Education
East. East. Smith (Fayetteville, North Carolina). A native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, McCollum attended his hometown"s East. East. Smith High School.
basketball coach teacher basketball player
East. East. Smith (Fayetteville, North Carolina). A native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, McCollum attended his hometown"s East. East. Smith High School.
McCollum played in numerous countries during a four-year career between 1996 and 2000 after a highly successful collegiate career at Western Carolina University. As of the 2013-2014 season he serves as an assistant coach at his alma mater. In a game played on March 5, 1992, he set a then-state record with 24 three-point field goal attempts, which was later broken in 2004.
Of the 24 attempts, McCollum made 11, which was also a state record at the time.
McCollum played for the Western Carolina Catamounts between 1992-1993 and 1995-1996. As a freshman he secured a Southern Conference (SoCon) All-Freshmen Team selection.
Between his sophomore and senior seasons, McCollum earned three All-SoCon Tournament selections, was a two-time First Team All-SoCon player, and in 1995-1996 he was named both the conference player of the year as well as the conference tournament"s Most Valuable Player. That season, McCollum averaged 25 points per game (ranked fifth nationally) and led the Catamounts to one of the most historic seasons in school history. Western Carolina began the 1995-1996 season with a 3–10 overall record, but rattled off 11 wins in their final 13 games to clinch the Southern Conference South Division title with a 10–4 conference record.
That was the school"s first-ever SoCon basketball title.
By winning the 1996 SoCon Tournament (of which McCollum was named Most Valuable Player), Western Carolina clinched its first National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament berth. In the 1996 National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament, Western Carolina nearly became the first #16-seed to defeat a #1-seed when they narrowly lost to Purdue 73–71 in the opening round. Following his collegiate career, McCollum did not get selected in the 1996 National Basketball Association Draft.
He instead played professionally overseas, spending time in five different countries in four years before returning home to play in the United States Basketball League – his final stop before retiring.
McCollum played in France (1996-1997), Venezuela (1997-1999), Colombia (1998), Hong Kong (1998), and the Dominican Republic (2000) during his tenure. In 2004-2005 he became an official assistant coach for the men"s basketball team at his alma mater.
The Catamounts then went on to win all three SoCon Tournament games, including a win over Davidson, who at the time was on a 19-game winning streak. After returning to the United States in 2000, he returned to Western Carolina University to finish attaining his degree in Computer Information Systems.