Todd Carlyle MacCulloch (born January 27, 1976) is a Canadian former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who played four seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He was drafted by the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

as the 47th overall pick in the

1999 NBA draft The 1999–2000 NBA season, 1999 NBA draft was held on June 30, 1999, at the MCI Center (now Capital One Arena) in Washington, D.C. It was the first draft in which four players from the same college were picked in the first round, with Elton Bran ...

after playing college basketball for the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

. MacCulloch played center for the

and

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before being forced to retire prematurely due to a genetic neuromuscular disorder that affected his feet, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. After retiring from professional basketball, MacCulloch had a successful

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career. He was inducted into the

Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame The Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is a Canadian museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, dedicated to honoring the history and achievements of sports in Manitoba. The organization began in 1980, and then opened a museum in The Forks in 1993. Afte ...

in 2014.

Early life

A graduate of Shaftesbury High School in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, MacCulloch was named Honorable Mention All-America in 1999 as a senior when he averaged 24.7 points, 15.9 rebounds, and a .662 field goal percentage. He later led the

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Division I in field goal percentage in his final three years of college at the

, only the second player ever to accomplish the feat. He was an All-Pac-10 First Team selection in his final two years at Washington. He was drafted by the 76ers in the 2nd round (47th overall) of the

Basketball career

MacCulloch played four seasons in the NBA before being forced to retire prematurely due to a genetic neuromuscular disorder that affected his feet, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. In his first two seasons with the

, MacCulloch played reserve centre, averaging 9.4 minutes, 2.6 rebounds and just under 9 points in 56 and 63 games respectively from 1999 to 2001. In the 2001 off-season, he signed as a free agent with the

and as their starting centre averaged 9.7 points and 6.1 rebounds a contest. MacCulloch was then traded back to the 76ers for the 2002–2003 season, in which he averaged just under 20 minutes, 9.1 points, and 4.7 rebounds a contest. Due to an inherited neurological disorder, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, which affects the peripheral nerves of the hands and feet he went on the injured reserve list at mid-season, did not play the following season, and announced his retirement in September 2004. MacCulloch played for the Canadian national team of various sorts 93 times, most notably at the

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where the Canadians topped

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to win their group only to lose to eventual silver medalist

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in the quarterfinals and finish seventh. In an episode of ''

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'', in a skit where African Americans get their

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, the

play the

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but none of the black players are playing, so MacCulloch plays one-on-one, beating Travis Knight.

Pinball career

MacCulloch played pinball whenever he could growing up, at malls, arcades and bowling alleys around town. He began buying up pinball machines when he signed as a free agent with the Nets in 2001 and got his first house. His collection is now greater than 60 pinball and non-pinball arcade games. MacCulloch has played in several pinball tournaments. He competed in the European pinball championship in Stockholm in 2007, and has played in the PAPA World Pinball Championships since 2005, qualifying in the B Division multiple times. In October 2011, MacCulloch won the Pinball Expo in Chicago, beating world champions Keith Elwin and Lyman Sheats on his way to his first major pinball title and a $3,000 cash prize. MacCulloch says there are indeed some similarities between pinball and basketball. He relates: "Hand-eye coordination is really important in both, and maintaining your focus is definitely important. I've been in some pressure situations in big asketballgames, and nerves wouldn't affect me, but I've found that in pinball tournaments, I can't seem to keep those nerves at bay. My heart beats faster, my chest gets tight. Competition is competition, and I thought I'd respond well, but I haven't been able to rein that in yet."

References

External links

*
MacCulloch's bio at ''InterBasket''
*
MacCulloch's player page on pinballrankings.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macculloch, Todd 1976 births Living people 1998 FIBA World Championship players Basketball players from Winnipeg Basketball players at the 1999 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Canadian expatriate basketball people in the United States Canadian men's basketball players Centers (basketball) NBA players from Canada New Jersey Nets players Olympic basketball players for Canada Pan American Games competitors for Canada Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Philadelphia 76ers players Pinball players FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Canada Summer World University Games medalists in basketball Washington Huskies men's basketball players Medalists at the 1995 Summer Universiade