doug McDermott | 6-7 | So. | Creighton |
| Mike Moser | 6-8 | So. | UNLV |
| Andrew Nicholson | 6-9 | Sr. | St. Bonaventure |
| Austin Rivers | 6-4 | Fr. | Duke |
| Thomas Robinson | 6-10 | Jr. | Kansas |
| Mike Scott | 6-8 | Sr. | Virginia |
| Jared Sullinger | 6-5 | So. | Ohio State |
| Tyler Zeller | 7-0 | Sr. | North Carolina |
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