Hero Shot Guy
Haven't watched a ton yet, but I'm getting the same "hero" shot-taker vibes that I got watching Mooney highlights at South Dakota -- except McClung was much younger than Mooney and doing it in the Big East.
It seems counter-intuitive that having the ability to create and then the courage to take a lot of really difficult (some may describe them as bad) shots are qualities that fit in well for Beard's offense.
However, as we know, during conference play & March basketball, Beard tends to run a pretty methodical offense. I think being deliberate on offense is sort of Tech's secret weapon, as it allows us to control the pace & keep teams out of their comfort zone and it sets up our defense really well. If every game turns into a half-court rock fight, generally, it's advantage Tech.
A product of rock fights, though, are late-clock situations when players just need to go make something happen. Like Mooney, I think McClung will be a good fit for that aspect of our offense. If he was on last year's team, guys would have been looking for him as the clock winded down, which would've taken a big weight off of Kyler's shoulders.
Freak Athlete
For a 6'2 PG, very impressive rebounding percentages. Also gets to the FT line a ton. He seems to create a lot of separation off the dribble. Seemingly much, much more than Ramsey or Moro last year.
Was "The Guy" as a FR & SO
Ridiculously high usage & shot percentages, meaning he accounted for a majority of Georgetown's offensive possessions. Especially for a FR. John Roberson & Ramsey are really the only recent Tech comparisons to the way McClung was used his FR year.
There's a direct correlation between shooting stats & usage rate. I expect him to play a little different role at Tech, one where he isn't asked to be the hero every possession, and his shooting numbers should benefit tremendously.
D1 basketball coaches tend to know a thing or two about their basketball teams. D1 basketball players tend to know a bit about their teammates' capabilities. If coaches & upperclassmen allow a FR or SO to play such a featured role on the team, that underclassmen tends to be a pretty damn good player.
Other Stuff
As a FR/SO, and despite playing such a major role offensively, McClung has a very nice TO % (top 250 in the nation this year).
Top 250 Steal %.
Good to great FT shooter.
Relative to his size and position, very efficient on 2PT shots. I found only 9 guys in the Big East since 2015 with FR seasons similar to McClung, in terms of usage rate and size. McClung had the highest 2PT shot % among that group.
Has a chance to be a knock-down shooter in Beard's offense, where catch-and-shoot 3 pointers often seem to fall from the sky.
During a Q&A seminar, High School coaches were asking Beard how Tech's so good at preventing drivers from getting to the middle of the floor. Beard responded that he uses the bench aka we simply sub out guys that aren't physically (or mentally) capable of executing our plan. Sure, a lot of coaching and scheme goes into it, but most of our effectiveness was the result of having really good athletes. If McClung's is as athletic as we apparently think he is, there's no reason to think he won't be a good defender in Mark Adams' system.
Haven't watched a ton yet, but I'm getting the same "hero" shot-taker vibes that I got watching Mooney highlights at South Dakota -- except McClung was much younger than Mooney and doing it in the Big East.
It seems counter-intuitive that having the ability to create and then the courage to take a lot of really difficult (some may describe them as bad) shots are qualities that fit in well for Beard's offense.
However, as we know, during conference play & March basketball, Beard tends to run a pretty methodical offense. I think being deliberate on offense is sort of Tech's secret weapon, as it allows us to control the pace & keep teams out of their comfort zone and it sets up our defense really well. If every game turns into a half-court rock fight, generally, it's advantage Tech.
A product of rock fights, though, are late-clock situations when players just need to go make something happen. Like Mooney, I think McClung will be a good fit for that aspect of our offense. If he was on last year's team, guys would have been looking for him as the clock winded down, which would've taken a big weight off of Kyler's shoulders.
Freak Athlete
For a 6'2 PG, very impressive rebounding percentages. Also gets to the FT line a ton. He seems to create a lot of separation off the dribble. Seemingly much, much more than Ramsey or Moro last year.
Was "The Guy" as a FR & SO
Ridiculously high usage & shot percentages, meaning he accounted for a majority of Georgetown's offensive possessions. Especially for a FR. John Roberson & Ramsey are really the only recent Tech comparisons to the way McClung was used his FR year.
There's a direct correlation between shooting stats & usage rate. I expect him to play a little different role at Tech, one where he isn't asked to be the hero every possession, and his shooting numbers should benefit tremendously.
D1 basketball coaches tend to know a thing or two about their basketball teams. D1 basketball players tend to know a bit about their teammates' capabilities. If coaches & upperclassmen allow a FR or SO to play such a featured role on the team, that underclassmen tends to be a pretty damn good player.
Other Stuff
As a FR/SO, and despite playing such a major role offensively, McClung has a very nice TO % (top 250 in the nation this year).
Top 250 Steal %.
Good to great FT shooter.
Relative to his size and position, very efficient on 2PT shots. I found only 9 guys in the Big East since 2015 with FR seasons similar to McClung, in terms of usage rate and size. McClung had the highest 2PT shot % among that group.
Has a chance to be a knock-down shooter in Beard's offense, where catch-and-shoot 3 pointers often seem to fall from the sky.
During a Q&A seminar, High School coaches were asking Beard how Tech's so good at preventing drivers from getting to the middle of the floor. Beard responded that he uses the bench aka we simply sub out guys that aren't physically (or mentally) capable of executing our plan. Sure, a lot of coaching and scheme goes into it, but most of our effectiveness was the result of having really good athletes. If McClung's is as athletic as we apparently think he is, there's no reason to think he won't be a good defender in Mark Adams' system.
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