Texas Tech Basketball: Evaluating Mac McClung’s growth as a player

Texas Tech Basketball won their last two conference games comfortably, and Mac McClung’s play had a lot to do with those two convincing Big 12 victories.

After falling to Oklahoma State on January 2nd in overtime, Texas Tech Basketball responded by knocking off Kansas State on Tuesday (82-71) and Iowa State on Saturday (91-64). Kansas State deserves a lot of credit for not throwing in the towel when the Red Raiders started to extend their lead, but Texas Tech was in full control for most of the second half.

Iowa State gave Texas Tech a run for their money in the first half of Saturday’s game, but when the Red Raiders’ offensive efficiency started to increase, the Cyclones fell behind by double-digits and couldn’t fight their way back into the ball game. In addition to their timely defensive rotations, the Red Raiders were also able to rely heavily on their quick decision-making on the offensive end of the floor.

When Texas Tech faced off against Oklahoma State, I couldn’t help but notice that the Red Raiders spent far too much time holding the ball out on the perimeter, instead of attempting to get the Cowboys’ defense to shift early in the shot clock. Yes, 30 seconds does seem like a long time when an offensive possession begins, but before you know it you will have to throw up a contested 30-foot jumper with a hand in your face because you (along with your team) failed to get at least one paint touch.

That was not the case on Tuesday or Saturday however, as the Red Raiders prioritized keeping the ball moving if they couldn’t make something happen, and getting the ball inside to Marcus Santos-Silva early on in possessions (or having one of the guards penetrate, and either kick the ball out to a teammate if the help came, or continue to attack the basket if the help wasn’t there).

And while all of that is spectacular, Mac McClung’s encouraging play during the Red Raiders’ last two games impressed me the most, because it showed me that McClung is learning how to make himself more effective when he is out on the floor. As some of you may recall, I broke down McClung’s game in great detail last July and pointed out both his strengths and weaknesses as a player.

And while McClung should continue to try and turn his weaknesses into strengths, he has exhibited that he wants to be the strongest player that he can be for the Red Raiders, and as of right now he is in the process of tightening up his game on both ends of the floor.

In this article, I want to examine two of McClung’s weaknesses that I highlighted a few months back and analyze how McClung has used Texas Tech’s last two games to display his vast improvements in those areas.