Why Cuthbertson chose CCU, and how its postseason hopes ride on his skills, leadership
Zac Cuthbertson said he had about 20 Division I college scholarship offers coming out of junior college in 2017.
They included East Tennessee State, East Carolina and Cincinnati, which plays in the highly-regarded American Athletic Conference and is expected to play in the NCAA Tournament this year for the sixth consecutive season.
Cuthbertson chose Coastal Carolina, and he’s thankful for it today.
“It’s the best decision I could have ever made with the choices of schools I had,” Cuthbertson said. “The way I fit into Coastal’s style of play, the way coach [Cliff] Ellis coaches – he’s a great coach, one of the best coaches to ever do it. Everything about my decision I feel great about.”
Ellis and the Chanticleers are thankful for his choice as well. Cuthbertson has been a model teammate and student, and he carries with him a young CCU team’s hopes of a postseason berth – possibly the NCAA Tournament with a run through next week’s Sun Belt Conference tournament.
Ellis said the 6-foot-7, 195-pound forward was all but committed to UNC Wilmington before then Seahawks’ coach Kevin Keatts left for N.C. State in March 2017.
“That changed things,” Ellis said. “We’d been recruiting him so we kind of fell into the picture big-time there and I’m glad we did.”
Cuthbertson’s choice was based partially on family. He wanted to get closer to his relatives in New Bern, N.C., where he grew up, after two years in the Midwest.
“I had plenty of options. I chose Coastal because when I came on my visit I liked the environment, I liked the feel of it, and it’s close to home. It’s only three hours away,” Cuthbertson said. “I wanted my parents, my brothers and sisters, my family to see me play a lot more. Being away from home for two years I didn’t really get to see them like that. They only came to one game I believe since I was gone to JUCO.”
And come to the games they have. Cuthbertson said he regularly has about a dozen supporters at home games, and he’s had some at just every home game in his two years, including his parents, siblings, cousins, nieces, nephews, in-laws and friends.
Impressive stats
He has given his supporters a lot to cheer about.
Cuthbertson is seventh in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring with 18.5 points per game and third with 8.1 rebounds this season, and is in the top 20 in the conference in field goal percentage (49.3 percent), free throw percentage (75.8 percent), three-point field goal percentage (37.3 percent) and assists per game (2.7).
He enters the final game of the regular season nine points from 1,000 in his two seasons at Coastal.
He carries CCU’s offense, as redshirt freshman point guard Devante Jones is the only other Chant averaging double digits scoring per game at 14.7 and he missed 12 games with an injury.
“He’s been our leader because on the offensive side of the ball he plays at three levels,” Ellis said. “He’s got a game around the rack, he’s got a mid-range game and he can shoot the three.”
Cuthbertson, who attended a pair of junior colleges in the two years after leaving New Bern High because he lacked both grades and suitable Division I offers, has been productive, efficient and clutch this season.
He earned the Lou Henson award for the National Player of the Week among Division I mid-major players on Feb. 4 after averaging 26.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in wins over Louisiana and Louisiana-Monroe, and on Jan. 24, his free throw with 1.3 seconds remaining gave CCU a 72-71 win at Little Rock.
Compared to his junior season, Cuthbertson is scoring 3.8 more points and grabbing 1.3 more rebounds per game this season and is shooting a higher percentage from the field and three-point range.
He credits much of the improvement to a stronger and more durable body.
He has always been thin. He was about 6-4 and 175 pounds when he graduated from high school, and he made a concerted effort to bulk up beginning his second year of JUCO.
He grew 3 inches while in junior college, further lengthening his body, but he managed to add 10 pounds of muscle this past offseason working with the CCU strength and conditioning staff with a meal and workout plan.
“It has been kind of hard gaining weight,” Cuthbertson said. “I knew that was going to be one of the things that hurt me in the recruiting process so I didn’t have another choice but to get bigger. I made my mindset and focus on getting bigger and stronger, which I did.”
He has tried to keep the weight and strength up during the season, but it’s difficult with games, practices and constant running.
“You only get in the weight room a couple times a week. Being consistent in that area is something I have to get better at,” he said. “It makes a lot of difference. They say if you’re bigger and stronger it makes the game so much easier. At first I didn’t believe it. Going inside it makes it so much easier, and finishing through contact, you get a lot more and-ones. Even playing defense, playing bigger guys, you have a better opportunity of winning the battle.”
Leading teammates
Cuthbertson is one of three seniors on the team that receive meaningful playing time, along with center Josh Coleman and guard Ajay Sanders.
He has a placid and kind demeanor, but has adjusted to a leadership role for his younger teammates. “We were trying to get him to be more vocal as a leader and he has this year,” Ellis said. “That has been one of the things he himself has taken on. He knew he had to step into that role by being more assertive.
“We have a lot of young guys and he has set the tone for them, because we’ve got some very, very good freshmen. It’s a great freshman class, and he is guiding them, and that’s going to have an effect on those guys when they get to his point – work ethic, and understanding what you’ve got to do.”
Cuthbertson is on pace to graduate in May with a degree in interdisciplinary studies but his total focus immediately after graduation will be continuing his basketball career at the pro level. His goal is to secure a spot on an NBA team’s G League roster, though he’s prepared to play in Europe or elsewhere as well.
“Hopefully I get a couple NBA workouts,” he said. “That has been one of my main goals throughout my whole life, making it to the NBA. That’s the only thing I’ll be focusing on after the season is over.”
Ellis said Cuthbertson will surely play professionally, though he’s not sure if it’s at the highest level. He needs to continue to get stronger to have a chance, Ellis said.
“He will play at another level. I think the NBA is a stretch but I do think he’ll play in Europe when he’s done here, and he’ll have a shot at [NBA G League], absolutely,” Ellis said. “His skill level is very high.
“. . . He’s a great individual. He’ll be successful.”
Surviving Florence
Cuthbertson had a lot more than basketball to worry about in September, when Hurricane Florence howled through his hometown of New Bern at the convergence of the Trent and Neuse rivers, flooding homes, businesses and streets for days.
Hundreds of people were rescued from New Bern and Craven County, often in swift-moving water shortly after the storm hit, and many more were rescued in the following days. According to ABC News, more than 4,300 homes and 300 businesses were damaged or destroyed by the storm.
Cuthbertson’s family had evacuated to Greensboro, N.C., before the storm, and Cuthbertson stayed with Sanders’ family in Charlotte.
Cuthbertson’s family home had minimal damage from the storm, but many of the residents he knew lost homes and belongings.
“Other areas of New Bern were devastated, houses were destroyed, families lost their homes,” said Cuthbertson, whose family has assisted other residents in need in the aftermath. “Some families are going through a time right now trying to get things back. We pray for them and pray for everybody else in New Bern that lost their families and homes.
“It was very heartbreaking. Some things you see on TV and you don’t wish that on anybody. It was something new to us, something surprising. New Bern doesn’t usually get bad storms, and it’s something we’ve got to overcome.”
Postseason pending
Cuthbertson’s stated goals are team-oriented and include winning the conference tournament to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Coastal is 15-14 overall and in a tie for fifth in the 12-team conference at 9-8 with Louisiana – a game ahead of Louisiana-Monroe – entering the final game of the regular season against Troy (11-18, 4-13) at 2 p.m. Saturday at the HTC Center.
The Chants have won two straight, including a 92-70 home win over South Alabama on Thursday night, and with a win Saturday can secure a top-six conference finish and ensure they are among the eight teams at the Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans beginning next Thursday.
They would host one of two play-in games Tuesday featuring teams placing seventh through 10th in the conference standings if they fall outside the top six.
The Sun Belt championship game at 2 p.m. [Eastern] next Sunday will be broadcast on ESPN2 and all other games will be broadcast online on ESPN+.
This story was originally published March 7, 2019 at 7:42 PM.
