C.J. McCollum's Decision

        Many of the names we have been hearing declare for the draft recently are no-brainers: Jared Sullinger, Thomas Robinson, etc… so Lehigh's junior combo-guard C.J. McCollum may be the first real mini-"shock" in returning to school, although there are certainly many more to come. The 6'3" McCollum was a two-time Patriot League Player of the Year, averaging 21.9 points (ranking 6th in the country), 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.6 steals (5th in the country) per game in collecting his second piece of conference hardware. But it was Lehigh's explosion onto the national scene in their upset Tournament win over Duke that sent McCollum's stock soaring: he netted 30 points, getting to the foul line 16 times and filling up the stat-sheet with 6 rebounds and 6 assists.

        With his ability to play both backcourt spots, scouts were warming up to the fact that the junior Mountain Hawk was going to be a late-first-round pick in June. If he were a few inches taller, he would have surely been a mid-first-round pick and what's surprising about McCollum's move is that his stock most likely will not get any higher. He's shown he can produce and stand out in the Patriot League and was coming off one of the most prolific upsets of NCAA Tournament history.


By President Corey Ruff - 4 - 10 - 12