By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Media Relations
As a senior at Lehigh, C.J. McCollum broke his foot on January 5, 2013 at VCU. That began a whirlwind year which featured ups, downs and everything in between.
Despite re-breaking his foot in preseason training camp for the Portland Trail Blazers, McCollum made his NBA debut on January 8, 2014 against Orlando, just over one year after his initial injury. Although his rookie season didn’t go exactly as he would have liked, it served as the building block for a successful NBA career.
“C.J. has blazed a trail for our program,” said Mountain Hawks head coach Brett Reed.
When people had doubts, McCollum always had answers.
“I think my first season went pretty well,” he said. “Obviously, I went through some unfortunate circumstances with getting hurt and not being able to finish camp healthy, but I think it went pretty well overall.”
After his initial injury, McCollum worked his way back to become the #10 overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, the first Lehigh player ever selected. He made an immediate impression by leading the Las Vegas Summer League in scoring. After enjoying success early in preseason camp, McCollum broke his foot again last October.
“It’s very disappointing,” said McCollum at the time of the injury. “You want to come in and play, prove yourself and earn your stripes. I was having a good training camp. I was playing well, then you go down with an injury, but at the same time, I’ve been through obstacles before and I look forward to bouncing back.”
Bounce back he certainly did.
Just over three months after the setback and one year after his initial injury, McCollum made his NBA debut.
Unlike most lottery picks who are selected by rebuilding teams, McCollum joined a young and talented Portland squad that was on the upswing. Rather than start every (or almost every) game like 2014 NBA Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams of Philadelphia, McCollum saw significant playing time, but also learned from veterans and experienced winning right from the get-go.
An argument can be made about which is “more” valuable, playing every day on a losing team or seeing limited minutes on a successful team.
“I was in a fortunate situation where I was playing with a guy like Dame (Damian Lillard) and veterans like Mo (Williams), Earl (Watson) and Wesley (Matthews),” said McCollum. “The list goes on and on. I was thankful to be able to learn from them as I was hurt and rehabbing.”
McCollum wound up playing 38 games on the season, averaging 5.3 points and 1.3 rebounds. He reached double-figure points on seven occasions, led by a career-high 19 points to lead Portland to a 117-110 win over Minnesota on February 8. McCollum played a career-high 28 minutes, shooting 6-of-12 from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range while adding three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Portland began shortening its bench, like many NBA teams heading into the playoffs. McCollum continued receiving invaluable experiences just by being around a highly-successful team.
The Trail Blazers finished the regular season tied for the fifth most wins in the NBA, beating Houston in the first round of the playoffs before falling to San Antonio, a team currently in the NBA Finals.
“Being able to watch and see how each game plan is executed, taking part in the practices and just being engaged throughout the process definitely helps your development, whether you’re playing or not,” said McCollum. “A lot of lottery picks are on losing teams. They’re not able to play in the playoffs and advance to the second round against a championship caliber team like the Spurs.”
McCollum played a critical role in practice to help prepare his teammates for talented players like Jeremy Lin of Houston and Manu Ginobili of San Antonio.
“When you go through the playoffs, you go over plays from the other team,” said McCollum. “I played roles as other players, depending on the team and personnel. It was a good opportunity to learn other teams’ plays, see their schemes and see how we execute game plans against their schemes.”
Despite seeing limited minutes, McCollum continued to be a good teammate. When asked of his favorite memory from the season, he answered with a team highlight, even with several strong individual performances from which to choose.
“Obviously one of the best moments was when Dame hit that game-winner [in Game 6 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals],” said McCollum. “If we go back to Houston, you never know what can happen. Being able to be a part of that and watch the execution down the stretch, it was a great moment for our team.”
The focus now shifts to next season. McCollum is looking forward to 2014-15 and a fresh start.
“A clean slate will give me a much better chance to develop and give the coaching staff an opportunity to continue gaining trust in me,” he said. “When you go through the system and you go through the trenches playing with your team, it helps you gain valuable trust from teammates.”
Through the rigors of an NBA season, McCollum certainly hasn’t forgotten his roots. It feels like a long time ago when McCollum last suited up in a Lehigh uniform, but it was actually only 18 months ago. He helped take the Lehigh program to new heights with not only his individual accolades. He also led the Mountain Hawks to two Patriot League Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances, including a historic 2012 tournament victory over Duke.
Without Lehigh, the NBA may not have been possible. Too often in this day and age, the focus is on basketball and how a player develops on the court rather than development of the overall person. McCollum also grew off the court at Lehigh which is benefiting him at the next level, too.
“Having gone through the grueling academic schedule and having to balance academics and athletics allows you to balance things a lot better once you get to the NBA because your time is very valuable,” said McCollum. “Everything Lehigh was able to afford me, from going through various academies to building relationships with teammates, building relationships with staff and talking to the media, has proven beneficial. These experiences have paid wonders for my NBA career so far, on and off the court.”
“C.J. continues to represent Lehigh University in tremendous ways, not only with the way he competes as an athlete, but also with his professional curiosity in utilizing his academic background to publish articles in Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Forbes Magazine and more,” said Reed. “He took initiative to host a weekly radio program on Sirius satellite radio.
“All these examples are indications that C.J. really grew from his experience here, as a basketball player, as a person, as a scholar, as somebody who’s a community leader and as somebody who’s going to capitalize on his professional future within sport and beyond sport,” Reed continued.
McCollum made a choice to come back to Lehigh during the All-Star break, visiting Stabler Arena for the Mountain Hawks’ game vs. Holy Cross in February. It was continued proof of Lehigh’s impact on him.
“I had some down time, so I thought it was good to come back to my alma mater and check out some of my friends, family and loved ones,” said McCollum. “Especially since I have a very good relationship with each and every one of the players and staff, I wanted to make sure I came back to support them. I’m thankful I was able to spend some time with my former teammates. We built relationships over our careers that will last forever.”
It looked like McCollum could be selected for the Rookie–Sophomore game at All-Star Weekend, but he hadn’t played in enough games to qualify so decided to spend his All-Star Break at Lehigh.
“C.J. took probably his only break through a very long NBA season to do what? Come to Lehigh University and our campus,” said Reed. “I think that speaks to his affinity to this place and certainly shows the kind of love that he had for his experience here.”
C.J. keeps in constant contact with Lehigh coaches and players.
“I talk to Coach Reed once a month or so,” said McCollum. “Coach Wyche is frequently in contact with me, asking me how the games are going. I talk to Coach Krueger frequently. Things are so busy that I snapchat a lot of my teammates because that’s an easy and fun way to connect. It’s great to keep these relationships alive.”
Now, McCollum is focused on the summer ahead and looks to put himself in the best position possible heading into next year’s training camp. He was home in Ohio after the season, working with his trainer Chris Downing, and recently got back to Portland for workouts along with several of the younger players.
In many ways, McCollum is just like any other Lehigh graduate enjoying success after graduation. The biggest difference is the added exposure that comes with playing in the NBA.
Being the first in anything is also important. It’s fitting that McCollum plays for Portland because he’s a trail blazer for the Lehigh program. Even when Lehigh sends additional players to the NBA, there will always be extra significance with what McCollum has achieved.
“I think any time our graduates have success, whether it’s owning their own business, working at a Fortune 500 company or being a professional athlete, all those success stories speak very highly of this institution,” said Reed. “C.J. is able to play basketball at the world’s highest level. It’s a blueprint and a benchmark that if you’re a very talented player, you have the opportunity to get the best of both worlds. Not only can you get one of the top degrees in the country, but if you’re good enough, you can also have the chance to play professionally.
“C.J. has blazed a trail for our program.”
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