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In 2013, the Portland Trail Blazers chose CJ McCollum with the No. 10 pick. McCollum spent four years at Lehigh University in Eastern Pennsylvania. He became the only Lehigh player ever drafted in the NBA. The small-school guard might have lacked pedigree, but he didn’t lack confidence. “I knew during training camp his rookie year,” Damian Lillard told The Times-Picayune. “It was my second year. He came in right away. Nobody could guard him.”
So obviously the NBA is braced for it, for any fallout, or maybe there won’t be fallout. Do you have a sense of what the public reaction will be? Donaghy: We showed it last week at Lehigh University to about 500 people and I can tell you that they loved it. It was a good feeling for me because people came up to Tommy and I afterward and said they admired the fact that we put our story out there and how it can be a lesson to everyone about making good choices. Because it really affected our families tremendously. With that being said I think there’s a great message in the movie. I think that aspect of it is going to be a home run. I do have to say they did a great job of it.
Me: I wanted to ask you about your shoe deal with Li Ning, and how you researched that before you decided. What was important to you? CJ McCollum: A lot of things were important. I think the biggest thing is going somewhere where you’re wanted and needed. I always say that mutual admiration. It’s kind of how I chose Lehigh, and Lehigh chose me. It was a situation where we both felt like we could help each other, help one another, them being a big brand in a place like Asia, having that big influence and being able to help them branch out to the United States -- more specifically, Portland, Oregon, and Canton, Ohio, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Obviously those cities will become more familiar with the brand.
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CJ McCollum and Li-Ning announced Friday that the 6-4 guard out of Lehigh had signed a multi-year endorsement deal to join the Chinese sportswear company. McCollum, who was previously with Nike, now joins the likes of Dwyane Wade and teammate Evan Turner as NBA athletes under the Li-Ning umbrella.
Jeremy Woo: Lehigh big man Tim Kempton will play summer league with the Milwaukee Bucks, his agent @ronniezeidel tells me.
Among the five other players who worked out: Former Phoenix Brophy Prep star Tim Kempton Jr., a Lehigh product and son of Suns radio color analyst Tim Kempton. Also working out: French guard Mathias Lessort, Miami guard Davon Reed, New Mexico forward Tim Williams and Syracuse guard Andrew White III.
Brett Reed, CJ McCollum's coach at Lehigh University, on how Damian Lillard and McCollum fit alongside each other: "You've got two guys that I think are really vested into winning. And because of that commitment to winning, more so than even their own personal accolades, you're seeing the team kind of follow that lead and exceed expectations, grow and develop. And I think they found a way to really complement and support each other in a great way that builds a strong team."
In just his third season, McCollum seems to already have his next career set whenever it's time for him to hang up his Nikes. Each week, McCollum effortlessly navigates one of his two radio shows; he also has a weekly sports talk morning show on 620 Rip City Radio. Since graduating from Lehigh University with a degree in journalism in 2013, McCollum has updated his media portfolio across multiple platforms. He has written articles, including a Q&A for The Players' Tribune with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in which McCollum persuaded Silver to reveal his favorite Jay Z lyric. In addition to hosting his two radio shows, McCollum has conducted on-air interviews with players during the NBA Finals.
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McCollum's senior year at Lehigh ended when he suffered a Jones fracture, which is a broken bone at the base of the small toe. McCollum had surgery, placing a screw in his foot. Then, in training camp with the Blazers last year, McCollum re-broke the foot at the start of training camp. This time, McCollum opted for a non-surgical ultrasound procedure. "There are methods you can do besides getting surgery, but it's his first break, so I'm sure they'll probably recommend surgery," McCollum said. "Either way, it's a tough injury to recover from, depending on if it's broken through all the way, the placement of the screw. There's a lot of things that go into it, but if they say four to six (weeks), it's probably more like eight to 10."
A Trail Blazers video, produced in-house, appeared briefly online on Wednesday, showing the candid behind- scenes activity in Portland's draft room. It was pulled down almost immediately which was too bad because it humanized the organization like never before. But the most striking frames in the video were of a smiling, beaming Olshey working the room shortly after the Blazers picked CJ McCollum with the No. 10 pick. Getting McCollum stoked Olshey so much that after he said, "CJ McCollum, Lehigh University..." he set down the phone, clapped with the rest of the room, and then, as he prepared to sit back in his chair beside owner Paul Allen, the general manager slapped Allen on the knee in a "How about that!?!?" punctuation gesture. The Blazers scouts and Allen's advisors were all smiling. I figured Olshey would be vaporized by the Vulcans by the time fireworks went off Thursday. Instead, he was back at it, with a trade that makes Portland better.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have evaluated another group of draft prospects, highlighted by Lehigh guard C.J. McCollum. McCollum was watched by team officials at the Target Center practice court on Tuesday. McCollum worked out by himself. Before that, Illinois guard Brandon Paul, Georgia Tech forward Glen Rice Jr., Brazil forward Augusto Lima, Oregon forward Arsalan Kazemi and England forward Ashley Hamilton were in a practice group together. Rice is projected by most analysts to be a second-round selection.
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