March 18, 2010

From Lehigh Athletic Communications

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Lehigh freshman C.J. McCollum was named the 2010 ECAC Rookie of the Year as well as a Third-Team ECAC All-Star on Wednesday. The first-year standout, who is the nation's number-one scoring freshman, was joined on the teams by student-athletes from the likes of Syracuse, Maryland, Duke, Villanova, West Virginia, Georgetown and Temple. The honor came one day after McCollum was named a First-Team All-District Selection by the NABC.

McCollum is the first player in Patriot League history to be named ECAC Rookie of the Year. He becomes the first Patriot Leaguer to earn ECAC All-Star recognition since 1999, and the fifth overall.

McCollum made history earlier this month when he became the first player in Patriot League history to be name the league's Player and Rookie of the Year. McCollum was also named First-Team All-League, as well as to the All-Rookie Team. That same day the 6-3 guard tied the league mark for the most Rookie of the Week awards with his ninth, tying teammate Marquis Hall (2006-07) and Bucknell's Kevin Bettencourt (2002-03). McCollum was also named to the Sporting News All-Freshman Team and the outlet named him its Patriot League Player and Rookie of the Year.

McCollum currently leads the Mountain Hawks and is second in the Patriot League in scoring at 18.9 points per game, and his 605 points this season are the most in Lehigh and Patriot League history. He is also averaging 4.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.3 steals and he is shooting 43% from downtown and 81% from the free throw line.

McCollum and his Mountain Hawk teammates are currently in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma preparing to play in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Lehigh, seeded 16th, will take on the number-one overall seed Kansas Jayhawks on Thursday evening inside Ford Center with tip-off slated for 9:40 PM eastern time on CBS.