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Texas Tech Basketball: Mac McClung pickup “risk vs reward” for Red Raiders

By Tristan Freeman

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 19: Mac McClung #2 of the Georgetown Hoyas takes a foul shot during a college basketball game against the Providence Friars at the Capital One Arena on February 19, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 19: Mac McClung #2 of the Georgetown Hoyas takes a foul shot during a college basketball game against the Providence Friars at the Capital One Arena on February 19, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – APRIL 08: Virginia Cavaliers fans cheer on their team against the Texas Tech Red Raiders  (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – APRIL 08: Virginia Cavaliers fans cheer on their team against the Texas Tech Red Raiders  (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Mac McClung could bring Texas Tech Basketball to another Final Four

During the offseason, all transfers get hyped up to unrealistic levels. There’s an expectation that players such as McClung, LJ Figueroa, Matt Haarms and others will average 20 ppg and be all-conference stars. Out of the hundreds of yearly transfers, only a few have what you would call a “massive” level of impact, with most having solid roles, while many others falling short and being “busts”. McClung’s scoring ability alone will prevent that label but there’s a difference between putting up numbers on a bad team, versus playing in a controlled system where he might not get more than eight shots in a single game.

That being said, McClung is the best guard Texas Tech could’ve gotten this late in the offseason to replace Moretti. Assuming he gets the waiver, that’s instant offense for the team to benefit from. He also is the type of player who can create his own shot, something most of the guards on the roster can’t do at a great level right now. The Raiders did have their fair share of scoring droughts last season and can always use someone who can get a bucket on his own.

And while I do have my current concerns about how the Hoya guard will fit in Texas Tech’s system, I do have to give a big benefit of the doubt to Coach Beard and how he utilizes transfers and maximizes their talents. Both Clarke and TJ Holyfield had good seasons, while Matt Mooney, Tariq Owens and Brandone Francis had big roles on the 2019 national runner-up squad. Mooney, who averaged over 18 ppg at South Dakota before transferring, put up just 11.5 ppg in his final year.

But to the hope of someone like McClung, he still made the NBA and played a few games for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Winning on a top-10 team with lower statistics is better than putting up big numbers on a team that can’t even make the NIT, which can boost McClung’s stock automatically without feeling that he needs to “overdo” it.

In the Big 12, the early predictions are another battle between Kansas and Baylor fighting it out for another title. But if McClung works out, Texas Tech will have something to say about that. They’ll have good balance and great overall depth, thanks to a top-10 incoming recruiting class, along with VCU grad transfer Marcus Santos-Silva joining this offseason. Who knows, maybe the Red Raiders have another deep March run in them.

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