Sophomore guard McKay reflects on career-high scoring game
After Northern Illinois went on a 7-0 run, CMU junior Kevin McKay checked in and immediately silenced the Northern Illinois crowd.
McKay attacked the basket, drew a foul and converted his shots at the free-throw-line to stop the bleeding.
By the end of the game, CMU managed a 80-72 win on the road at the NIU Convocation Center.
More impressively, McKay finished with 33 points off the bench to lead the Chippewas.
“My main goal is to get better,” McKay said. “My goal is to be aggressive, play my hardest and play my best.
“As you get more reps, you get used to things and your confidence goes up. As I’m playing more, I have more confidence in myself.”
CMU head coach Keno Davis said if the team continues to struggle early in games, a change will be made to get McKay in the starting lineup.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if we made a change later in the season,” Davis said. “I like how (McKay’s) been playing.”
Even before his 33-point performance, Davis thought about making McKay a starter.
“I’ve thought about (starting McKay),” Davis said. “We’ve gone from him coming in four minutes into the game to now coming in one minute into the game. I feel like we have six starters.
“Everyone wants to start, but (McKay) understands he has a lot of basketball in front of him.”
In the past four games, McKay has posted 18 points, 8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Over the course of Mid-American Conference play, the 6-foot-6, 222-pound guard has tossed in 13.2 points per game.
Last season, McKay managed just 1.7 points per game in an average of 4.2 minutes as a freshman.
“A big thing for me was getting in shape,” McKay said. “This year, I know I have the ability to play the whole game if I have to. I know I can get to the rim, but if I develop a jump shot that’s consistent, it will be harder for teams to guard me.”
Out of De La Salle Collegiate High School, McKay was cocky and expected to shine in his freshman year.
Instead, the 2016-17 campaign was a learning process.
“I thought I’d come in my freshman year and do a lot better than I did,” McKay said. “It’s taken me a lot longer to come along than I thought it would. Last year was a good learning process and it humbled me because I was pretty cocky coming in.”
As for Davis, the head man of the Chippewas only sees an expanded role for McKay as his future in Mount Pleasant continues.
“We have always been very high on Kevin coming in as a recruit,” Davis said. “He will do whatever is necessary. He can do all of it. He’s going to have a more expanded role as his time here continues.”
