Central Michigan University Athletics
Chris Kaman's Top 10 Games
6/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
June 25, 2003
As the NBA Draft approaches on Thursday evening (7 p.m.; ESPN), Central Michigan University associate sports information director/men's basketball contact Don Helinski takes a look at former CMU standout Chris Kaman's top games as a Chippewa. Helinski will be at the 2003 NBA Draft in New York City this week and will be filing reports for cmuchippewas.com throughout the week.
Central Michigan University's Chris Kaman declared for the NBA draft following his junior season and he's a likely lottery pick in the 2003 NBA Draft after earning Mid-American Conference "Player of the Year" and "Defensive Player of the Year" honors last season. He led CMU to the MAC regular season and tournament titles in 2003 and was an honorable mention All-America selection by the Associated Press.
During the 2002-03 season, Kaman set CMU single season records for rebounds (373) and blocked shots (98). On the Chippewas' career charts, Kaman ranks first in field goal percentage (.608), second in blocked shots (182), seventh in rebounding (707), and 11th in scoring (1,250). He is one of only six CMU players with 1,000 career points and 600 career rebounds.
Chris Kaman's Top Games
1. Dec. 3, 2002 -- Central Michigan 85, at Michigan 78
Kaman's coming out party for the national spotlight as the Chippewas defeated the Wolverines for just the second time in school history. The seven-footer scored 30 points, grabbed a then career-high 21 rebounds and blocked five shots. He couldn't be stopped in the paint, going 11-for-13 from the floor and 8-for-9 from the line. Kaman had 21 rebounds while the Wolverines had just 29 as a team.
2. March 8, 2003 -- Central Michigan 86, at Ball State 66
Kaman leads CMU to its first-ever win in BSU's Worthen Arena with a 39-point, 22-rebound, five-assist, three-block performance in the regular season finale. Did we say he played only 24 minutes after battling the flu and not practicing for the previous two days. It was Kaman's second 30-point, 20-rebound performance of the season. There were only three 30-point, 20-rebound games nationally on the year and Kaman had two of them. The other was turned in by another MAC athlete, Ohio's Brandon Hunter, in a four-overtime contest against Akron.
3. Feb. 19, 2003 -- at Central Michigan 94, Ball State 92
Ball State's Chris Williams scored a game-high 44 points but Kaman tallied 43 points and 12 rebounds for his ninth straight double-double as CMU pulled out the two-point win. The center blocked seven shots and had another great shooting game going 15-for-19 from the floor and 13-for-16 from the line. The junior scored his 1,000th career point and posted six dunks in the contest. In two games against BSU in 2002-03, Kaman averaged 41.0 points, 17.0 rebounds and 5.0 blocks.
4. Nov. 24, 2001 -- at Central Michigan 76, Georgia State 52
Kaman plays with a purpose during the first game of his sophomore season. He scores 19 points and grabs a then career-high 17 rebounds in a home drubbing of Lefty Driesell's Georgia State Panthers, a team that reached the NCAA tournament second round the season before.
5. March 15, 2003 - Central Michigan 77, Kent State 67 (MAC Tournament Finals)
Kaman wraps up tournament MVP honors with a 25-point, 12-rebound, four-block night against the two-time defending tournament champion Golden Flashes. In the MAC tournament's three games, the seven-footer averaged 24.3 points, 13.7 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting over 60 percent from the floor and 70 percent from the line.
6. Feb. 10, 2003 - at Central Michigan 77, Western Michigan 58
Kaman leads the Chippewas to a convincing home win over the rival Broncos in a game televised on Fox Sports Net. Kaman had 37 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks while shooting 11-for-17 from the floor, including four backboard-shaking dunks. An NBA scout from an Eastern Division team is riding in a cab in Miami, Fla., the next day and the cab driver tells him about this player from Central Michigan that he watched on television the night before that was "unstoppable with 30-some points and a handful of dunks and rebounds." The scout calls the CMU Sports Information office to immediately find out who this player is.
7. Jan. 8, 2003 - at Central Michigan 97, Buffalo 73
The "hack-a-Shaq" philosophy didn't work for Buffalo as Kaman pours in 31 points with nearly half of them coming on a 15-for-16 outing from the foul line. He grabbed 13 rebounds and added a block.
8. Jan. 22, 2003 - at Central Michigan 83, Toledo 74
The Rockets couldn't get anything easy as Kaman tied a CMU single game record with eight blocked shots. It was a near triple-double with his 17 points and 14 rebounds.
9. Dec. 18, 2000 - at Detroit 77, Central Michigan 68
Making the first big contribution of his career, Kaman tallied 20 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals off the bench in CMU's road loss at Detroit. He was 8-for-10 from the floor. At halftime, CBSSportsline senior writer Dan Wetzel tells Helinski, "You told me he was good, you didn't tell me he was the next Keith VanHorn."
10. Feb. 3, 2001 - Central Michigan 81, at Northern Illinois 74 (OT)
In a key road game during CMU's MAC championship run, Kaman helps CMU erase a 16-point deficit with under nine minutes left in regulation. CMU went on to win the game thanks to some David Webber heroics down the stretch and in overtime. Kaman posted his first career double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.
Honorable Mention
March 22, 2003 - Duke 86, Central Michigan 60 (NCAA Tournament)
Playing his last game in a CMU uniform, Kaman tallies his 25th double-double of the season against perennial national power Duke - 25 points and 10 rebounds. He also blocks two shots to set a CMU single season record with 98.
Jan. 22, 2002 - at Central Michigan 75, Toledo 61
Kaman tallied 22 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks while shooting 8-for-10 from the floor.
Feb. 9, 2002 -- Kent State 96, at Central Michigan 66
The Chippewa center scored a season-high 26 points against the eventual MAC champion and Elite Eight participant Kent State.
March 1, 2003 - at Central Michigan 106, Eastern Michigan 89
No. 35 scored 29 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked six shots. Seven of his 11 field goals were dunks.
