C. J. Massinburg

Christian Jalon Massinburg (born April 14, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for Pallacanestro Brescia of Lega Basket Serie A. He played college basketball for the Buffalo Bulls. He was named the 2019 Mid-American Conference Player of the Year. He previously played for the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League and Limoges CSP of the LNB Pro A.

C. J. Massinburg
Massinburg in 2020
No. 5 – Pallacanestro Brescia
PositionShooting guard
LeagueLega Basket Serie A
Personal information
Born (1997-04-14) April 14, 1997
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight202 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High schoolSouth Oak Cliff (Dallas, Texas)
CollegeBuffalo (2015–2019)
NBA draft2019: undrafted
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–2021Long Island Nets
2021–2022Limoges CSP
2022–presentPallacanestro Brescia
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life and high school career

Born and raised in Dallas,[1] Massinburg came to Buffalo from South Oak Cliff High School. As a senior, he averaged 22.3 points per game, but initially received no NCAA Division I offers. He ultimately signed with the Bulls after being scouted playing on a travel team for unsigned seniors.[2][3]

College career

In his freshman season, Massinburg was not expected to contribute much, but ended up playing a key role off the bench averaging 11.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, earning a spot on the Mid-American Conference (MAC) All-Freshman Team.[4] As a sophomore, Massinburg's progress was slowed by missing the first eight games of the season due to a bout with mononucleosis,[5] but he improved his scoring to 14.5 points per game as he moved into the starting lineup. As a junior, Massinburg was named first-team All-MAC as the Bulls enjoyed regular-season and Tournament conference championships, earning a trip to the 2018 NCAA tournament. Massinburg scored 19 points in the Bulls' upset over 4-seed Arizona in the NCAA Tournament's first round, thought to be the biggest win in program history at the time.[6]

As a senior, Buffalo was the overwhelming preseason choice to win the MAC and Massinburg was named preseason first-team All-MAC East.[7] The Bulls experienced great team success, as the team achieved a top 25 ranking in the November 12, 2018 AP Poll, signifying a first for the school.[8] The Bulls would go on to maintain a spot in the top 25 for the remainder of the year. Massinburg led the team in scoring, moving into the school's top five all-time scoring list on January 29, 2019.[9] He received national individual recognition as he was named to thee watch lists for several national Player of the Year awards.[10][11] Massinburg closed the 2018–19 regular season averaging 18.5 points per game and winning MAC Player of the Year honors and repeating on the all-conference first team.[12][13]

The Buffalo News named Massinburg the best player of the decade from Buffalo, Canisius, Niagara, or St. Bonaventure. He was also named to the Lou Henson Award All-Decade Team.[14]

Professional career

Long Island Nets (2019–2021)

On October 15, 2019, Massinburg signed with the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA).[15] On October 18, the Nets waived Massinburg.[16] He was ultimately added to the roster of the Nets’ NBA G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets.[17] On November 15, Massinburg contributed 28 points, six rebounds and three assists in a loss to the Delaware Blue Coats.[18] He missed a game against the Canton Charge on December 30 for undisclosed reasons.[19] Massinburg missed more than a month of action due to a right knee injury before returning against the Grand Rapids Drive on January 27, 2020.[20]

Limoges CSP (2021–2022)

On September 14, 2021, Massinburg was signed by Limoges CSP of the LNB Pro A, the top tier men's basketball league in France.[21]

Pallacanestro Brescia (2022–present)

In June 2022, Massinburg signed a 2 year contract with Pallacanestro Brescia of Lega Basket Serie A.[22]

The Basketball Tournament

Massinburg has played in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), an annual $1 million winner-take-all tournament, for Blue Collar U, a team primarily rostered with Buffalo alumni. In TBT 2021, the team made it to the semifinals of the tournament.[23] In TBT 2022, Blue Collar U won the tournament and $1 million prize,[24] with Massinburg being named tournament MVP.[25]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015–16 Buffalo 35725.3.447.389.7524.11.71.1.411.3
2016–17 Buffalo 241832.4.411.331.7505.62.8.6.114.5
2017–18 Buffalo 363534.0.468.405.7437.32.41.1.417.0
2018–19 Buffalo 353432.1.464.399.7806.53.01.2.318.2
Career 1309430.8.452.386.7575.92.41.1.315.3

References
  1. "NCAA Tournament gallery: A closer look at the Tulsa teams | Photo Galleries | tulsaworld.com".
  2. Carlton, Charles (March 23, 2019). "Every Texas school passed on South Oak Cliff's C.J. Massinburg. Now Texas Tech must deal with him, Buffalo in NCAA second round". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  3. Cooper, Mark (March 21, 2019). "An off-the-radar recruit who became a Buffalo legend, Dallas native CJ Massinburg leads talented Bulls team into March". Tulsa World. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  4. "MAC announces men's hoops All-MAC, All-Freshman & All-Defensive teams". Hartford Courant. March 7, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  5. Filipowski, Nick (December 4, 2016). "Bulls Massinburg cleared to return after battling Mono". wkbw.com. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  6. Marshall, John (March 16, 2018). "Buffalo pulls off big upset, knocks off Arizona". Hartford Courant. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  7. Alexander, Elton (October 30, 2018). "Buffalo Bulls picked to dominate MAC men's basketball in preseason poll". Cleveland.com. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  8. Herbert, Geoff (November 12, 2018). "Buffalo basketball ranked in AP top 25 for first time in UB history". The Post-Standard. Syracuse, NY. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  9. Lenzi, Rachel (January 29, 2019). "UB's CJ Massinburg hits milestone as Bulls prepare for first-place showdown at Bowling Green". The Buffalo News. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  10. "UB's CJ Massinburg among 30 in consideration for top award". The Buffalo News. February 13, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  11. Rinard, Jordan (December 22, 2018). "Buffalo's CJ Massinburg Named to Oscar Robertson Midseason Watch List". SB Nation. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  12. "Massinburg and Oats claim MAC's top honors". University of Buffalo. March 18, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  13. "Buffalo's Oats, Massinburg earn top MAC honors". Mid-American Conference. March 24, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  14. "Massinburg Highlights All-Decade Honors For UB Men's Hoops". University at Buffalo. January 1, 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  15. "Brooklyn Nets Sign Devin Cannady and CJ Massinburg". NBA.com. October 15, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  16. "Brooklyn Nets Waive Four". NBA.com. October 18, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  17. "Long Island Nets Finalize Opening Night Roster". NBA.com. November 5, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  18. "CJ Massinburg: Drops 28 off bench". CBS Sports. November 16, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  19. "CJ Massinburg: Inactive Saturday". CBS Sports. December 31, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  20. Milholen, Chris (January 27, 2020). "Jeremiah Martin scores 25 as Long Island Nets fall to Grand Rapids Drive, 135-117". NetsDaily. SBNation. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  21. "C.J. MASSINBURG PIGISTE MÉDICAL DE GERRY BLAKES". limogescsp.com. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  22. "Energia e dinamismo, il primo volto nuovo della Germani è CJ Massinburg". pallacanestrobrescia.it. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  23. Bronstein, Jonah (2 August 2021). "Blue Collar U bows out of TBT, vows to be back". Niagara Gazette. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  24. Borzello, Jeff (August 2, 2022). "Blue Collar U downs Americana for Autism, takes home $1 million The Basketball Tournament title". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  25. @thetournament (August 2, 2022). "Your TBT 2022 MVP is CJ Massinburg!" (Tweet). Retrieved August 2, 2022 – via Twitter.
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