Last Sunday Longwood beat UNC-Asheville 85-59 in the Big South tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to next week’s NCAA tournament. The Lancers now have 3 straight 20+ win seasons and made the NCAA tourney for the 2nd time in the past 3 years. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Longwood SR F Michael Christmas about what it means to have both his former team and his current team going dancing this month.
You began your college career at JMU: are you still friends with anyone on their team, and how did you feel when they won their own conference tourney the other day? There are 2 guys who were on the team with me who I still talk to (Julien Wooden/Terrence Edwards) and it was good to see them get a championship. Their assistant coach Xavier Joyner also hit me up after my own game to give me some encouragement.
Why did you decide to transfer, and what made you choose Longwood? I just felt that it was time for me to move on from JMU. I had a good relationship with Coach Griff (Aldrich) when he recruited me as a high school senior so it was easy to get back on track. It felt like home here and he challenged me to be my best.
What makes Aldrich such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? His desire to win and to make us better and his love for us. He pushes us to our limits (even if we do not like it!), but it is just to make us better as young men. It has great to see his own growth and he had made me a better man.
You missed all of 2022 with an injury: how bad was it, and how were you able to get back onto the court? I broke my arm during a pickup game the day before classes started. I was only supposed to miss 6-8 weeks but due to a bone infection I had to undergo 4(!) other surgeries.
You started this season 12-1 and then lost 10 of your next 12: what the heck happened, and how did you turn things around over the past 4 weeks? We started the year very strong but were struggling with a lot of things in conference play. What helped us push through was trusting in our principles and believing in ourselves: we knew we were better than what our record was.
In the 2023 Big South tourney title game you scored 18 PTS in a win over UNC-Asheville: how were you able to play your best when it mattered the most, and what was the reaction like in your locker room afterward? I have always played well in big moments throughout my career. I knew that it was a big game and I was very emotional beforehand, which helped me play the way I did. There was both relief/excitement in the locker room. We went through a lot of adversity in conference play but it was nice to see that all the work paid off.
You shot 41.1 3P% this year: what is the secret to making shots from behind the arc? Just getting up reps every day and being consistent with workouts. Do not stray off your path if you get in a slump: keep working on it and it will come back to you.
You are 1 of 4 seniors on the roster: what is the key to being a veteran leader? My experience helps me guide the young guys. I have seen a lot in college so I can give them some good feedback and help them navigate the game.
Your brother Sean played college basketball: who is the best athlete in the family? Me, for sure! He ended up leaving after 2 years to help me get into college, which will always mean a lot to me.
What kind of seed do you think you deserve, and what kind of seed do you think you will get? I feel like we deserve a 14/15 seed…but I think they will put us at a 15/16.
