Draft Prospect: Jack McClinton

[Bruno]

Height: 6-1
Weight: 185 lbs
Birthday: 01/19/1985
College: Miami

DraftExpress
nbadraft

[Bruno]

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports...a-scouts-.html

McClinton continues to impress NBA scouts

Posted by Shandel Richardson on June 4, 2009 03:53 PM

CORAL GABLES _ On Thursday, former UM guard Jack McClinton was in a familiar place.

He was heading to shoot jumpers on campus. This scene has been a constant the last four years. The reward is expected to come when McClinton hears his name called during the NBA Draft June 25. After Jack McClinton having some doubters, McClinton has been impressive while working out for several NBA teams.

"Things are going really well," McClinton said. "You only get one chance to go in there and show these people what you got. You have to make the best of it."

So far, McClinton has visited Oklahoma City, Houston, San Antonio, Detroit, Milwaukee and Chicago. He lists Houston as his only sub-par workout, but likely made up for that with a strong showing at last month's Pre-Draft Camp in Chicago. McClinton performed well enough to earn workouts with two more teams, Cleveland and Phoenix.

McClinton said it doesn't matter where he lands as long as he hears his name called while watching the Draft with family.

"I'm hearing a lot of late-first (round) or early-second," McClinton said. "And early-second to mid-second. Basically, it's anywhere from No. 22 to 60. If I'm not taken in the first round, I wouldn't say it would be disappointing. I've worked so hard. Even if you're in the second round, you can still work and get a spot. I love to work. I'll do what I got to do to get there."

The biggest question is what position McClinton will play. At 6-2, he played mostly shooting guard for the Hurricanes. He will likely shift to the point in the NBA. Ball-handling and play-making ability are both concerns, but McClinton refuses to worry.

"I get this question a lot," McClinton said. "I look at myself as a guard. If you think about the NBA, there's only about six or seven great point guards. You got Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Darren Williams, Jason Kidd and Chauncey Billups. But all the rest are guys who just don't get rattled bringing the ball up the court. They get the team in the offense and they cut through and knock down the open shot if possible. There's not too many guys who are out there creating."

[Blackjack]

Jack McClinton: "I can do so much more than just shoot the basketball"

by: Joey Whelan
June 8, 2009

There’s a reason Jack McClinton never flashed a smile after draining 3-pointer after 3-pointer during his time at the University of Miami; he was never satisfied. The two-time first team All-ACC performer has been counted out his entire career dating back to his days at Calvert Hall High School in Baltimore. McClinton wasn’t recruited by any of the local major colleges, so he decided to take the prep school route and spent a year at South Kent in Connecticut. There, the sharpshooter did enough to earn a scholarship to attend Siena, where he immediately established himself as one of the top players on the team. His time with the Saints was short lived, though, as head coach Rob Lanier, the man who recruited McClinton, was fired.

The coaching change left McClinton wanting out at Siena, and he ultimately decided to transfer to the University of Miami. He spent the next three seasons lighting up some of the top teams in the country in the ACC, emerging as one of the conferences brightest stars. Still, despite all of his accolades at the collegiate level, McClinton is still an unknown talent to many NBA fans, but has been hard at work doing his best to impress scouts and GMs. He turned in a good showing at the NBA combine in Chicago a couple of weeks ago and has been getting solid feedback from the teams that he has worked out for.

McClinton took some time out recently in between scheduled workouts with various teams to talk about his career at Miami, what position he sees himself playing at the next level, and whether or not he can break out of the one-dimensional label as a shooter.




DraftExpress: After the season ended at Miami, where were you training in preparation for individual workouts?

Jack McClinton: First I went to Washington D.C. for a while to train. From there I had six or seven workouts and now I’m back down in Miami actually for some more training. I’ll be on the road a lot more now, so there isn’t as much training going on as there is the individual stuff.

DX: What did you focus on in your training? Where were you looking to make improvements?

JM: I’m really working on everything; I don’t think you can be too good at any one thing. You know you have a deck of cards and of course my ace is my shooting, say my ball handling was a nine and so on. So I’ve got that ace, but you want to improve the other stuff, you can always get better with your ball handling, that‘s something that can really help me get to where I want to be. So I’ve been doing two ball drills, lots of stuff with cones and whatnot. The guy I’ve got in DC is a great workout guy.

DX: What teams have you worked out for so far?

JM: I’ve worked out for Oklahoma City, Houston, San Antonio, Detroit, Milwaukee and Chicago. Then of course I was also at the pre-draft camp in Chicago.

DX: How do you think the workouts have gone so far?

JM: They’ve gone real well; I really think I get to show off my game in the individual workouts. People think I’m just a spot up shooter, but I can create my own shot and do stuff like that in these workouts.

DX: What have teams been asking you during the interview sessions you’ve done with them?

JM: A lot of teams have been asking if I can play the point guard position. I’ve been playing that position almost my entire life. I was a point in prep school, I played it at Siena, I played it a little bit at Miami, but most of the time there the team needed for me to be a scorer so I was.

DX: Do you think you can make the transition to being a point guard in the NBA or do you see yourself exclusively as a shooting guard?

JM: I would label myself as a guard, not a point guard or a shooting guard, just a guard. If you look at the NBA there are six or seven great point guards like the Chris Pauls and Deron Williams, you have a lot of great ones. There are also a lot of guys who can manage an offense without getting rattled; I think I can be one of those guys.


DX: You were an outstanding shooter in college. This season you connected on 45 percent of your perimeter shots while taking seven three-pointers per game. Do you think if you had been on a team with a top point guard and a good big man you could have made an even higher percentage of your threes?

JM: You know you can look at it in two ways. I was in a position where I wasn’t always able to get my shot where I wanted. But we had a great point guard and a great big; I’m just thinking that maybe my shots would have come a little bit easier. I wouldn’t change anything for the world though.

DX: You were relied on very heavily to carry the offense at Miami. Do you view that as a positive or a negative in this process?

JM: I definitely look at is as a positive. Being at Miami, sometimes I had to go out there and really try to get my shot and work that much harder. At the next level I’m going to surrounded by great players, so maybe rather than having to take a step back, I can shoot a regular jump shot. Maybe if I wound up with a dominant big man, like a Tim Duncan who can really control the paint, I could come down and spot up for open shots. I mean there are a lot of different cir stances.

DX: One thing you excelled at in college was creating your own shot. Can you continue to do that in the NBA?

JM: I can definitely continue to do that. I have a lot of ball handling skills and that’s one thing I’ve really worked on and have had to work on while at Miami, just to get my shot off. My main move has always been my step back because I can create a lot of space, but I’ve also been working on a lot of counter moves off of that.

DX: The last truly great shooter to come out of the ACC was J.J. Re a couple of years ago. The knock on him has been that he is too much of a one dimensional player, is that a concern for you?

JM: No, not at all, that’s one thing I don’t want to be labeled as. I can do so much more than just shoot the basketball.

DX: At the combine in Chicago you tested out well and were one of the fastest players in attendance. Do you think numbers like that are going to help your stock?

JM: You know I really don’t know how much teams look at that stuff. I think it could only help me, but at the end of the day I think it comes down to what you can do on the court. I think those numbers, people will look at those and think, OK maybe he’s more athletic than we thought, but I don’t know if that’s going to increase my stock.

DX: One thing that scouts clearly will look at is size. You measured out just under 6-1 in shoes, is that a concern for you?

JM: No, really it isn’t a concern for me because a lot of times players are told you’re not tall enough to be here. I’ve been going through that my whole life. When I was transferring to Miami I had people telling me not to because they said I wouldn’t play. I just used stuff like that as motivation; it kept me working harder in the gym to prove all of those people wrong. I’m not going to stop doing that; I’m always going to have that chip on my shoulder to keep getting better.

DX: You had an outstanding college career and were one of the top players in the ACC for the last two seasons. Has it been a surprise given how well you did at Miami that your stock isn’t higher?

JM: You know you look at it, yes I had a great college career and was able to do some things. But at the same time, I don’t know who puts together these draft boards, I don’t know what GMs think, but I have been hearing a lot of good feedback. At the same time though you can’t use that as an excuse to let up, you have to always keep working. You have to keep getting better because you can never stop getting better.

DX: You said you consider yourself as a guard rather than a point or a shooting guard. Can you defend both of those positions in the NBA?

JM: I could; if I had to cover a 6-5 shooting guard I would have to work my butt off not to let them get the basketball and things like that. At the same time though, I think it all really depends on what system you’re in. If I was on the floor with a bigger point guard like a Deron Williams, he might be able to cover the two-guard and I would cover the point. If you look at Chris Paul and Jannero Pargo they play together and it works, so it all depends on what system you’re in.

DX: One name that comes up a lot when trying to compare your game to guys in the NBA is Eddie House. What do you think of that comparison?

JM: I mean it means a lot just to be compared to anyone in the NBA. He’s been around for a number of years and done well. I think it’s a good comparison, we’re both great shooters. The one thing is that you don’t see Eddie House do a lot off the bounce, I’m not saying he can’t, but if I have the opportunity to play in the NBA I know if I have a guy closing out on me I can make a move to get a better look or find someone else for a shot.

DX: What do you see your role as in the NBA early in your career and then maybe a few years down the road?

JM: Well definitely I see myself as being the kind of guy who can come into the game and knock down an open shot depending on the situation the team is in. Down the road, if I really keep working hard at my game, I see myself as a Mo Williams or a player like that.

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/...sketball-3252/

[Blackjack]

The Spurs' attempt to find an Eddie House-type player in Salim last year, just might bode well for McClinton.

The fact that he mentioned Duncan specifically, makes me wonder if the type of feedback he got from the Spurs, lead him to having Duncan on the brain.

[Blackjack]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/...p-Day-Two-3251

-Mike D’Antoni’s New York Knicks apparently taking a strong liking to senior Jack McClinton, to the point that they could try to buy a pick in the late first round to ensure they land his services.

[cheney212]

honestly thought we could of had a better pick but its okay

[T_MONEY_TX]

mills, de colo ??????????

[Marcus Bryant]

pick #51

[Sigz]

he ghetto

[kromediablo]

another eddie house or ben gordon type...not too bad, the spurs are in need of some scorers off the bench!

[Spurtacus]

Similarities: Salim Stoudemire

# Big time 3-point shooter
# Deep range on his jumper
# Good midrange game
# Good motor

Negatives:

# Undersized for his position
# A little one-dimensional
# Doesn't attack the basket
# Not athletic enough to finish at the rim

Summary: June 2 Update: In the lane-agility test, McClinton had the best score, finishing the drill in 10.44 seconds. See the full combine story

June 1 Update: Finally, Miami's Jack McClinton wants a do-over in the measurements. He measured under 6 feet in socks and just a little under 6-1 in shoes, which were essentially the same measurements as Syracuse's Jonny Flynn. However, McClinton insisted to me that he's an inch taller than Flynn. I think he's right. He went up to Flynn, they stood back-to-back and McClinton definitely looked taller. Either McClinton hunched in the measurement or Flynn stood on his tippy-toes. See the full Chad Ford notebook

Jan 2 Update: McClinton is having a terrific season, improving on his numbers across the board. But his lack of size, elite athleticism or off the dribble game pigeon hole him as an undersized shooter. Think Salim Stoudemire.

[Ghost Writer]

16 tattoos.

[cheney212]

i mean its not a bad pick he just needs to improve ball handling i think

[MoSpur]

Can you say Austin Torros?

[MoSpur]

BTW, I like this pick.

[Pucho!!!]

I would have preferred AJ Price, he had that sick juke move/crossover I've seen on Jerel McNeal, or Patty Mills but this aint bad. He fits a need a good shooting, backup pg.

[timvp]

Good pick. The Spurs might need a shooter if they lose Mason and/or Finley.

This kid can shoot.

[MI21]

16 tattoos.

Finally, hey...

[Spurtacus]

Chad Ford "analysis"

Another value pick for the Spurs. He's an Eddie House clone. He can shoot the lights out and plays with a lot of energy.

[GSH]

The combine measured him at 6'0". I didn't think there was much room in the NBA for a 6'0" guy who can't run the point. They talk about 6'3" guys being too short to play the 2 in the NBA. I know some people say he's a good, quick defender (some say he's not?), but that puts two little guys on the floor.

Maybe he's in when Manu is running the point? I don't know... that's really a specialist. I know he can shoot, but he has to be able to get the shot off. They say he can shoot with a hand in his face - he better get used to it. I wonder if he can shoot with a defender's hand on the ball?

I guess he can be there to take open 3's like Boobie Gibson. It would be nice to have someone who can make the other team pay. I just wonder how much we give up on the defensive end?

[jermaine]

I love this dude already. Sign his ass tonight! That boy shoot like he a cop shooting at copkiller!

[Ditty]

projected first round pick might of wanted mills but we might need shooters

back up to hill

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Should have considered cash instead. Would have helped buffer any lux tax payments.

[SPURSGOAT]

honestly thought we could of had a better pick but its okay

are you nutz!? for 51 this is a great pick!

[tomtom]

salim was undersized too. anyways he can't be worse than vaughn was for a third string point