Where Are They Now: An Update on 3 Former Hoyas

With the Hoyas on a break, let's see how Mac McClung, James Akinjo, and Josh LeBlanc are doing at their respective schools.

With Georgetown taking a (forced) midseason break due to COVID-19 positive cases within the program, we’ve had some extra time on our hands. With not much to write about, let’s check in on three former Hoyas

Some people may not want to continue reading, because we are going to provide updates on former Hoyas Mac McClung, James Akinjo, and Josh LeBlanc, and those three names, particularly the first one, tend to stoke some…emotions in this fan base.

But who CARES about McClung?! He SUCKS! He can’t play defense! He take terrible shots! Move on!!!!

This article is especially for you, Mac McClung haters. So let’s start off with Mac.

Mac McClung

The criticism from Georgetown fans about McClung has gotten out of hand, and it’s time to set the record straight on who he is as a player.

McClung is not a strong defender, that is known. His shot selection can be poor at times, a trait that a good number of heavy-volume, scoring guards have been known to have.

But as McClung showed last night, in scoring a career-high 30 points on 11-of-21 shooting against West Virginia, he is one of the best scorers in the country, and can create his own shot at will.

You know what kind of player Georgetown could really use? A guard who can create his own shot, and also create other opportunities for the players around him. A guard like…you guessed it, Mac McClung!

But McClung can’t defend!!!

Have you SEEN the players that are out there right now for Georgetown? It’s not like the guys they have right now are stalwart defenders!

And then there’s the argument that McClung isn’t any better than he was at Georgetown, because he has mostly the same stats as he did last season at Georgetown.

Wrong!

Mac McClung is first on his Texas Tech team in minutes per game (29.9), first in scoring (17.2), second in assists (2.4), and first in usage rate (27.8%). He is also averaging 2.6 rebounds per game and is shooting 44.2% from the field, including 34.9% from three-point range.

Those numbers are better than what McClung put up in 21 games last season in a Georgetown uniform.

As a sophomore on the Hilltop, McClung led the team in scoring (15.7), was fourth in assists (2.4), and sixth in minutes (26.8). He shot 39.4% from the field and 32.3% from three.

At Texas Tech, averaging three more minutes per game than at Georgetown, McClung has upped his scoring average and shooting percentages, has maintained his passing numbers, kept his turnovers down (fifth-lowest TOV% on TTU), and improved his efficiency.

For those who say Mac can’t defend, the numbers would also disagree with you! Is Mac a shutdown defender, or even an above average defender? Nope. But he also isn’t the turnstile that people think he is.

This year, McClung has doubled his defensive win shares (an estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player due to his defense) from 0.5 last year, to 1.0 this year. That’s second on Texas Tech, who is a really damn good defensive team.

His defensive Bayesian performance rating is third on Texas Tech, at 24.4. Again, that’s not bad. In fact…it’s pretty good!

In terms of efficiency, another common critique from the McClung detractors, McClung has set career highs in nearly every efficiency category this season. His PER of 23.0 is second on Texas Tech, his eFG% (51.5%) and TS% (57.3%) are both career highs and top-3 marks on Texas Tech, and his win shares per 40 minutes of .233 is a career high by a wide margin, and is tops on Texas Tech.

So, to recap, Mac McClung is better on offense and defense, and has improved his efficiency as well. So for those who keep hanging onto the claims of McClung being an inefficient player who is terrible defender, find a new slant…or just admit that you are wrong.

James Akinjo

Akinjo has started all 15 games so far the Arizona Wildcats this season, leading the team in minutes per game (34.8), while averaging 14.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game. Akinjo is Arizona’s leading scorer and also leads the team in assists, unsurprisingly.

Akinjo’s usage rate is down from his two seasons at Georgetown, as he is fifth on Arizona, at 23%. His assist rate is up a bit, from 27.9% to 29.2%, which is tops on the team.

As a shooter, Akinjo still has his shortcomings, as he’s 12th on Arizona in eFG% (43.9%) and 8th in TS% (50.1%). Those struggles have led to a PER of 16.6, which is up from his PER from last year of 16.3, but is good for just 8th on Arizona. To his credit, his three-point shooting percentage of 36.7% is fourth on Arizona.

Overall, the improvements that Akinjo has made at Arizona relative to McClung at Texas Tech have been smaller, but Akinjo is still playing well, albeit less efficiently than Mac.

Josh LeBlanc

Of these three ex-Hoyas, LeBlanc has struggled the most to find steady ground with his new team. His minutes have fluctuated throughout the season, and he has played more than 20 minutes in only two games this season.

In 10 games, he is averaging 16.5 minutes per game, which is the lowest average in his career. He is only averaging 1.7 field goal attempts per game, and 2.6 points per game.

LeBlanc is stuck behind talented LSU forwards Trendon Watford and Darius Days, and it wouldn’t be completely shocking if LeBlanc transferred after this season, if Watford were to return for his junior season.