CJ Fulton

CJ Fulton
Free agent
PositionPoint guard
Personal information
Born (2002-06-24) June 24, 2002
Belfast, Northern Ireland
NationalityIrish
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolSt Malachy's College
(Belfast, Northern Ireland)
CollegeLafayette (2021–2023)
Charleston (2023–2025)
NBA draft2025: undrafted
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–2020Belfast Star
Career highlights
  • Irish Super League champion (2020)
  • Third-team All-CAA (2025)
  • Third-team All-Patriot League (2023)
  • Patriot League All-Freshman team (2022)
  • Irish Super League All-Star First Team (2020)
  • 2× Irish Super League Young Player of the Year (2019, 2020)
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Ireland
FIBA European Championship for Small Countries
Gold medal – first place 2021 Dublin Team

CJ Fulton (born June 24, 2002) is an Irish professional basketball player. He played college basketball with the Lafayette Leopards and the Charleston Cougars.

Early life and youth career

Christopher Fulton was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland to parents Adrian and Jackie Fulton on June 24, 2002. His father Adrian played basketball for the Irish National Team and the Belfast Star, and currently serves as the Star's head coach.[1][2] His grandfather, Danny Fulton, served as the head coach of the National Team and the Belfast Star, winning two Super League titles with the latter.[3] His great grandfather, Bertie Fulton, was the first footballer from Northern Ireland to ever compete at the Olympic Games, as he represented Great Britain at the 1936 Summer Olympics.[4][5]

Fulton played basketball for St Malachy's College in Belfast, winning nine National Championships (2014–20) and two Finals MVP's (2018 and 2019) with the school. He spent his senior year at The Winchendon School in Boston, Massachusetts so NCAA basketball coaches could watch him play.[6][7]

While still in school, Fulton played two seasons for the Belfast Star in the Irish Super League from 2018–20. He was named Young Player of the Year for the 2018–19 season, in which he averaged 9.2 points and 5.4 assists per game. Fulton was again named Young Player of the Year for the 2019–20 season, after improving to average 17.5 points and 7.5 assists per game, winning an All-Star First Team Selection and the league championship at the end of the season.[8][9]

College career

Lafayette Leopards

Fulton received a scholarship to play for the Lafayette Leopards in Easton, Pennsylvania to begin his collegiate career.[10] During his freshman year, he averaged 7.3 points and 3.3 assists per game, earning a spot on the Patriot League All-Rookie Team.[11][12] Fulton improved his scoring and ball handling for his sophomore year, ultimately averaging 10.4 points and 5.0 assists per game en route to a Third Team All-Patriot League selection.[13][14] His career 4.2 assists per game and 24.7 assist percentage both rank fourth in Lafayette program history.[15]

Charleston Cougars

Fulton transferred to the Charleston Cougars in Charleston, South Carolina for his junior year.[16] His 4.1 points and 4.1 assists per game helped the 2023–24 Cougars reach the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row, while he led the nation with a 4.1 to 1.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.[17] Fulton averaged 7.8 points and a career-high 6.5 assists per game during his senior season, once again leading the nation with a 5.0 to 1.0 assist-to-turnover ratio and earning a spot on the All-CAA Third Team.[17][18] Fulton dished out his 500th career assist during an 87-85 victory over Northeastern on January 18, 2025, and would later earn his 600th during the penultimate game of the season.[19] He graduated with the program records for most career assists per game (5.3) and the highest career assist percentage (30.2) in Charleston basketball history.[20]

During four years of collegiate basketball Fulton played under five different head coaches; Fran O'Hanlon, Mike Jordan, and Mike McGarvey at Lafayette, along with Pat Kelsey and Chris Mack at Charleston.[21]

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2025 NBA draft, Fulton joined the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 2025 NBA Summer League.[22][23]

National team career

Fulton also played for Ireland's National U16 Team at the 2017 and 2018 FIBA U16 European Championships, as well as the National U18 Team at the 2019 FIBA U18 European Championship.[24] He made his official National Team debut during the 2021 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries, where he averaged 4.5 points and 3.5 assists to help Ireland win the gold medal.[25]

Career statistics

Legend
GP Games played GS Games started MPG Minutes per game
FG% Field goal percentage 3P% 3-point field goal percentage FT% Free throw percentage
RPG Rebounds per game APG Assists per game SPG Steals per game
BPG Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high

College

Source:[26]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2021–22 Lafayette 30 27 29.4 .445 .368 .737 3.9 3.3 1.4 0.1 7.3
2022–23 Lafayette 30 29 36.4 .426 .387 .857 5.1 5.0 2.0 0.1 10.4
2023–24 Charleston 35 25 23.9 .402 .337 .684 3.1 4.1 1.0 0.0 4.1
2024–25 Charleston 32 31 33.5 .426 .377 .837 4.1 6.5 1.5 0.0 7.8
Career 127 112 30.6 .427 .371 .798 4.0 4.7 1.5 0.0 7.3

References

  1. ^ Duffy, Emma (2019-01-12). "'The circle of life' - Big day for three generations of Fultons as ever-rising Star chase history". The 42. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  2. ^ Keeling, Orla (2025-06-29). "CJ Fulton on NBA Summer call: 'I'm still almost in disbelief'". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  3. ^ "Danny Fulton". ireland.basketball. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  4. ^ "Belfast footballer who was at 1936 Olympics in Berlin". BBC News. 2011-08-05. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  5. ^ "Fulton family's generation game a unique tale of elite performers". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. 2018-02-10. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  6. ^ "Teenage basketball star CJ Fulton seals move to the States". BBC Sport. 2020-04-18. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  7. ^ "CJ Fulton - Men's Basketball". College of Charleston Athletics. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  8. ^ Duggan, John. "Belfast Star dominate Basketball Ireland Annual Awards". OffTheBall. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  9. ^ "CJ Fulton »" (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  10. ^ "NBA prospect Aidan Igiehon blazing an Irish trail in US basketball". 2021-08-07. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  11. ^ "Patriot League Announces PenFed Credit Union Men's Basketball Major Awards and All-League Teams (2.28.22)". patriotleague.org. 2022-02-28. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  12. ^ Manley, John. "Fulton makes PL's All-Rookie Squad". Irish Echo Newspaper. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  13. ^ "Patriot League Announces PenFed Credit Union 2022-23 Men's Basketball Major Awards and All-League Teams (2.27.23)". patriotleague.org. 2023-02-27. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  14. ^ Dupont, Ben. "From Éire to here, basketball's CJ Fulton fits in". The Lafayette. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  15. ^ "Lafayette Men's Basketball Leaders & Records - Career". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  16. ^ "Irish National Team Member Fulton Signs with Cougars". College of Charleston Athletics. 2025-07-17. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  17. ^ a b Dukowitz, Andrew (2025-07-19). "CJ Fulton Makes Irish Basketball History". Zone Coverage. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  18. ^ Smith, Dylan. "2025 CAA Men's Basketball Awards Unveiled; Towson's Tejada Tabbed Player of the Year". caasports.com. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  19. ^ "Cougars Top Huskies in Late Game Thriller". College of Charleston Athletics. 2025-01-18. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  20. ^ "College of Charleston Men's Basketball Leaders & Records - Career". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  21. ^ apmiller@postandcourier.com, Andrew Miller (2024-10-10). "Cougars center stays true to CofC for 3rd straight NCAA appearance as coaching staff shifts". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  22. ^ Lennon, Barry (July 10, 2025). "Ireland star CJ Fulton eyes NBA dream with Minnesota Timberwolves in Summer League tilt". Irish Independent. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  23. ^ "Fulton, Brzovic Join NBA 2K26 Summer League". College of Charleston Athletics. 2025-07-17. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  24. ^ "CJ Fulton - Men's Basketball". College of Charleston Athletics. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  25. ^ "Christopher Fulton (Ireland) - Basketball Stats, Height, Age | FIBA Basketball". www.fiba.basketball. 2025-08-12. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  26. ^ "CJ Fulton College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.