Although putting points on the board may be his main job, Kevin McCleery is becoming Mr. Everything for the Carleton men’s varsity basketball team.
Coming off a 23-point performance in Carleton’s victory over the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks the night before, McCleery once again stole the show in the Ravens’ final home game of the calendar year.
The fifth-year forward recorded 19 points to go along with nine rebounds Nov. 21 as the Ravens extended their undefeated start to six games, with a 94-67 win over the University of Waterloo Warriors.
McCleery scored on three of Carleton’s first four possessions with different low-post moves, but in wasn’t just his ability to put the ball in the basket that led the Ravens to victory.
It may not be the centre’s responsibility to distribute the ball to his teammates, but McCleery showcased his playmaking abilities that Saturday evening at the Ravens Nest.
“Passing is probably the most important part of basketball,” said McCleery after the game. “Especially if you score a little bit, which I did in the first quarter, they’re more likely to pay more attention to you so that’s when you’ve got to be ready to pass it.”
And he certainly was.
McCleery officially finished the game with four assists, though there were likely more that went unnoticed by the stats keepers.
Early in the second quarter, with two Warriors defenders in his grill, McCleery made a nice pass along the baseline to guard Willy Manigat who subsequently drained the three-pointer.
He also found guard Elliot Thompson beyond the arc on separate occasions.
Thompson finished the game with 13 points, 12 of which from three-pointers in the first half.
McCleery’s presence in the paint has also helped rookie Tyson Hinz’s transition to university ball be a seemingly easy one.
Hinz recorded a quiet 13 points against the Warriors, nine of which were obtained from the free-throw line.
Despite his strong showing, McCleery wasn’t completely satisfied with his play.
“In the first half we didn’t necessarily do what we wanted to do in terms of defending,” he said. “Personally, I made some pretty stupid decisions out there.”
He wasn’t the only one.
Just ask Raven head coach Dave Smart, whose constant pacing and bellowing on the sidelines would make former Toronto Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell proud.
Although Smart said the team “defended hard” against the Warriors, he admitted there is a lot of room for improvement.
“We’re very vulnerable and we’ve got to get better,” Smart said. “We’re inexperienced and we make a lot of mistakes.”
Despite occupying the number one spot in the CIS top 10 rankings, Smart said he doesn’t think they’re the best team in the country.
But he added that he’s happy with where the team’s at.
Both Smart and McCleery agree that defence is one area that the Ravens will need to work on in order to keep their undefeated streak alive.
The Ravens will be faced with their biggest test of the young season Nov. 27-28 when they visit Lakehead University and McMaster University, the top-two teams in the West division.
Whether or not they keep the streak alive, rest assured that Carleton’s Mr. Everything will be front and centre once again.