Ronnie McCollum

McCollum was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but grew up in Fayette. He attended Fayette County High School from 1993–94 to 1996–97 where he was a star basketball player. He averaged 17 points per game (ppg) as a freshman, 20 ppg as a sophomore, 22 ppg as a junior and then finished second in the state in scoring as a senior with 30 ppg. In his final two seasons, McCollum was a 5A All-State selection and conference MVP awardee as FCHS finished ranked in the top five in the state. For his high school career, he recorded 2,204 points, 750 rebounds, 400 assists and 150 steals. McCollum signed to play NCAA Division I basketball at the Centenary College of Louisiana on April 23, 1997. ==College career==

McCollum made an immediate impact at Centenary as he led the team in scoring at 17.5 ppg during his freshman season. McCollum was an Honorable Mention All-America selection and named to the All-Independent Conference First Team. ==Professional career==

After graduating college with a bachelor's degree in Health and Science Exercise, McCollum played for the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Summer League. He had gone undrafted in the 2001 NBA draft, and when no teams signed him as a free agent, he took his game abroad. Between 2001–02 and 2009–10, McCollum played for seven teams in five countries, (China, Austria, Portugal, Belgium and Cyprus.) He won the Belgian 2nd Division league championship in 2008–09 and was named the season MVP, Guard of the Year and Import Player of the Year while averaging 14 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. The only season McCollum has missed since turning professional was in 2005–06. He had signed a contract in Saint-Étienne, France, but he ruptured his Achilles tendon in the third practice of the season. Up through the 2008–09 basketball season, McCollum holds professional career averages of 17.8 points, 3.5 rebounds 1.7 assists and 2.6 threes made per game. ==Coaching career==

On April 9, 2017, McCollum was announced as the new head coach for Limburg United of the Belgian Basketball League for the 2017–18 season. On November 17, 2017, McCollum was fired by Limburg after a 2–6 start. ==Honors and awards==

;High school • Sectional champion (1994) • 2× conference MVP • 4× all-conference selection • 4× all-area performer • Second in state scoring average (1997) • 2× top five team in state (1996, 1997) ;College • 4× Centenary leading scorer • 4× All-Conference (inc. Independent) • School record for points in a season (787) • Fifth most three-pointers in a season by a freshman in NCAA history (101) • School record 345 three-pointers • Nation's leading scorer as a senior (29.1 ppg) • Also led in free throws made (214) • Fifth in free throw shooting percentage (90.7%) • Honorable Mention All-America (2001) • 2001 Louisiana Player Of The Year • Shreveport, Louisiana named March 13, 2001 as "Ronnie McCollum Day" ;Professional • League all-star (2003, 2004) • First team All-Import and Second Team All-Portugal (2004) • Free throw percentage leader (2004) • Belgian league season record of 88 three-pointers (2005) • Led Belgian league in three-pointers made [83] and second in three-point percentage (2007) • Team's best overall league record (2009) • League champion (2009) • MVP, guard of the year and import player of the year (2009) ==Personal==

McCollum has one daughter and son by his wife, Miek, whom he met while playing in Belgium. He is an only child of parents Ronnie and Beverly McCollum. His uncle is Cedric Wright, who was a standout defensive football player at Memphis State and is still ranked in the top 10 for many defensive statistical categories, while his cousin is Mike Davis, the current head men's basketball coach for the Detroit Mercy Titans. ==See also==