Shumate leaving his mark

Last season, Christian Shumate slammed his way onto the national stage.

He dunked his way onto the ESPN highlight reel with his thunderous ShuSlams.

However, those often overshadowed his consistent play, which has been a big part of McNeese State’s basketball turnaround.

Monday night, the senior from Chicago reached historic career numbers for his four seasons at McNeese. 

During a thrilling 74-73 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, he became the first player in the program’s 82 years to record 1,000 points and rebounds, along with 100 assists, steals, and blocks.

Call it the quintuplet-triple.

“It is a tribute to how consistent and how hard he plays,” McNeese head coach Will Wade said. 

Shumate began his career at Tulsa but didn’t find his stride until midway through his second season with the Cowboys. Since then, he has become known for his rebounding and defense. 

Shumate led the Southland Conference in rebounds in his first season under Wade and was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.

“I came into college as a rebounder; that was my calling,” Shumate said. “I wanted to be physical and play hard.”

He also wanted to win. After struggling for two years with Shumate, the Cowboys hired Wade, and everything changed. 

Last season, the Cowboys went 30-4, and Shumate played at a higher level. He also became a fan favorite. They are 16-5 this year.

This after he entered the transfer portal after his second season at McNeese.

“I wanted to test the market and see what was out there,” Shumate said. “When I talked to Coach Wade, I liked what he said about where he wanted to take the program.”

Since the two have teamed up, McNeese has gone 46-9, including a 29-1 record against Southland competition. They have also won 21 straight league games, a school record, and second-best all-time in the conference.

“Winning is the most important thing to me,” said Shumate. “I want that to be a big part of my legacy when I leave here.”

That would include a second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history and then winning a game in the regional, which would also be a McNeese first.

Meanwhile, Shumate is soaring up the McNeese record books. His 37 double-doubles are already the most in Cowboy history and third-most ever in the SLC. He is fourth in career rebounds at 1,001, 25 shy of David Lawrence for third on the all-time list. 

He’s 13th in career scorching with 1,546 points, shooting 54.8 percent from the floor, third-best at McNeese. Shumate is ninth in career blocked shots at 129 and has 114 assists and 101 steals. 

He’s dished out 114 assists, 129 blocked shots, and 101 steals in his career, ranking ninth in blocked shots in the school record book and needing one steal to move into 10th all-time.

Shumate has played in 122 games, starting 96, including 76 consecutive. He has scored 20 or more points 17 times and 30 or more twice.

“I have always tried to strive to be consistent,” Shumate said. “The things that I do are sometimes underrated. The dunks get attention, but I like to play the whole game.”

His numbers prove he’s been doing that since he arrived on campus.