“I had to go through the rigors of being a freshman carrying the net bags” CJ McCollum admits playing college basketball ALTERED his NBA career for the better
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CJ McCollum
31-year-old CJ McCollum of the New Orleans Pelicans continues to impress fans with his prowess in the game. Teaming up with Zion Williamson makes the Pelicans a hard force to reckon with. As big of a player McCollum might have become, NOLA’s guard continues to attribute all his success to the basketball he played in college. Famously, he led Lehigh to an unexpected victory over second-seeded Duke in the first round with 30 points.
Speaking on the matter, CJ McCollum recently appeared as a guest on the show “NBA on ESPN” and he spoke about his college basketball career. He said, “Going to school for four years taught me how to run a team, how to lead a team, and also how to follow a team. I had to go through the rigors of being a freshman carrying the net bags, and taking ice packs and trash cans. Then it got to a point where I was the team leader and kind of had to be a liaison for the staff and pulse for the team.”
He continued by saying, “And then you go to the NBA house and your role goes back to being the rookie again you know delivering coffee, carrying bags that kind of stuff but I think I have a greater appreciation for the role. I’ve gone through each phase of being a basketball player and so my perspective is different, I know how a business is run and how to keep our guys in the game”
CJ McCollum’s stint with the New Orleans Pelicans
The Portland Trail Blazers traded McCollum to New Orleans two days before the NBA trade deadline in February. McCollum is a combo guard who can manipulate the ball very well and has fluid stop-and-start actions. He assisted the Pelicans in reaching the playoffs last year. Ahead of the start of the new season, CJ was handed a 2-year extension valued at $64 million with the Pelicans.
During Sunday’s 112-91 victory over the Clippers, CJ McCollum finished with 22 points, five rebounds, three assists and one steal in 32 minutes. McCollum was the one who led the club in scoring, although Zion Williamson garnered much of the attention for his close-to triple-double during his comeback from injury. The All-Star guard has now scored at least 20 points in four of his first six games after recovering from a bad shooting performance against the Suns.
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Abhivyakt Sharma
(270 Articles Published)