Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
The Chris McCullough Sweepstakes is over.
The 6-foot-9 2014 New York forward committed to Syracuse on Monday and announced it on Twitter. Alex Kline was the first to report it.
“Cuse Babbbbbyyyy!” McCullough Tweeted.
He is Syracuse’s fourth commit in the last 21 days, following three players in the Class of 2013 — B.J. Johnson, Chinonso Obokoh and Ron Patterson.
McCullough had previously told SNY.tv that Syracuse was the school showing him the most love.
“That’s one school that came to visit me about five times this year for workouts and they keep in touch with a call or text about once a week,” McCullough said recently.
He also considered St. John’s, Florida, Kansas and others.
Brewster (N.H.) Academy coach Jason Smith said he’d like to see McCullough get tougher and more aggressive to take his game to the next level.
“He’s got a ridiculous skill level,” Smith said. “He has the whole package. He can play at the elite level. He can play inside, he can play outside.
“The one thing I would like to see him develop is a little more of a mean streak. He needs to rebound the ball better, be a little bit tougher, more physical in order for him to be one-and-done. He definitely has that capability. He’s a very special talent.”
Said New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski: “There’s no ceiling to his potential. He’s gotta learn to play hard every possession, to play with more sustained intensity.
“But talk about a guy who’s long, a guy who changes ends effortlessly, who explodes off the floor. He has good hands, has a good touch, has some perimeter skill. He’s gotta get tougher, develop more of an inside game and learn to play hard all 40 minutes.
“The fact that he’ll be back another year will give him another year to mature physically and for his nose to calcify.”
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.