Ex-Kodiak looking to maul NBA

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This article was published 01/04/2014 (4237 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A decade after the retirement of 7-0 Todd MacCulloch, Winnipeg could finally see some big-time representation in the National Basketball Association once again.

Local hoopster Chad Posthumus, 23, just completed his senior season with the Morehead State Eagles in Morehead, Ky. and is automatically entered into the 2014 NBA Draft on June 26, where Torontonian Andrew Wiggins of the University of Kansas is tabbed by several analysts to be taken first overall.

Posthumus has been fielding calls from numerous agents — 35 to 40, by his estimation — and he and his family have worked to narrow the list down to the one right fit. Should he be drafted into the NBA, it’ll be based on his rebounding. He was fourth in the entire NCAA with 370 rebounds this past season.

As well, since the statistic was first kept in the 2009-10 season, no NCAA player has a better offensive rebound percentage (the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed when he was on the floor) than Posthumus (18.8 per cent), according to www.sports-reference.com, a site which tracks advanced statistics. Posthumus noted the bulk of his offence comes from getting put-backs from offensive rebounds or getting fouled and scoring the foul shots.

“I feel I could be competitive rebounding right away. My offensive skill set needs some work,” he acknowledged. “I have a great motor. I feel I can run with them up and down the court.
“Jumping to a level like that, the competitiveness is going to be a bit of a culture shock.”

The 6-11 River East Collegiate grad, a centre, started his post-secondary career at the University of British Columbia in 2009-10, had to sit out the following year because of transfer rules, played a year at Howard Community College in Big Spring, Texas, before suiting up the last two seasons with the NCAA Division I Eagles in the hopes of catching the eye of some NBA scouts.

Morehead State head coach Sean Woods agreed that little elements of Posthumus’ offensive game have a ways to go, but the talent and athleticism are there. As well, he said Posthumus’ feel for American basketball is still developing, though it jumped leaps and bounds  in Kentucky.

“His development was good. He was so raw when we got him,” Woods said. “It’s a miraculous feat in two years to end his college basketball career, when he hadn’t played much in two years, to end up as one of the top rebounders in the country.”

Woods said it was clear Posthumus strove to become a dominant player along the backboards, in order to impose his will on other players. Posthumus said he was driven to do whatever it took to improve.

“I wanted to win. I wanted to play hard. I wanted to play my best because I know this is what I wanted to do with life,” Posthumus said in a recent visit home to East St. Paul. “I want to get somewhere with it and use basketball as something to build my life with.”

Posthumus was recruited by several universities, but connected well with assistant coach Brian Ellis which led him to the Bluegrass State. In terms of the gameplay, he noted a seemingly contradictory difference to which he needed to adjust.

“It’s faster, but it’s also slowed down,” Posthumus explained, noting the NCAA shot clock is 35 seconds compared to 24 seconds in the CIS. “Everyone’s moving a lot faster, but everything’s also slowed down based on the shot clock.”

Posthumus recalls a couple of memories that stand out from his time at Morehead State. In one game against rival Marshall in November, he sunk two late free throws to send the game to overtime in a game the Eagles eventually won 102-94. Later that week against host UCLA, which just made the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA’s March Madness tournament, Posthumus made his presence known with a team-leading 21 points and game-high 18 rebounds in an 81-70 defeat.

Posthumus was proud to be able to make such an impact against a storied program, which owns 11 NCAA men’s basketball titles.

“It was a great atmosphere playing against UCLA, which is traditionally a high-powered program,” he said. “I just felt really comfortable playing there against those top-calibre players and in that setting.”

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