McMahon ready for Louisville introduction
Ryan McMahon has been a member of the Steph Curry fan club since the 2008 NCAA tournament, when Curry, who was a sophomore at Davidson at the time, led his small college from North Carolina beat Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin in the span of a week.
Since then, McMahon, a 6-foot guard from Sarasota, Fla., has patterned as much of his game after Curry as possible, going to what he called "the depths of YouTube" to watch any and every available video of Curry and mimic what the likely NBA MVP does.
"I thought he'd be something special," said McMahon, who plans to sign with the University of Louisville on Wednesday. "I've watched film on him -- (from) the depths of YouTube, like, videos that had like four or five views on them. I watched and broke down his movements and how he uses pick-and-rolls."
Related:Ryan McMahon commits to U of L
Curry, of course, is one of the top examples of an underrated and underrecruited high school prospect developing into a star. He was a skinny three-star prospect out of school who signed with Davidson and had scholarship offers from just one power-conference school, Virginia Tech.
McMahon's Louisville offer came late, in February, and for people who don't follow U of L recruiting closely, that offer came out of nowhere. A skinny guard who played high school hoops at a small private school in southwest Florida, McMahon seemed like a reach for U of L coach Rick Pitino.
But McMahon arrived Thursday for the Derby Festival Classic's weekend full of all-star events hoping to prove his worth. He has played in front of Pitino and U of L's staff before, but Louisville fans will see him in person for the first time at Friday's skills competition at New Albany High School and Saturday's all-star game at Freedom Hall.
Related:Incoming U of L freshmen play in Derby all-star game
"There's a little bit of nerves, just because there's a lot of attention toward me, nobody really knows me," McMahon said. "I'm just going to go out there and play."
Mitchell arrives late, impresses: Another member of Louisville's incoming 2015 class, Donovan Mitchell, arrived late to Derby Festival Classic practice on Thursday because of a delayed flight. But once he was there, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound guard turned some heads. Once practice was over, Mitchell bounced a ball off the cement walls behind the basket, caught the rebound and dunked. He did that three times.
But beyond playing in front of Louisville fans, the importance of this weekend, at least to Mitchell, is having the chance to bond with his future U of L teammates. McMahon, Mitchell, Deng Adel and Ray Spalding are all playing in Saturday's all-star game and Friday's skills showcase.
"It's going to be great for our chemistry, not just on the court, but off the court," Mitchell said. "It'll help us when it's time to play."
Adel back in the U.S.: After spending the past few months back home in Australia, the 6-foot-7 wing Adel is back in the United States, first for the Derby Festival Classic, and then to go work out in Florida, where he played his high school ball. Adel said he's at 190 pounds now, and hopes to hit 200 before arriving on U of L's campus this summer.
Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).
DERBY FESTIVAL CLASSICSCHEDULE
Friday, 7 p.m.: Night of Future Stars, New Albany High School
Saturday, 7 p.m.: Basketball Classic, Freedom Hall
TICKETS
$50 VIP Courtside seating; $18 Lower Arena seating; $13 Upper Arena seating. Your Basketball Classic ticket will get you free admission to the Night of Future Stars.
ROSTERS
White Team: F Deng Adel (Louisville), G Prince Ali (UCLA), G Bryant Crawford (Wake Forest), G Jawun Evans (Oklahoma State), G Ryan McMahon (Louisville), G Donovan Mitchell (Louisville), C Justin Patton (Creighton), F Danjel Purifoy (Auburn), F Matt Ryan (Notre Dame), F Ray Spalding (Louisville), C Diamond Stone (Maryland).
Purple Team: G Jalen Adams (UConn), F OG Anunoby (Indiana), C Thomas Bryant (Indiana), C Daniel Giddens (Ohio State), G Austin Grandstaff (Ohio State), F Dedric Lawson (Memphis), F KJ Lawson (Memphis), F Juwan Morgan (Indiana), G Brandon Simpson (St. John's), G Justin Simon (Arizona).