Nov. 2, 2009
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From the looks of it, he is built for this: Listed at 6’7″, 240 lbs, Darshawn McClellan looks just as suited to bulldoze tacklers as an NFL tight end as he does throwing down a dunk on SEC defenders.
From the feel of it, he is prepared for this: When shooting around in practice, the junior forward’s smoother release sends the basketball slicing through the net at a promising pace for a team looking for more scoring threats.
From the sounds of it, he is ready for this: This upcoming season, a now-healthy, slimmed down McClellan looks to do more for a Commodore team looking to make the jump back into the SEC title picture and the NCAA Tournament.
“I trimmed down a little bit,” McClellan said. “Last year, I was hurt so I gained a little weight. I definitely feel 100% now.”
In order to get back to 100 percent, though, McClellan spent his summer becoming more of a threat on the perimeter and getting in shape for the tough grind of the upcoming SEC season. His diligence in logging long summer hours has paid off in terms of the praise it has earned him from head coach Kevin Stallings and others, all of whom have commented positively on the marked improvement in McClellan’s overall game. McClellan himself, meanwhile, is banking on those hours paying off on the court as well.
“Every night I was in this gym, (sometimes with) my high school coach, until probably about 11, almost midnight working on my jump shot,” McClellan said. “It seems to have worked.”
An improvement in McClellan’s three-point shooting would be a huge boost to a Vanderbilt squad that historically relies on marksmen coming through in the pinch. A career 30.3% shooter from behind the arc, McClellan’s upgrade in this area promises to transform him into a more well-rounded threat, making him another formidable presence on a team that has seen its toughness and desire increase over this past offseason as well.
“I think we’re a lot tougher mentally and physically,” McClellan said. “I feel that, coming in here, it’s going to be a tough place to play and that we’re (also) going to be a tough road team.”
This central toughness, McClellan feels, was derived from the still-aching disappointment from last year’s postseason-less campaign. Hence, the same disappointment that drove McClellan to the gym over the summer is what is driving the Commodores this season. Even so, McClellan and his teammates feel this team is well-equipped to deal with the grind of a full NCAA season this time around.
“I think we’ve gotten bigger, we’ve gotten faster, we’ve gotten more basketball savvy,” McClellan said. “I think this year, we’re a lot hungrier. Last year, we had the freshmen and everyone was new, and failing to make a tournament last year made us really humble.
“I feel that we’re ready.”