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Prospect Profile: Leslie McDonald

June 23rd, 2014 at 8:17pm CST by Zachary Links

In a draft full of 19-year-old athletes with high upside but little in the way of experience against high quality competition, teams more or less know what they could be getting out of UNC’s Leslie McDonald. The shooting guard doesn’t have the name value of teammate James McAdoo and others, but he knows that he still has a lot to offer for any NBA team’s bench.

“I’m a hard-worker, i can bring experience to the table,” McDonald told Hoops Rumors earlier today. “I know the game very well. I’m a great shooter, I can bring an outside presence to a team that needs it, and when I get open I’m going to nail that set shot.”

With plenty of skill but less hype than others, McDonald knows that he’ll have to rely on that tireless work ethic to vault himself to the NBA level. The guard had just one private team workout this summer when the Hornets called him in as a last-minute substitute for Virginia’s Joe Harris and others. McDonald may have been a late fill-in for Charlotte, but he was able to come in on short notice and hold his own against Washington’s C.J. Wilcox and Florida’s Casey Prather in scrimmages.

As the shooting guard explained himself, his shooting range is one of his best qualities and will likely be his calling card going forward as he attempts to endear himself to an NBA team. Aside from that, McDonald offers a sharp basketball IQ and he believes that he has a stronger understanding of the game than many of the guards in this year’s draft class.

“I’ve been in different situations where I know what to do at certain times, as far as shot selection and pass selection and just doing things at the right time. Knowing the right time to shoot the ball and when to take a different course of action is such an important thing in this game,” McDonald said.

McDonald was given an opportunity to contribute as an underclassman for UNC when he came on campus but, unfortunately, he suffered a torn ACL that wound up costing him his entire junior season. Before his injury in the summer of 2011, the guard averaged 38.1% from downtown and was proving himself to be an important piece for the Tar Heels. When he came back on the court for his redshirt junior season in 2012/13, McDonald admits that he wasn’t quite the same player, though he still managed to bring the shooting when it counted. McDonald never flexed that same kind of efficiency from downtown in the remaining two seasons of his collegiate career, but he attributes that partially to rust and partially to changing his style of play.

“When I got hurt my shooting wasn’t quite the same but it’s definitely coming back to me. I’m regaining it and I think I nailed some really big shots towards the end of my senior season,” the guard explained. “My first two years, I was more of a spot-up shooter. I was known more for that than all the things I can do so well now like driving to the basket and knocking down mid-range shots. There was just less of a focus on three-point shooting for me.”

One of the main knocks on McDonald is his size. At 6’4″, the UNC product matched up just fine at the collegiate level but would be a bit smaller than most two guards in the NBA. However, McDonald isn’t the least bit concerned about going up against bigger opponents.

“For me, its all about production and I feel like on the defensive side I’m not a liability. I’m comfortable sticking a bigger guard or a smaller guard and on offense I just feel like I can shoot the ball against anybody. My release is quick and when guys are taller than me, I know how to create space or drive the lane or dish out to different people. No matter who is on me, there’s no reason why I can’t get my shot off or create an opportunity for someone else,” the 23-year-old explained.

It’s not guaranteed that McDonald will hear his name called on Thursday night, but if he doesn’t, his representatives at Tandem Sports will find plenty of opportunities for him to showcase his stuff for clubs this offseason. With four years of big-game experience under Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams, one imagines that plenty of teams will be interested in seeing what McDonald has to offer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Prospect Profile: Jordan McRae

June 2nd, 2014 at 9:08pm CST by Zachary Links

Last season, the Tennessee Volunteers found their way to the Sweet Sixteen thanks in part to the leadership of senior guard Jordan McRae. McRae is something of a jack-of-all-trades player and, as a result, finds himself quite booked up on the workout circuit. As McRae told Hoops Rumors earlier today, he has already auditioned for the Heat, Bulls, Pistons, and 76ers with workouts for nine other clubs ahead of him.

The Chicago workout called for him to play 2-on-2 and 3-on-3 in different combinations against the likes of C.J. Fair, Rodney Hood, and Devyn Marble. After a strong showing, McRae got yet another reaffirmation of his abilities and he’s feeling confident as the draft approaches.

With a 7-foot wingspan at 6’5″, McRae was born to be a boxer or a stout perimeter defender. Fortunately for hoops fans, and for cruiserweights, he went with the latter. Over the last couple of years, McRae has learned to use his size to his advantage, disrupting passing lanes on defense and easily scoring over airborne opponents on the other end.

“With my long arms, I don’t really have to press up close on the man I’m guarding, I can give him some space and still hold him off,” McRae told HoopsRumors. “I’m always able to recover thanks to my length, so that’s a major luxury that I have.”

McRae was the Volunteers’ leading scorer last season, putting up 18.7 PPG, a few ahead of first-round prospect Jarnell Stokes. The senior is quick to point out that he got it done with a varied attack. Slashing to the rim is his strong suit, but he also did well with his jumper, save for a March slump that watered down the averages.

McRae was asked to call his own number early and often at UT but when he dished the ball, particularly last season, he showed strong instincts and solid court vision. That’s something he attributes to his junior year experience of playing out of position at point guard against tough SEC competition. After a year of running his college team’s offense, he was able to use that experience to make himself an even more well-rounded two guard. In fact, if he’s asked to cover some minutes as a third point guard for an NBA team, he’s confident that he can rise to the challenge.

“I definitely think that I can [play point guard]. I’m going to keep working hard on the one guard skills like ball-handling and passing while also watching film, but I definitely think that I can do it,” McRae said.

The guard will be spending a lot of time in the film room, but you can expect him to put in equal hours in the weight room and cafeteria. The 6’5″ guard currently weighs in at a wiry 179 pounds and he says that he intends on putting on 15-20 pounds between now and the start of the season. While his slender frame has allowed him to be aerodynamic in going up and down the floor, McRae knows that he’ll have to tack on mass in order to drive to the basket against 260 pound centers and withstand an 82-game season.

Even in his current svelte state, McRae has collided with first-round hopefuls at workouts and still managed to come out looking sharp. McRae figures to get his name called in the early-to-middle portion of the second round and plans on making an instant impact for the club that drafts him.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.