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Texas Tech Basketball: A look at what Mac McClung brings to Red Raiders

By Caleb Hightower

WASHINGTON, DC- JANUARY 08: Mac McClung #2 of the Georgetown Hoyas dribbles by Josh Roberts #1 of the St. John's Red Storm during a college basketball game at the Capital One Arena on January 8, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC- JANUARY 08: Mac McClung #2 of the Georgetown Hoyas dribbles by Josh Roberts #1 of the St. John's Red Storm during a college basketball game at the Capital One Arena on January 8, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 22: Mac McClung #2 of the Georgetown Hoyas (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 22: Mac McClung #2 of the Georgetown Hoyas (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /

 Offensive Weaknesses

McClung has a tendency to force shots when he has been out of games for extended periods of time. He needs to learn that it is okay to run some offense and make defenses work so that he doesn’t have to work harder than he needs to. This is not necessarily something that can always be corrected quickly, especially if you are a player that is always expected to take charge offensively, but I am confident that McClung will realize that he is too good of a player to consistently try to make plays that simply aren’t available.

He also needs to make sure that if he is struggling to score early on in games, he is attempting to get out in transition more often to get himself going. Continuing to take contested shots, when defenses have barely had to move, is not going to help him get into a rhythm any quicker. Sometimes in basketball, you need to know when to simplify things and play to your strengths as much as possible. McClung would certainly benefit from implementing this strategy and making defenders play on their heels in transition as much as possible so that they won’t be able to stay in front of him when he is relentlessly maneuvering to the basket.

While he showed that he is certainly a competent three-point shooter (especially from deep) when his feet are set, he needs to avoid taking quick off-balance threes every now and then, after coming off cross or down screens. He shot 32.3% from three last season, and I am a firm believer that his percentage would have been higher if he wasn’t always so quick to pull the trigger. Missing 11 games due to injuries didn’t help, but when he was on the court last season, he needed to be a little more patient at times, and wait for plays to fully develop so that he could truly maximize every offensive possession.

As I mentioned before, McClung would benefit from trying to make the game easier for himself at certain times. I understand that he is a natural scorer, and was expected to carry Georgetown offensively the past two seasons, but that does not mean that he should try to score when defenders have caught on to the fact that he is trying to force the issue. I think that at Texas Tech, McClung should try to emphasize making the plays that defenses give him a little more. Those plays may not be as flashy as he may want them to be, but making them will prevent defenders from being able to easily predict that he will try to take a selfish shot.

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