By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
It was a defensive showdown until Tyrus McGee took over scoring 17 out of his 19 points in the second half. Exploding paved the way for Hapoel U-NET Holon to beat visiting MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg Wednesday.
“It was my first game playing in a while. I knew you just got to get the feel of the game. I told myself, I gotta help the team, offense and defense as well,” he said in the press conference following the Basketball Champions League Round of 16 Gameday 3 contest, “I made big shots when it was needed to make a shot.”
McGee, 30, actually played with the Holon jersey for the first time this season. He ended up with 19 points behind 7/14 field goals, including 5/11 from beyond the arc, five rebounds, and one block shaping a great debut. In 2020-21, he had 12.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.1 blocks per BCL game as his side made it all the way to the Final 8 but bowed out to Hereda San Pablo Burgos in the quarterfinals of the tournament held at Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.
“Three or four players on the team, I played with them last year. So, I already kind of knew the style they play. I already knew how Joe Ragland play. We have been good friends for about 11 years now,” he went through past connections with current teammates, “I just knew I was going to come here, go with the flow, and see what happens. I was just trying to get a win.”
The Iowa State alumnus started 2021-22 jumping from Holon to the back-to-back champion Burgos. He produced 13.4 points, 1.9 assists, 1.1 rebounds, and 0.7 steals per contest until the Spanish outlet got knocked out by Darussafaka in the Play-In Round. After departing a few weeks ago, the next move was returning to the team located in Holon. And he really did not miss a beat.
“I felt all the love, 110%,” he commented on the Toto Holon Hall crowd welcoming him, “It feels good to be back.”
McGee has displayed his talents in multiple European countries throughout his career, including 51 appearances in the Champions League since introducing himself to FIBA’s premier European club competition as a member of Umana Reyer Venezia in 2016-17. Earlier, two years after coming out of Iowa State, he competed in Germany for Eisbaren Bremerhaven in 2014-15 and became familiar to John Patrick, the Ludwigsburg head coach since 2013.
“He’s a sniper. He is a very good outside shooter with a quick release. I thought we did a good job of controlling him but he connected three times in a row at the end of the shot clock, one of them a four-point play. For me, this was excellent clutch shooting by him,” described the American tactician, “But its disappointing that we lost our concentration in the last seconds of the 24-second clock.”
By any standard, an impressive showing for a player remaining idle for more than one month and switching teams in the process. His last game with Burgos was on January 4. The Oklahoma-born guard is back on track hoping for even more big wins in the Basketball Champions League and in Israel’s Winner League as well. His performances in recent seasons have not gone unnoticed.
“Everyone outside the NBA aspires to be a Euroleague player,” McGee recently told Eurohoops before returning to Hapoel Holon replying to a question about the rumored interest of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, “I’ve had offers from Euroleague clubs but the timing didn’t work out, unfortunately.”
Following the third week of the Round of 16, JDA Dijon leads Group I carrying a 2-1 record. Galatasaray Nef sits fourth at 0-1. Both Holon and Ludwigsburg went to 1-1 yesterday. “It’s a tossup. A very open group” said the Ludwigsburg boss.
BCL action will resume in early March after the international break shifting the spotlight on 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers all around the world.
At the domestic level, Holon currently ranks fourth at 8-6, a couple of games behind leading Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem. The Israeli State Cup Final Four comes up next featuring a semifinal matchup versus Bnei Ofek Dist Herzliya at Tel Aviv Monday.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League