From there, he can diagnose defenses as all sorts of screening and cutting happens around him. A 6’7 jack-of-all-trades, McKay is more than comfortable feeding Rode at the top of they key or in the high post. Rode is the other cornerstone to the Flames’ relentless onslaught. He is also a willing passer, exploiting vulnerable defenses that stray too far from the aforementioned snipers. Thanks to a spread court via shooters like McGhee, Dobbs, Keegan McDowell, and Kyle Rode, the Flames can still play through Blake Preston on the block and expect tangible results: he ranked in the 88th percentile on post ups, per Synergy. Going away from post ups is partially due to the absence of Scottie James, long a fulcrum of the Liberty attack. Though partner-in-crime Chris Parker is gone, that just means more opportunity for Drake Dobbs, himself a budding perimeter star. The increase in pick-and-roll represents a concerted effort to put McGhee in more dangerous spots, and he rewarded McKay’s faith by ranking in the 98th percentile as a PnR scorer. He’s also forced McKay’s hand in tweaking the offense to his team’s strengths: His nuclear scoring capabilities have a Steph Curry-esque impact on the way defenses guard the Flames, because he will ruthlessly take advantage of any open space. Most importantly, Darius McGhee returns as the reigning ASUN Player of the Year, a 5’9 terror with unlimited range and an instantaneous release. After losing a stacked 2020 senior class, it seemed the conference might have a chance to catch the Flames last year, but instead, they finished 69 spots higher at KenPom than any other league foe (and 140 higher than any postseason-eligible foe).Īt this point, it has become more about the system than the individual pieces, but make no mistake: the pieces here are outstanding. Through three years in the league, Liberty is an absurd 38-7 and has won or shared the regular season title in each year.
Outlook: The ASUN dominance ticks on like a metronome in Lynchburg, where Ritchie McKay has suffocated the league with his grinding half court style taken straight out of Tony Bennett’s Virginia playbook.
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