BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh junior guard C.J. McCollum was named an Associated Press honorable mention All-American on Monday. It marks McCollum’s second-career AP All-America honor after also earning the distinction as a freshman. He is one of only two Mountain Hawks all-time to earn the honor, along with Austen Rowland in 2004.
McCollum is the 11th consecutive Patriot League Player of the Year named Honorable Mention All-America by the AP, and the 14th overall AP All-America selection from the league. He was the only Patriot Leaguer to garner All-America honors this season.
For the complete list of AP All-Americans, please click here.
A two-time Patriot League Player of the Year, McCollum led Lehigh to its first-ever NCAA Tournament, defeating Duke 75-70 to become only the sixth 15 seed to defeat a 2 seed in tournament history. The Mountain Hawks then became the first 15 seed to lead their ensuing game at the half, as Lehigh led Xavier, 37-33, after 20 minutes.
The honors continue to roll in for McCollum; he’s been named a National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) First Team All-District selection for the third straight year while garnering Lute Olson All-America honors as well.
McCollum averaged 21.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, shooting 81.1 percent from the free throw line and 44.3 percent from the field along with a team-leading 124 assists. He currently owns 2,074 career points, good for second in school history and third in league history, just 150 behind the Patriot League mark (2,224). On Tuesday, McCollum declared for the 2012 NBA Draft, but has not and does not intend to hire an agent, which means he would be eligible to return to Lehigh for his senior season if he withdraws from the draft before the first day of the spring National Letter of Intent period (which this year begins on April 11).
Like Lehigh Men’s Basketball on Facebook for exclusive content
Leave a Reply