Todd MacCulloch

infobox NBA Player
name = Todd MacCulloch
nickname =


position = Center
height_ft = 7
height_in = 0
weight_lbs = 280
nationality = Canada
birth_date = birth date and age|1976|1|27
birth_place =Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
college = Washington
draft = 2nd round, 47th overall
draft_year = 1999
draft_team = Philadelphia 76ers
career_start = 1999
career_end = 2003
former_teams = Philadelphia 76ers (1999-2001, 2002-2003)
New Jersey Nets (2001-2002)
awards =
halloffame =

Todd Carlyle MacCulloch (born January 27 1976 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian former professional basketball player in the NBA.

Basketball Career

A Winnipeg, Manitoba native, the 7'0", 280 lb (2.13 m, 125 kg) center played four seasons in the NBA before being forced to retire prematurely due to a genetic neuromuscular disorder that affected his feet, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. In his first two seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, MacCulloch played reserve center, averaging 9.4 minutes, 2.6 rebounds and just under 4 points in 56 and 63 games respectively from 1999 to 2001. In the 2001 off-season, he signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Nets and as their starting center averaged 9.7 points and 6.1 rebounds a contest. MacCulloch was then traded back to the 76ers for the 2002-2003 season, in which he averaged just under 20 minutes, 7.1 points, and 4.7 rebounds a contest. Due to a chronic foot condition, he went on the injured reserve list at mid-season, did not play the following season, and announced his retirement in September 2004.

MacCulloch played for the Canadian national team of various sorts 93 times, most notably at the 2000 Sydney Olympics where the Canadians topped Yugoslavia to win their group only to lose to eventual silver medalist France in the quarterfinals and finish seventh.

A graduate of Shaftesbury High School in Winnipeg, MacCulloch was in 1999 named Honorable Mention All-America as a senior at the University of Washington, when he averaged 18.7 points, 11.9 rebounds, and a .662 field goal percentage. He led the NCAA Division I in field goal percentage in his final three years of college, only the second player ever to accomplish the feat. He was all-Pac Ten First Team selection in his final two years at Washington. He was drafted by the 76ers in the 2nd round (47th overall) of the 1999 NBA Draft.

MacCulloch currently works as a 76ers color commentator. He is married to wife Jana and now lives in Seattle.

Pinball Career

MacCulloch played pinball whenever he could growing up, at malls, arcades and bowling alleys around town. He began buying up pinball machines when he signed as a free agent with the Nets in 2001 and got his first house. His collection now is at 45 games.

MacCulloch has played in several pinball tournaments. He competed in the European pinball championship in Stockholm in 2007, and he played in the Professional & Amateur Pinball Association tournament from 2005 to 2007. MacCulloch has played several matches against two-time world champion Bowen Kerins. He currently is No. 85 in the world, according to the PAPA rankings.

Between his height and his foot condition, MacCulloch is forced to play pinball sitting on a stool. MacCulloch says there are indeed some similarities between pinball and basketball. He relates: "Hand-eye coordination is really important in both, and maintaining your focus is definitely important. I've been in some pressure situations in big [basketball] games, and nerves wouldn't affect me, but I've found that in pinball tournaments, I can't seem to keep those nerves at bay. My heart beats faster, my chest gets tight. Competition is competition, and I thought I'd respond well, but I haven't been able to rein that in yet." [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=darcy/080828]

Trivia

*In an episode of Chapelle's Show, in a skit where African Americans get their reparations, the Philadelphia 76ers play the New York Knicks but none of the black players are playing, so MacCulloch plays one-on-one, beating Travis Knight. [Cite web|publisher=Comedy Central|work=Chappelle's Show|url=http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/player.jhtml?ml_video=24407&ml_context=show&is_large=true|title=More Reparations|]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/maccuto01.html MacCulloch's pro stats at "www.basketball-reference"]
* [http://www.interbasket.net/players/macculloch.htm MacCulloch's bio at "InterBasket"]