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On Saturday night, Mac McClung won the Slam Dunk competition as part of the NBA All-Star weekend. It marks his second straight win in the event.
But those who know…well, they know. And what they know is that McClung has been producing highlights for years, dating back to high school.
McClung was electric, producing jaw-dropping plays and showing off some impressive hops. But despite being one of the nation’s top scorers, the 6-foot-1 guard didn’t register a ton of big-time recruiting interest.
Sure, he had some offers like Boston College, Rutgers and Seton Hall, but McClung’s output on the court was not matched by any interest from college basketball’s blue bloods.
Ranked a three-star and the No. 49 point guard (by Rivals) in the nation out of Gate City (Gate City, Virginia), McClung had originally committed to Rutgers basketball in early August 2017. Three months later, he had de-committed from the Big Ten program just before his senior season.
By mid-October, he had veraballed to Patrick Ewing at Georgetown.
Watch this highlight film and it is hard to figure out why he didn’t have many other big-time offers. His athleticism alone should have made him a matter of intrigue for bigger programs.
Combine that with his scoring ability and McClung should have been a four-star recruit, easily.
Here are his highlights from his senior season at Gate City. The flair he showed on Saturday night in the NBA Slam Dunk competition was certainly not in short supply as a high school senior:
In college, he averaged 14.2 points per game in his first two seasons at Georgetown. He transferred to Texas Tech for the 2020-21 season, where in 29 games (all starts) he averaged 15.5 points per game while shooting 41.9 percent from the floor.
Currently, McClung is in the G League with the Osceola Magic where he is still looking to fully break through to the NBA. He has played in four NBA games, averaging 8.3 points per game.
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