The winner of BUF Student Athlete of the Month for December is CJ McKinley. McKinley led the team for assists in the month (he also leads for assists on the season), 2^nd in free throw percentage and 1^st in 3-point percentage, shooting an impressive 60% from deep. He was also 3^rd in total points. He is 1 of just 4 players to have played in every game up to this point. In BUF's back to back in Georgia for game 1 against Oglethorpe he led the team with 21 points shooting 100% from 3 and then in the following afternoon he had 16 points going 3 of 5 from downtown.

McKinley was a football player growing up. He played quarterback, and it shows in the way he sees the court and how he can distribute the ball. In high school he gravitated more towards basketball and chose to stick with that sport. He is a big Kyrie Irving fan and you can see evidence of that in the way he handles the ball. His connection to BUF started with Solomon Sutton. McKinley played against Sutton in high school and their mothers are friends. Through conversation McKinley's mom heard Sutton was planning to play basketball at BUF and recommended her son try doing the same. He contacted Coach Hughes and McKinley came to BUF for a tour of the campus and a workout over the summer, to which Coach Hughes offered him a spot on the team.