Anquell McCollum (born 1973) is an American college basketball assistant coach for

Fayetteville State University Fayetteville State University (FSU) is a public historically black university in Fayetteville, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina System and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. History The second oldest state support ...

. McCollum previously coached college and high school basketball, and as a professional player he competed in numerous countries during a four-year career between 1996 and 2000. His collegiate career at

Western Carolina University Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. The fifth oldest institution of the sixteen four-year universities in the UNC system, WCU was founded t ...

was also successful, as he was named the Southern Conference Player of the Year in 1996.

Early life

A native of

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville () is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-America C ...

, McCollum attended his hometown's E. E. Smith High School. In a game played on March 5, 1992, he set a then-state record with 24

three-point field goal A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two poi ...

attempts, which was later broken in 2004. Of the 24 attempts, McCollum made 11, which was also a state record at the time.

College and professional careers

McCollum played for the

Western Carolina Catamounts The Western Carolina Catamounts are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Western Carolina University. The Catamounts compete in the NCAA Division I as members of the Southern Conference. Western Carolina fields 16 varsity sports te ...

between 1992–93 and 1995–96. As a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

he secured a

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...

(SoCon) All-Freshmen Team selection. Between his

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

and

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

seasons, McCollum earned three All- SoCon tournament selections, was a two-time First Team All-SoCon player, and in 1995–96 he was named both the conference player of the year as well as the conference tournament's MVP. 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 1995–96 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. The Catamounts then went on to win all three SoCon Tournament games, including a win over

Davidson Davidson may refer to: * Davidson (name) * Clan Davidson, a Highland Scottish clan * Davidson Media Group * Davidson Seamount, undersea mountain southwest of Monterey, California, USA * Tyler Davidson Fountain, monument in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA * ...

, who at the time was on a 19-game winning streak. By winning the 1996 SoCon Tournament (of which McCollum was named MVP), Western Carolina clinched its first NCAA tournament berth. In the 1996 NCAA tournament, Western Carolina nearly became the first #16-seed to defeat a #1-seed when they narrowly lost to

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

73–71 in the opening round. Following his collegiate career, McCollum did not get selected in the

1996 NBA draft The 1996 NBA draft was the 50th draft in the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held on June 26, 1996 at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting college basketball play ...

. 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 The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...

– his final stop before retiring. McCollum played in France (1996–97), Venezuela (1997–99), Colombia (1998), Hong Kong (1998), and the Dominican Republic (2000) during his tenure.

Coaching career

After returning to the United States in 2000, he returned to Western Carolina University to finish attaining his degree in Computer Information Systems. Between 2000 and 2004, and aside from obtaining his degree, McCollum worked as a middle school computer skills teacher and then as an assistant director of admissions for Western Carolina. In 2004–05 he became an official assistant coach for the men's basketball team at his ''alma mater'', a position he held for 14 seasons. In 2018–19 he spent one season as the head coach for Freedom Christian Academy in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The next year, he accepted an assistant coaching position at

References

External links

Western Carolina coach profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mccollum, Anquell 1973 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Colombia American expatriate basketball people in the Dominican Republic American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Hong Kong American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from North Carolina Basketball players from North Carolina Hermine Nantes Basket players High school basketball coaches in North Carolina Fayetteville State Broncos basketball coaches Schoolteachers from North Carolina Shooting guards Sportspeople from Fayetteville, North Carolina Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball coaches Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball players