THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: A perfect fit

The population of La Grande, Ore., is just over 13,000, but not everyone in that eastern Oregon town just off Interstate 84 knows Max McCullough.

It only seems that way.

Part of it is because of his record-setting basketball career at NAIA Eastern Oregon University, which is heading into a sixth — yes, sixth — season.

Part of it is through his job at the La Grande Country Club, and all the folks met there.

Part of it is through his other jobs through the years — through the sports information department at EOU, writing recaps of soccer games, taking photos and handling social media duties, as well as his work with the local radio station, where he is sometimes a guest on the local sports talk shows.

Part of it is just, well, Max being Max.

"He runs this town; there’s something to be said for that," said Eastern Oregon interim men's basketball coach Chris Kemp, who was an assistant at North Idaho College in the 2016-17 season. "He knows everyone; he’s the guy. If there’s a celebrity in La Grande, Ore., it’s him."

"I don’t know about that," McCullough responded with a laugh. "People make fun of me … they call me 'The Mayor.' I think it’s just because I’ve been here so dang long."

McCullough, who turned 23 in April, became the school's all-time leading scorer (with 2,061 points) during the recent pandemic-shortened spring season.

Because of the pandemic, college players were allowed an extra year of eligibility, which will make McCullough a super senior next year in more ways than one.

The 2016 Post Falls High grad won a state title with the Trojans in 2015 and became a 1,000-point scorer, then played two seasons at Eastern Oregon before sitting out in 2018-19 following surgery on both ankles. He returned in 2019-20, then played his fourth season this past spring.

"That’s why I wasn’t happy with going out the way this season was," McCullough said. "I played all of last season (2019-20), but it was not to the standard of my body and my play, and then this year being what it was, I feel like I haven’t really got started, to be honest with you. I’m ready to come back and have a full, healthy year."

McCullough, a 5-foot-11 guard who hopes to play professionally after college, will obviously add to that record scoring total — even after two coaching changes — as well as spend another year in a town which has adopted him as their own.

"La Grande itself is pretty similar to Post Falls," McCullough said. "The community’s awesome. Just going to the store and having people come up to you and talk basketball … the college town atmosphere ... La Grande has really grown on me. I just kinda fell in love with the place."

Returning for one more college season was one decision. Returning to EOU and La Grande was another.

COLLEGE IS often about fit — finding the level of competition you can excel at, with a program that wants you, in a town you enjoy.

McCullough had interest from NCAA Division II schools, and a few smaller D-I schools, while he played at Post Falls. But that interest slowly went away, likely because bigger schools want bigger players, and while Max had the skills, he didn't have the size.

McCullough was considering going to Boise State as a preferred walk-on. Isaac Williams, who was recruiting him, was director of basketball operations there. But when Williams got the head coaching job at Eastern Oregon — where he had previously coached for four seasons before spending three seasons at BSU — he recruited McCullough to join him in La Grande.

"I was his first recruit ... it was a no-brainer," said McCullough, who also considered North Idaho College because of the Cardinals' success moving players on to Division I schools.

"I wanted to go somewhere where I could make an impact, and play right away. So it turned out to be good. I’m happy where I’m at, and all the accomplishments are just a bonus."

As a freshman, McCullough averaged 12.5 points per game on a team that qualified for the NAIA national tournament for the fifth time in Williams' five total seasons at EOU, reaching the second round.

After that season, Williams left to become head coach at Division II Cal State Monterey Bay. McCullough considered following him there, but opted to stay in La Grande.

That summer, he was playing in open gyms at NIC, where he briefly met Kemp. Months later, when Carlito Labarda Jr. was named coach at Eastern Oregon, he called up to a couple of coaches he knew at NIC, head coach Corey Symons and assistant George Swanson, looking for an assistant.

They recommended Kemp.

"I met him (at NIC) and I didn’t say much," Kemp recalled. "And then I got the job as the assistant (at Eastern Oregon), and I got his number and said 'Hey, you’ve got to stay, you can’t leave.'

"So he was already quite a player. He was in a perfect situation his freshman year, with a couple All-American guards, but he became probably their second-best player, and shot such a high percentage. Then, as we came in his sophomore year, he became the guy, and we ran everything through him, and he had an incredible year his sophomore year for us."

"I had no idea who Kemp was at the time," McCullough recalled. "We had met briefly (at NIC). It was kinda random, we showed up to campus (at EOU) and there he was, someone I recognized from another place. With a whole new coaching staff coming in, having someone who kinda knew who I was and knew what I was about worked out pretty well. After he got the job and was on campus, he was recruiting me pretty good to stay."

McCullough and Kemp have become close over the years, spending a lot of time in the gym together. When Labarda was fired after this past season — the Mountaineers haven't returned to nationals since Williams left — McCullough pushed for Kemp to be promoted to interim coach for the 2021-22 season.

McCullough said he has had that option after every season at Eastern Oregon — to leave for a bigger school, or even for another school in his conference, especially after the coaching changes.

"Max can make a roster at a Big Sky school — he’s that skilled," Kemp said. "We’re trying to get guys that can play at a higher level, but fit here. Max, it’s been a perfect fit for him, not that he can’t play higher. Many of our players have the ability to play at a Division II school, or make a Division I roster.

"Many times at NAIA level, we have skilled players, skills to play at the higher level, but they’re missing something, whether it be the size or athleticism.

"Max is the perfect example. Now he’s the leading scorer in school history, and has had an amazing career, where if he was a role guy for a Big Sky school, just because of his size, and not quite fitting what they’re looking for size-wise, he would have never been a starter or main guy for a Big Sky school, but he could have been a player for them, and he’s good enough to play overseas."

McCullough has played mostly point guard at Eastern Oregon, though Kemp hopes to play him more off the ball this season.

"He could have easily gone higher, but he’s really found his niche where, on a nightly basis, he can be the best player on the floor," Kemp said. "And there’s a lot to be said about being a bigger fish in a smaller pond. We’ve kinda lucked out."

McCullough averaged 22.2 points as a sophomore in 2017-18.

Growing up, his left ankle had often given him problems. Then, the spring after his sophomore year at EOU, he severely sprained his right ankle in an open gym.

Doctors did a ligament reconstruction on his right ankle that summer, which was going to sideline him for the following college season. Since he was going to be sitting out anyway, they suggested a similar procedure on his left ankle, which took place that fall.

Some bone spurs and microfractures were also attended to.

McCullough returned as a redshirt junior in 2019-20.

"It was tough," he recalled. "It was a good year before I could do any sort of physical activity. I couldn’t run, I couldn’t shoot, nothing for a whole year. I got super out of shape, gained a decent amount of weight. My junior year I hadn’t played in over a year before the first day of practice."

Still, he averaged 19.6 points per game, with a high of 41 vs. Pacific.

McCullough said that season "was brutal. Every day was a battle. Not only had I not played basketball in a while, I was rusty, but I couldn’t move very well.

"My rehab was basically practicing and games for the first half of the season. I didn’t get back to myself until the postseason."

This spring, in a 19-game season, he averaged 21.1 points per game, with a high of 43.

Then Labarda was fired.

After another year of weighing his options, McCullough chose to return to Eastern Oregon.

"It was tough, but then again, it wasn’t too tough," he said of his decision. "I was not ready to go out on the year this year was, not even a half season and not really playing for anything. I worked really hard to come back from my ankle surgeries a couple years ago, to get to the point where I am. I wasn’t ready to go out."

McCullough, who graduated with a degree in business administration, with a concentration in marketing and management, along with a minor in communications, was able to extend his master's program, also in business administration.

He hopes to become a coach someday.

"Every year I probably had the chance to go up a level, to D-II or smaller D-I, or whatever, but I never really had that goal," McCullough said. "Yes, it would have been cool to play Division I basketball, but I’m happy where I’m at, the competition is great, and I’m not ready to leave this school behind.

"I want to take EOU back to the national tournament like we did my freshman year. It’s always been in the back of my head to make that step, but I’m happy here."

IN EARLY April, McCullough became Eastern Oregon's all-time leading scorer, during a 32-point night against Warner Pacific in Portland.

It was originally thought that Mark Corollo, who played at EOU from 2004-08 and tallied 1,699 points, had the scoring record. Corollo now coaches boys basketball at La Grande High. But further research showed that Randy Dolven (1963-67) held the record with 1,790 points.

"To leave an imprint on a program like that is super cool, and I wouldn’t want to do it for any other community, or any other school, to be honest with you," McCullough said of setting the record. "I’m really proud of that."

McCullough's biggest improvement during his time at EOU, he and his coach say, has been in getting others involved in the offense. Part of it was trying to expand his game; part of it was out of necessity.

"He actually led our conference in assists this past spring season (averaging 5.5 per game), and that was never really his strength," Kemp said. "He’s kinda got a one-track mind — he can go get a bucket at all three levels. Well now this year I think he’s taken a big step forward as far as making the right basketball play. If he gets doubled, or needs help, he’s able to find the open guy."

"My sophomore year I got double-teamed every game in league," McCullough said. "There have been times I’ve had to step back and let my teammates go and win a game.

"I want to win, no matter what. I’ll go zeroes across the board if we get a win. I think that’s a disadvantage to other teams when they do that, because we’ve got other dudes and we’re going to make you hurt no matter what."

As for next season, Kemp's first in charge after four years as an assistant?

"I hope to get the ball out of his hands, hopefully get some playmakers around him, so it’s not a one-man show," Kemp said. "The key to us being good on a national level is him having other guys around him that are threats. We just can’t have everyone keying in on Max. We’ve had multiple games where they’ve doubled him every time he got the ball, so we’ve got to make teams pay if they’re going to try crazy stuff like that."

One of those "other guys" could be Post Falls High senior guard Caden McLean, who has signed with Eastern Oregon. McCullough has known McLean for more than a dozen years and was in on the recruitment of the Trojans' star, and the chance to share the court with him was another reason to return to EOU.

Because of their age difference, they've never played together.

Not that McCullough is THAT old.

"Believe it or not, at this level, I’m only like the fifth-oldest dude on the team," Max said. "At this level, you get it all. When I came in as a freshman, we had a 27-year-old on the team. NAIA’s a little different. There’s no clock, really. You can just play whenever.

"People always make fun of me being the old man, but if they knew, I’m one of the younger ones."

EARLIER THIS spring, Eastern Oregon (and Kemp) returned to Coeur d'Alene to play NIC in a pair of practice games.

No fans were allowed, because of COVID-19 protocols at the time.

"I wish we’d had fans this year because Max had 47 against NIC the first night we won, and the second night he had 38 and hit a 3 at the buzzer to win it, when we were down two," Kemp said. "He must have got some home cooking ... it was something to watch."

"There were no fans, but my grandpa and my little brother (Brody, a fifth-grader) were able to get in," McCullough recalled. "They deemed them 'workers'. My brother was sweeping the floor and my grandpa, I don’t know what he was doing. It was cool for them to be able to watch those games, and to do what I did."

Kemp said Eastern Oregon hopes to return to NIC prior to the upcoming season for a practice game or two — hopefully with fans allowed in the gym.

Meanwhile, McCullough is looking forward to a healthy, hopefully NAIA tournament-bound season in his final year in La Grande.

With no regrets.

"I like to think I was under-recruited out of high school," McCullough said. "I knew what I could do, and I think size was a big part of that. One of the cool things about our league, we’re a league of small guards, a lot of guards that are Division I guards and professional-level guards, but were small. We have all the skill, if not more skill, than a lot of these big-time dudes, but we’re small. I’m not even 6 foot, and I’ve never felt like the shortest one on the floor at all.

"When you get out there, it (size) really doesn’t have an impact at all, but ... you do kinda get put in this box (by colleges), and people have perceptions on that.

"But that’s one thing I like about this level is, there’s not that. It’s a league of small guards, and we all go out and work on each other, kill on each other every night, so it’s been a lot of fun."

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @CdAPressSports.