Rookie Chris McCullough may not play for the Nets this season, but he’s still making himself a part of the Brooklyn community. McCullough spent Wednesday at Ingersoll Community Center with 80 kids as part of the Brooklyn Bridge basketball program, according to The Brooklyn Paper:
“The kids had a great time,” said Khalid Green, founder of the Brooklyn Bridge basketball program, who helped the organize the event. “It was special for them to meet an NBA player, shake hands with him, ask him questions, and get his autograph.”
About 80 kids turned out for the event, and were treated to T-shirts made specially for the day, along with cupcakes courtesy of Tonnies Minis — a family-owned bakery in Manhattan where McCullough’s uncle and manager Andre McCullough works.
Green, who got his start as a high school basketball coach at Bishop Laughlin High School in Fort Greene, is also a regional scout for the Nets.
It remains unclear whether or not McCullough, who spent one year at Syracuse, will play this season after tearing his ACL in January. Nets general manager Billy King was coy about it on draft night, saying it was too early to project. But he did refer to McCullough as the team’s de facto 2016 first-round pick. The Nets do not own a first-round pick in 2016.
“We don’t have a lot of picks, so we’re trying to find a lot of diamonds in the rough, guys that can bridge the gap for us so to speak with the youth movement… so next year I look at McCullough as our first round pick,” King said in July.
For what it’s worth, McCullough has also spent time working out in the Nets facility, showing a little renewed bounce… even throwing down some dunks.
The Brooklyn Paper — Hang time: Brooklyn kids shoot the breeze with rookie Nets star
