ERIE, Pa. - Former Gannon men's basketball standout C.J. Oldham has signed a professional contract to play with the Bayer Giants Leverkusen in Germany's Pro B League.
"It is a nice thing for us to sign a player like C.J. Oldham," said Bayer Giants Leverkusen head coach Achim Kuczmann. "He knows Leverkusen and the closer environment of the Ostermann-ARENA. Due to his former membership in the past, C.J. is also a "local player" and therefore an important person in our squad planning. I would call C.J. a very athletic and, above all, flexible wing player."
Oldham signed with the Bayer Giants Leverkusen after playing last season with the BK Kongsberg Miners in Norway's first league. He helped the Miners advance to the postseason by averaging 9.9 points and 9.6 rebounds.
The six-foot-seven forward is considered a local player for the Bayer Giants Leverkusen since his birth place was Berlin, Germany and he played for their various youth teams between the ages of 10-12 years old when his father was the Bayer Giants Leverkusen head coach from 1998-2002. Current rules only allow the use of two players who do not come from Europe or aren't a local player.
Oldham was a stellar student-athlete during his playing days at Gannon. He was named Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in 2013-14, becoming the first Golden Knight to be chosen for the honor. Generally assigned to the opposing team's top scorer, Oldham was the leader of a Gannon defense that ranked third among PSAC teams and fourth nationally in scoring defense (60.7) that season. The Golden Knights were second among conference teams in rebounding margin (8.8), third in field goal percentage defense (41.0) and fifth in fewest personal fouls per game (17.7). His defensive numbers included 22 steals and 13 blocks.
Offensively, Oldham averaged 5.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 30 games as a senior. He was in the starting line-up for 29 of those contests. Oldham shot 52.1 percent (73-140) from the field and 73.2 percent (30-41) from the free throw line.
Oldham also achieved excellence in the classroom. The mechanical engineering major was named the 2014 PSAC Men's Basketball Champion Scholar awarded to the student-athlete with the top grade point average who is competing at the site of the championship finals. Oldham was named a PSAC Scholar-Athlete and received the NCAA Division II Athletics Directors Association (ADA) Academic Achievement Award every year at Gannon. He was also twice named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court, reserved for junior and senior varsity players with a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher at the conclusion of the academic year.
