Fast Break: Austin McCullough

With nine newcomers on this year's Cal Men's Basketball roster, there are plenty of fresh faces to get to know among the Golden Bears. Each week leading up to Pac-12 play, the Fast Break is bringing five key facts about a Cal newcomer to CalBears.com. Next up in the series is freshmen Austin McCullough, who is a native of Birmingham, Ala. and became Berkeley-bound after becoming Portage Central's all-time leading scorer.

Previous Fast Break spotlights:

1. First Aid

McCullough's father's work for a medical device company has inspired his career choice. After spending plenty of time with his dad in hospitals and on trips, McCullough intends to major in Pre-Med and would like to pursue a career in the medical field, specifically to become a nurse.

"My dad is a real personable guy, so I used to hang out with all the nurses and doctors," McCullough said. "I've always wanted to do that and the idea of working with anesthetics and being in the medical field and really nursing to help people. I've always been into that."

2. The Great Outdoors

Growing up in Birmingham, Ala., McCullough developed a passion for a variety of outdoor hobbies.

"I like going to the lake. My family has a lake house in Alabama," McCullough explained. "I also like to ski, wakeboard and all those types of things. I'm from Alabama, I like to hunt, fish and do all that stuff too."

3. 1K Club

McCullough played varsity basketball all four years at Portage Central High School and by the end of his high school career, he became the program's all-time leading scorer and the first player in the school's history to eclipse 1,000 points. He views this as his proudest basketball moment to date:

"Becoming the all-time scorer at my high school -- that was a really big thing and I've always wanted to do that, since I was growing up," he said.

4. Grillmaster

While McCullough's favorite food is "anything my Mama cooks," he's also comfortable in the kitchen. He especially enjoys firing up the grill with his teammatesand cooking up burgers, steaks or fajitas.

5. Musical Variety

Though McCullough enjoys country music the most, he is also a big fan of pop star Rihanna and if he could meet any celebrity, he would choose her.

1. First Aid

2. The Great Outdoors

3. 1K Club

4. Grillmaster

5. Musical Variety

BONUS:

Players Mentioned

Austin McCullough

California Golden Bears Athletics