Darius McGhee having one of the best seasons in Liberty’s recent history

Darius McGhee was named the ASUN Player of the Year and the ASUN Tournament’s Most Valuable Player. He became only the third player in Liberty’s program history to earn a Division I conference player of the year honor, joining Jesse Sanders and Caleb Homesley. McGhee and Homesley are the only two to earn both Player of the Year and Tournament MVP in the same season.

Ahead of Liberty’s appearance in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, McGhee is currently averaging 15.6 points per game while shooting 45.8% from the field and 41.3% from three. His current scoring average would be the most a Liberty player has averaged in a season since Seth Curry scored 20.2 points per game during his freshman campaign in 2009.

McGhee also has 93 made three pointers this season, which currently ranks 4th most for made three-pointers in a single season. His 222 career three-pointers are also 4th most in school history, he’s just two makes behind Larry Jackson for third place and five behind Larry Blair for 2nd place. Ryan Kemrite’s career record of 258 made three-pointers will likely be broken by McGhee before Christmas next season.

The 5’9″ guard from Roxboro, North Carolina, scored over 3,000 career points during his high school career which began at Roxboro Community High School before he finished his career at the Blue Ridge School just outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. McGhee has 11 20-point games this season, the most in a single year since Curry had 15 during the 2008-09 campaign. For comparison’s sake, Caleb Homesley had 14 20-point games during his career.

During the final four games of the regular season, McGhee surpassed the 20-point mark in all four contests, including a career-high 34 points in Liberty’s win at Bellarmine to secure the program’s third straight regular season title. The last Liberty player to score 20 or more points in four straight games was Seth Curry. Over his past seven games, McGhee is averaging 22.7 points per game while shooting 51.9% from the field and 53.7% from three.

His performance in the final eight minutes of the ASUN Tournament Final is stuff legends are made of. Here’s a sample of some of what McGhee did in the closing minutes of Liberty’s win over North Alabama for the team’s third straight ASUN Tournament Championship:

• With less than 8 minutes left in the game and UNA forcing a tie for the first time all game, McGhee played excellent defense and contest a shot that would have given the Lions a lead for the first time, it missed and the 5’9″ guard got the defensive rebound.
• On Liberty’s next possession, McGhee drilled a step-back three-pointer with 7:03 left.
• After UNA tied the game with a three-pointer of their own, McGhee got free for a mid-range jumper at the 5:24 mark to give Liberty the lead back. That’s two straight buckets to keep Liberty ahead after UNA tied it for the first two times of the game.
• With 4:21 left, UNA took its first and only lead at 70-69. On the next possession, McGhee hits another three-pointer to give the Flames the lead back once again, one it wouldn’t relinquish, at 72-70 with 3:59 left.
• With the Flames leading by 2, McGhee’s defense forced a UNA travel with 1:24 left. If the travel wasn’t called, McGhee blocked the shot that was attempting to tie the game.
• On UNA’s next possession, McGhee forced a turnover, doing so on consecutive possessions and effectively ending the game as Liberty led by 5 with 34 seconds left and possession. The steal on the play was awarded to Blake Preston, but it should have been given to McGhee who knocked the ball free.

In watching some of Liberty’s NCAA Tournament games from 2019 recently, McGhee’s defense as a freshman was a liability at times, especially against teams as good as those that play in the NCAA Tournament. He’s worked hard on that end of the floor and has become a solid defender for the Flames.

To advance this season, Liberty will need a strong performance from McGhee. He scored 15 points in the Flames’ second round loss of the 2019 NCAA Tournament to Virginia Tech, as he made 5 of 11 from three-point range in 27 minutes off the bench.

The Flames have played two games this season against NCAA Tournament teams in Purdue and Missouri. Against the Boilermakers, who are currently being projected to be a 4 or 5 seed, McGhee had a then career-high with 21 points to go along with 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block. He struggled against the Tigers, making just one of eight from three, finishing the game with 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 assist.