Height: 6-9
Weight: 226
Position: PF/C
College: Syracuse
Age: 23
2014-2015 Season Stats
PPG: 17.5
RPG: 9.1
APG: 1.5
BLK: 2.5
STL: 0.9
Player Bio
Courtesy of Syracuse Athletics
Senior Year: Christmas opened the season with 21 points, leading the team in scoring against KENNESAW STATE ... He also recorded nine rebounds in the game ... He led the team in scoring (15 points) and rebounding (16 boards) when the Orange defeated HAMPTON ... Against CALIFORNIA in the 2K Classic, Christmas totaled eight points, nine rebounds and three blocks for the Orange ... In the victory at Madison Square Garden against IOWA, he was 7-of-11 from the field and scored ... Christmas lead the team with 18 points in the home victory over LOYOLA, recorded 9 rebounds, and 6 blocks ... Against HOLY CROSS, he posted 25 points, going 8 for 10 at field goal range and 9 for 10 at the line. Christmas also recorded 8 rebounds and 3 blocks ... Christmas scored 15 points and recorded 6 rebounds and 2 blocks against MICHIGAN ... Christmas led the team with 15 points and 15 rebounds against ST. JOHN'S. He also had three blocks and three assists ... Christmas recorded 13 points with two blocks and three assists against LOUISIANA TECH ... Christmas scored 18 points and 5 rebounds against VILLANOVA ... He totaled 16 points and recorded 11 rebounds against COLGATE ... Christmas recorded 24 points with 10 rebounds against LONG BEACH STATE ... Christmas led the team with 19 points and 9 rebounds against CORNELL ... He also recorded 17 points with 9 rebounds against VIRGINIA TECH .. Led the team with 18 points at GEORGIA TECH ... Against FLORIDA STATE Christmas recorded his sixth-career double double and fifth of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds ... Was 13-for-21 from the field and 9-for-12 from the free throw line for a career-high 35 points against WAKE FOREST ... Posted 21 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh-career double double and sixth of the season against CLEMSON ... Led the Orange in scoring with 23 points against MIAMI ... Christmas recorded a double double with 22 points and 12 rebounds against NORTH CAROLINA ... Recorded 23 points and 6 blocks in loss at PITTSBURGH ... Against DUKE, Christmas recorded 6 rebounds, 5 blocks and 5 assists ... In the home victory against #12 LOUISVILLE, Christmas tallied 29 points, 4 blocks and 8 rebounds going 9-for-10 from the field and 11-for-13 from the free throw line ... He recorded 20 points and 12 rebounds against PITTSBURGH ... In the victory over NOTRE DAME, Christmas scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, reaching the 1,000-point milestone ... He ended his career with his 12th double-double of the season scoring 15 points and 12 rebounds at NC STATE ... Christmas started every game this season ... Ranks third for a Points Scored in a single game by a Syracuse Center .. Ranks 5th on the list for points scored in a season by a Syracuse Center ... Tied for 6thfor games played by a Syracuse Orange ... Ranks 8th for blocked shots by a Syracuse player ... USA Today Second Team All-American .. Voted Thrid Team All American by Sporting News ... Recognized twice as ACC Player of the week ... Voted ACC Most Improved Player, Co-Defensive Player of the Year, First Team and All Defensive Team ... Voted District II Player of the Year and All District II by the US Basketball Writers Association ... Eastern College Athletic Conference Division I Metro/Upstate NY Player of the Week ... Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association Most Improved Player, First Team and ACC All- Defensive Team ... Nominated for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award ... One of 14 finalists for the Oscar Robertson Trophy ... One of 15 finalist fot he Wooden Award ... One of 25 candidates on the Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award.
Junior Year: Christmas started every game for the second straight season … He finished fourth in the ACC in blocked-shot average (1.94) … His free-throw percentage drastically improved from a .574 mark his sophomore year to .726 as a junior … He opened the season with 12 points in a victory against CORNELL ... He grabbed seven rebounds in 15 minutes of play in a home victory against COLGATE ... Christmas tied his career high with 15 points against EASTERN MICHIGAN ... He recorded a block and three rebounds in the final two minutes to help SU defeat MIAMI in its ACC opener. He finished with a team-high seven rebounds ... Christmas was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line for 10 points against PITTSBURGH ... He recorded six blocks and pulled down 10 rebounds in the overtime matchup against DUKE ... He played a season-high 35 minutes in a road-game pairing against PITTSBURGH ... Christmas posted a career-high 12 rebounds and seven blocks, to go with 14 points, against NC STATE … He had 11 boards the next time out, versus BOSTON COLLEGE.
2013 Four Nation’s Cup: He was part of a 12-member squad of collegiate players who competed in the Four Nation’s Cup in Estonia … The group was coached by Guy Rancourt, the men’s basketball mentor at Lycoming … The “East Coast All-Stars” finished third in the event.
Sophomore Year: Christmas was in the starting lineup for all 40 games, a school record … Christmas started off the season with five blocked shots, a season-best, against SAN DIEGO STATE ...He was 5-for-6 from the field and finished with 10 points against PRINCETON ...Christmas hit 4-of-5 from the field and was 2-for-2 from the free throw line for 10 points against COLGATE ...He tied what was his career high with five offensive rebounds and recorded a carrer-best two steals against EASTERN MICHIGAN ...Christmas was 4-of-5 from the field and 3-for-3 from the free throw line for 11 points against LONG BEACH STATE ...He posted 11 points and 4 blocks against MONMOUTH ... Christmas reached double figures in scoring for the third straight game with 10 points against CANISIUS ... Christmas came up with eight rebounds against DETROIT... Against CENTRAL CONNECTICUT, Christmas pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds and added four blocks... Christmas was 6-for-8 from the floor and 3-for-3 from the free throw line for a career-high 15 points at PROVIDENCE... He tied his season high with 10 rebounds at VILLANOVA, which included what was a career-high eight on the defensive end ... Christmas was one of three players to reach double figures in scoring with 12 points against NOTRE DAME ... He scored nine points and tallied five rebounds against MONTANA in the first round of NCAA Tournament.
Freshman Year: He started 35-of-37 games during his rookie season ... Christmas scored five points and grabbed six rebounds against FORDHAM ... He tallied nine points on 3-for-4 shooting from the floor against ALBANY ... Christmas had nine points against COLGATE and grabbed eight rebounds ... He scored a season-best 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting against BUCKNELL ... Christmas accumulated eight points, five rebounds, and two blocks against PROVIDENCE in the Dome ... In 27 minutes of action versus CINCINNATI, Christmas scored four points, grabbed nine rebounds, blocked three shots and added two assists ... He contributed six points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked two shots against UNC-ASHEVILLE in his first NCAA Tournament appearance ... In a season-high 34 minutes versus Kansas State, Christmas tallied eight points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.
2011 Nike Hoop Summit: Christmas was one of 10 players selected for the 2011 USA Junior National Select Team … The squad, coached by Montverde Academy’s Kevin Sutton, played against a World Select Team made up of international players 19-years old or younger … Team USA won the matchup played at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore., 92-80 … Christmas contributed two points, four rebounds, an assist, two blocks and a steal in 17 minutes of action.
Academy of the New Church (Pa.): He was rated 19th overall and second among centers in the 2011 ESPNU Top 100 … Scout.com had Christmas as the number-one rated center and 19th overall … Rivals.com listed him second among centers and 27th overall … Christmas transferred to the Academy of the New Church (Pa.) prior to his junior season … In 2009-10, the Lions were 13-9 and advanced to the PAISAA State Basketball semifinals … According to MaxPreps.com, he averaged 13.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game … In the Tip Off Classic at West Chester, Christmas had 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks in a win against Archbishop Carroll … The Lions defeated Germantown Academy, 59-54, and Christmas had 20 points and 16 rebounds … In the Big Apple Classic, he contributed 15 points and 11 rebounds in a 85-70 win against Impact Academy (Nev.) … The Lions defeated Imhotep Charter in the Kobe Bryant Classic, 62-54, and Christmas contributed 21 points, 12 boards and four blocks … His fifth double-double of the campaign came in an 88-48 win at Shipley when he tallied 17 points and 11 rebounds … In the Friends Schools League Semifinals, Christmas had 22 points and seven rebounds but the Lions lost to Friends Central, 71-64 …Following his junior campaign, he attended the LeBron James Skills Academy … In August 2010 he participated in the Nike Global Challenge and in the fifth annual Boost Mobile Elite 24 … Academy of the New Church was 21-6 in 2010-11 … The Lions lost in the finals of the Friends School League Championship to Friends Central, 52-48 … The team lost in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Tournament Semifinals to Malvern Prep, 28-26 … Christmas averaged 11.3 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.9 blocks, according to espn.com … He was the Pennsylvania Class A Player of the Year … He had 15 points and 11 rebounds when the Lions defeated Solebury, 66-50 … In the next outing, a 76-58 win at Life Center Academy, he had eight points, 19 rebounds and five blocks … Christmas helped the Lions defeat St. Mark’s, 65-41, by tallying 17 points and 14 rebounds … He had a season-high 23 points and 15 rebounds in a 71-63 loss to South Kent School at the Kobe Bryant Classic … In the Primetime Shootout, the Lions defeated Hun, 69-53, as Christmas had 20 points … He posted three straight double-doubles: 12 points and 10 rebounds against Shipley School (W, 68-47), 12 points and 11 rebounds versus Phelps (W, 69-47), and 12 points and 20 boards against Abington Friends in the Friends School League Semifinals (W, 54-51) … A McDonald’s All-American, Christmas played with new SU teammate Michael Carter-Williams on the East Team in the 2011 McDonald’s game … The East defeated the West, 111-96 … He had two points and three rebounds … Christmas had 12 points and seven rebounds in the 2011 Jordan Brand Classic game.
North Catholic High School: He started his scholastic career at North Catholic High School where he was coached by David Long … In 2008-09, the Trojans reached the Pennsylvania Independent School Athletic Association Championship game.
Personal: Rakeem Maleek Christmas was born in December 1991 … He is the son of Ronald Christmas and Landra Jenny Hamid …He grew up in St. Croix … Christmas has earned a bachelor of science degree in communications and rhetorical study … He now embarks on a master’s degree from the School of Education Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation.