Recruiting Report: Cliff McCray (2019)
Quickly establishing himself as one of the top talents in all of Iowa, Sioux City West 6-foot-2 guard Cliff McCray has started to see a serious spike in his recruitment.
Wayne State, Sioux Falls, Nebraska-Omaha, South Dakota, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Augustana (SD), Southwest Minnesota State and IUPUI were the schools McCray mentioned had been inquiring about him since his offseason started.
“I would say Wayne State, USD and NDSU are recruiting me the most. They’ve been calling Coco (Sioux City West coach Harvis Cofield) and texting me. And I talked to the South Dakota coach on the phone,” said McCray.
“I’m hoping to get some offers here soon, and then get looked at by some mid and high D1 schools.”
An explosive athlete, with a lightning quick first step, McCray mentioned what it is he’s been been working to improve this summer.
“What separates me is my work-ethic, and when I turn it on, I really turn it on and I feel like nobody can stop me,” said McCray.
“This summer I’ve been working a lot on my jump-shot, that’s been the down part of my game, and that’s starting to come along.”
McCray put himself firmly on the map after his sophomore season with the Wolverines, in which he averaged 9.5 points on terrific shooting and led the team in assists, steals and rebounds.
“My role was to get our offense set up and to make the right plays at the right time. But mostly it was defense, that was my main job,” said McCray, who swiped 2.5 steals per game.
“I’m going to have to do a lot (next season), it’s going to be different than last year. I have to score the ball, play defense and just do it all. And I’ll need to help the younger teammates out — it’s going to be a big role for me next year.”
In the meantime, McCray — Iowa’s 20th-ranked 2019 — will have a big July ahead of him with Showtime Hoopers 17U.
“It’s been good for me playing up, because I get to play against bigger and stronger kids,” said McCray. “And my goals for the summer are to get more looks and better myself for next season.”