Lehigh Retiring McCollum’s Jersey on Sunday

Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum will have his number retired by his alma mater, Lehigh, this weekend. Craig Larimer of the Morning Call caught up with some of McCollum’s former associates and they had only positive things to say about the Blazers star.

Joe Sterrett, Lehigh dean of athletics:

“From my perspective, he is the most visible example we have of someone who demonstrated through their behavior and their deep and sincere commitment that you can be all that you want to be. He became a really good student. I don’t think his first year he was terrific, but his last couple of years, he was a Dean’s List student. He committed himself academically in the same way he did in basketball, where he was always the first one in the gym, always the last one to leave, always looking for an opportunity to get up more shots.

Brett Reed, Lehigh head coach:

“He always had a confidence about him that came across as being calm and controlled, but not arrogant. I think it was comforting, because no matter what the situation was, he never really got rattled. Even as a freshman, he didn’t get rattled. I think that allowed other people to play with a great deal of confidence.

McCollum graduated form Lehigh in 2012 as the school’s second all-time leading scorer.