In basketball, he’s overshadowed by the school’s first Division I recruit. In baseball, he was on the field for less than half an inning in Lake Orion’s championship victory. In football, his real sport, he’s not even the biggest recruit on his own team.
Yet, when he graduates in four months, Chris Lum will be remembered as one of, if not ‘the? greatest athlete in the history of Lake Orion High School.
Fans will often come up to me after a basketball game to see how many points a particular player scored.
For the first time last week, I answered with ‘four.?
That’s vintage Lum.
His stat sheet also included seven steals, eight rebounds, five assists and a couple of blocks.
When he fouled out with 18 seconds left, some of the Lake Orion faithful that made the trip to Rochester Adams gave Lum a standing ovation.
For four points?
Granted, both of his baskets came in the fourth quarter, the first giving Lake Orion its largest lead of the night, and the second proving to be the game-winning points.
In between those buckets, Lum, on the defensive side, leaped up and made a one-handed interception (ala Charles Woodson against MSU), planted his feet and threw a perfect length-of-the-court pass to Drew Maynard for a nifty reverse lay-in.
Lum did most of that last play with his right arm, because his left one is still healing from a break back in late August that cost him most of his senior football season.
At the time, Lum was coming off of a 25 touchdown, five interception season. His team scored over 400 points and he averaged nearly 200 yards a game in the air, while sitting out most of the second half of nearly every game. He was a rare returning All-State quarterback in Division I.
And he was under-recruited then.
‘It’s long,? Lum said of the recruiting process. ‘It started my junior season. I had fun through most of it, but it was kind of a letdown getting hurt and all.?
He talked to dozens of schools and visited eight to 10. For Lum, however, the process was different than most, as his injury turned his recruitment into two entire different experiences.
‘I went to a lot of the MAC school summer camps,? Lum said. ‘They all wanted to see some good senior film, and I simply couldn’t provide it, getting hurt in the second game.?
‘I definitely lost some interest from some of those early schools.?
From schools like Michigan State and Central Michigan, Lum’s list turned to places like Grand Valley State and Lehigh (PA).
‘I went on four or five visits since the first week of January,? he said. ‘I would be talking to about five coaches a day.?
Then, two weeks ago he got an offer he couldn’t refuse: A scholarship to Lehigh that covered almost their entire $45,000-a-year bill.
‘Lehigh came after me pretty hard,? Lum said. ‘It was good to feel wanted.?
It’s hard to imagine that an All-State athlete with the grades to go almost anywhere would struggle to find a suitor. Especially with the glowing recommendations from his various high school coaches.
‘I’ve coached him for three years and you can’t put a value on Chris,? Basketball Coach Jim Manzo said. ‘He’s just that guy that does so many things.?
This spring he’s slated to start at shortstop for the defending state champions in baseball.
Did I mention that football is his real sport?
Like Joe Barnes a year earlier, Lum’s coaches would all classify him as a ‘gamer.?
It’s why he came back earlier than expected from the injury, just in time to lead his team into the playoffs and then all the way to a district championship.
In spite of the team’s loss to eventual state champion Macomb Dakota in the state quarterfinals, Lum still used footage from that tape in his highlight DVD ? That is to say, he played pretty well against a team in the midst of a 19-game winning streak.
That tape made its way to Lehigh.
‘They were pretty late to come on,? Lum said, noting that the Lehigh coaches first contacted him about a month after football season ended.
For teammates like Ethan Ruhland (Michigan State), Taylor Phillips (Ferris State) and Blaine Stormer (Northern Michigan or Adrian), the process went from point A to point B.
If he tried to describe his process, Lum would run out of letters in the alphabet.
But today, some two years after it all began, he’ll sign with Lehigh.
‘They have the most Patriot League championships,? he said. ‘They play really good football out there.?
Just like in school, Lum already has his homework done.
In the recruiting world, it’s hard to say that anyone is unlucky if they get a chance to turn their athletic accomplishments into a collegiate education.
Sure, Lum had a bad break, but he said he’s fortunate to be in his situation today.
It’s hard not to argue, however, that the real lucky one here is Lehigh University.