by Jarret Johnson for Inside the Red Raiders
Texas Tech guard Mac McClung announced via Twitter on Friday that he has received a waiver from the NCAA allowing him to play this season rather than having to sit a year to satisfy transfer requirements. The 6-foot-2 combo guard averaged 15.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 39.4% from the field and 80.2% from the free throw line as a sophomore last season for the Hoyas. The year before, as a freshman, McClung averaged 13.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 0.8 steals a contest while shooting 39.2% and 79.8 from the field and free throw line, respectively.
“He’s a special player,” said Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard. “I don’t like to put the weight of the program on one player’s shoulders, but I have no problem telling you this is one of the best guards in college basketball.”
A skilled shot creator with an explosive vertical, McClung is known for producing entertaining highlights on a regular basis. According to the 247Sports Composite, McClung was a three-star recruit, rated as the No. 245 overall prospect in the nation, No. 23 combo guard in the country and No. 11 player in Virginia coming out Gate City High School in 2018. the Red Raiders this offseason along with Jamarius Burton, a combo guard from Wichita State, and Marcus Santos-Silva, a power forward from VCU. McClung and Burton were both traditional transfers who each received waivers from the NCAA. Santos-Silva joined the program as a graduate transfer.
McClung was a late arrival on the transfer market after initially declaring for the NBA Draft before withdrawing and announcing his intention to leave Georgetown. Though contacted by many schools, McClung chose the Red Raiders over a list of finalists which also included Arkansas, Auburn, BYU, Memphis, USC and Wake Forest.
