Seeing this kid play for the first time against Illinois tonight. He has had three very impressive drives to the basket which highlight his athletic abilities. I don’t think he has done much from the outside but the announcers and studio guys are all in with the hype.
OT: Mac McClung
- Thread starter BigEastPhil
- Start date
That's every coach against Illinois. They foul every possession knowing the refs won't call every single one.
McClung with steal and reverse dunk...hustling and competing...definitely a player in transition or up and down setting.
Hasn't made a three-pointer yet this season. He'll eventually make one but that's a pretty Illuminating stat with 3:39 left in his third college game.
He’s showing pretty well today. He’s still needs work physically which is to be expected. Now don’t shoot me for saying this as I am not comparing two players but his mannerisms and movement reminds me of Corey especially how he prefers to jump off two at the rim.
The thing I like about his game is he makes good decisions when he attacks the basket, with both finishing and passing in mind, and that’s a critical skill at the PG position. However he doesn’t get to the rim at ease off the dribble at this juncture and has typically been better off the ball catching on the wing and attacking from there.
No outside game to speak of. He has tools to work with so we will see how good Ewing’s staff is based on how he develops the other parts of his game as he gets stronger.
Obviously he’s gotten good exposure pre college so he will probably have him have one of those careers where three years from now you go “he’s still playing???”.
The thing I like about his game is he makes good decisions when he attacks the basket, with both finishing and passing in mind, and that’s a critical skill at the PG position. However he doesn’t get to the rim at ease off the dribble at this juncture and has typically been better off the ball catching on the wing and attacking from there.
No outside game to speak of. He has tools to work with so we will see how good Ewing’s staff is based on how he develops the other parts of his game as he gets stronger.
Obviously he’s gotten good exposure pre college so he will probably have him have one of those careers where three years from now you go “he’s still playing???”.
That shot is UGLY. Barely hits the rim half the time.
He's great to the hole and a great finisher. Defense needs work, like most freshman.
This is a great game. That frosh Ayo is impressive, makes it look easy. Gtown has some athletes too.
Both teams playing hard. If GT could cut down on the turnovers they could be dangerous.
Both teams playing hard. If GT could cut down on the turnovers they could be dangerous.
Better to focus on the freshmen we did get. There will always be players that get away. We got some pretty good freshmen ourselves.
Ewing is my favorite player of all time so I was a Georgetown fan before I came to Rutgers. I definitely want to see Georgetown succeed now with Ewing at the helm. He paid his dues for a while as an assistant coach and didn't just get handed the gig with no experience.
I'm not bitter about McClung. There is so much to be thrilled with here at Rutgers. Don't feel the need to hate
I'm not bitter about McClung. There is so much to be thrilled with here at Rutgers. Don't feel the need to hate
They're just three games into the season. As teams get more scout footage on him and see that he is not a perimeter threat, they will focus on cutting off his dribble drive.
When these coaches scout upcoming opponents it is not uncommon to watch at least 100 offensives possessions of each player to see tendencies, tells, etc.
I think McClung is going to be a good four-year player if he works hard and listens to his coaches.
That's interesting. He almost never shows up in my Twitter feed. If I see a Tweet about him it is usually because someone sent it to me in a DM or text, or someone posted it on a message board.
I posted on the Main Board that it appears McClung has one plus skill. He can put his head down, drive to the rim and finish. Right now he can't run a high major offense nor can he shoot. I thought it was pretty poor job by Coach Underwood having his team play up on him last night.
How precious. When did you become such a softie ha ha Ha? I kid I Judi BUT Honestly, all those words you just said, have absolutely nothing to do with the fact that there’s no need for a thread about this kid here. Ever.
If a kid commits to Rutgers, then decommits to attend another school, there's going to be threads about that player. Hoping there isn't is like hoping it won't be cold this winter.
Like Bruce Hornsby says, "It's just the way it is, some things will never change..."
I’ve always liked Underwood as a coach but I have to agree here. I realize that’s their style but I think they overplay too much, not just on McClung.
As you’ve suggested, if I’m Illinois, I drop McClung’s man into the lane..at least until he proves he can bank in a three-pointer.
Honestly, I was impressed with Georgetown.
So much of a lovefest here for a guy who would be nothing more than a bench player on our team (and a limited one at that..yea that's what we need. A guard with no 3 pt threat).
Why? He wasn't very impressive at all. People are acting like he's the only guard that can dunk in college basketball.
No idea, but he wasn’t on my radar until yesterday. Now I can see him easily getting on my nerves for 4 years if they are going to treat him like Jordan.
I completely understand when a kid transfers from here, most of the time, but if the kid de-commits from here and people start to read about his career I just don’t get it. What kind of pathetic, actually, in my humble opinion.
That explains it. I don't follow ESPN or SI on Twitter.
That's funny to me because he wasn't even the best player in the game last night.
Josh LeBlanc had the best performance last night followed closely by Jessie Govan imo.
Then it would be a toss-up between and Ayo Dosunmu and Josh Akinjo. Then Kipper Nichols and there was some guard who came off the bench for Illinois who played really well. Then Mac McClung.
That's how they play. They're tryna make it very difficult for opponents to run their half court offense. Illinois' defensive principles start with that.
Underwood learned that style from Frank Martin.
I did not think Govan played that well. I would have put Akinjo ahead of him last night. What was impressive about Georgetown is that they were playing 3 freshmen down the stretch in a tight contest on the road. I hope SJU brings similar intensity Friday night so we can get a handle on how our team will respond in such situations.
Russ, is Georgetown’s Govan related to Jersey City’s Gerry GovN who played a spell in the ABA in the 70s?
Govan was 4-of-7 from the floor, had six rebounds, two assists and zero turnovers in 32 minutes. He deflected a shot late and made a couple of key free throws to help seal the win. The only thing he didn't do was get a steal or some OREBS.
Akinjo had a good game but he had a lot of turnovers
Don't know if they're related, but I was a huge ABA fan and have fond memories of Gerald "Go-Go" Govan and his Buddy Holly-styled eyeglasses. He is from Jersey City and attended defunct St. Mary's of the Plains College in Dodge, Kansas. An extremely hard worker who didn't score much but was an excellent rebounder, shot-blocker and passer. Get this: In eight full seasons in the ABA, he missed a total of three games. This includes back-to-back seasons of averaging 44 minutes-per-game.
In 681 ABA games, Go-Go attempted just two three-pointers, missing both. During a Nets telecast, he once received a pass from outside the arc and eyed the basket. I remember Al Albert saying something like, "It would be worth the price of admission to see him Go-Go put it up from out there." Here is Go-Go's page from a fun and informative ABA site, complete with reminiscences.
http://www.remembertheaba.com/tributematerial/govan.html
Used to watch him in JC Summer Leagues as a kid. Go-Go for sure!
Site says he is fourth in career games for ABA players who never played in the NBA. Just found this about his defunct college, which was shut down due to financial losses incurred through dealings with a trucking company. Just 837 students when the school closed. Go-Go defied the odds by moving on to play professional basketball from there. No shortage of wacky ABA stories.
https://www.apnews.com/fc1318cf1f21a04524b10d19dea423a0
