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ESPN's Biancardi talks U of L commit McMahon

Steve Jones
@stevejones_cj

The University of Louisville basketball team received a commitment Friday from Sarasota, Fla., shooting guard Ryan McMahon a day after offering him a scholarship – his first from a major program. ESPN.com rates him four stars and the No. 42 shooting guard nationally – the first major website to have given him a rating. ESPN's Paul Biancardi gave his thoughts on McMahon (6-1, 175, Cardinal Mooney High School) during a phone interview with The Courier-Journal.

Sarasota 2015 SG Ryan McMahon

What have you seen of McMahon, and what are your thoughts on him?

I've watched game film. I watched three games, and his outside shooting is accurate. He has distance on the shot. He's much more than a three-point shooter, but that's where his biggest threat on the floor lies, the ability to make that shot, which is going to create driving lines and open post play. And he's not afraid to take it. He's got a good pull-up jumper, and he's smart when he gets to the rim. When he gets to the rim, he knows that at his size, it's hard to finish sometimes, and he does a great job of driving to the rim, then kicking it out. He's got a very good basketball IQ.

RELATED: Unheralded Ryan McMahon commits to Louisville

Can you see him being a contributor at a high-level program like Louisville?

Yes. I see him contributing from the offensive end, shooting the ball, scoring the ball, opening the floor, feeding the post and being the recipient of a drive-and-kick or an inside-out game. With that said, he has to learn a lot defensively both on and off the ball, but he's a gifted shooter, and I think when you look at the game today, there's not a lot of guys that are shooting the ball at a high clip. In the backcourt we can find just so many teams that don't shoot it well, so I think he's going to really help in that area. He's a tough kid, which I think will get him over the hump in the high-level play of the ACC. I actually was turned on to him by (Sarasota-area resident) Dick Vitale, believe it or not.

I know Dick has been sort of a champion for him. What did he say to you?

Dick told me about him. Dick had never done this, ever, in my six years at ESPN. He's never called me and said, 'This kid is really good.' But he watched him multiple times, and that's when I followed up. I follow up on everybody's lead. Sometimes it takes awhile. Then I watched game footage, and that's how I came up with the evaluation.

Did Dick also encourage Coach Pitino to give McMahon a look?

I don't know who he told or who he didn't tell, but I put an evaluation in the database to let people know about him. He's a really good offensive player.

What do you think of Louisville's decision after having three highly ranked guys in the class to go get a sleeper-type guy? Is that an OK thing to do, in your opinion?

Yeah, I think you have to recruit to your need. You have to look at your roster and see where your needs are, and it's hard to say who doesn't need a shooter, right? Who doesn't need somebody who can make open shots or make people play him and open up the floor for other people? You have to guard him because here's the thing: There are a lot of guys who can shoot it, but there are a lot of guys who are afraid to shoot it. This guy's not afraid. So if someone leaves him open, he's going to step up and shoot it. He's not going to fret about playing college ball and thinking too much. He's got great offensive confidence. … I think they caught on to a guy who could help. How much he'll help we'll find out in the future, but he's got skill, boy.