Tre’ McLean has had to figure out where he is most useful on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team. Even while he struggles to find the touch from 3-point range, coach Will Wade continues to play the long, rangy 6-5 sophomore heavy minutes.
The reason is his play when the other team has the ball.
McLean has settled into a role as a defensive stopper for the Mocs. He does all of the little things while on the court: Scrapping for loose balls, guarding the other team’s primary offensive weapon, hitting the open man and hanging around the paint battling for rebounds.
“It’s my job to be the defensive anchor,” he said Saturday. “Before the season started, I was expecting to play better offensively. That hasn’t gone so well so far, but the team still needs my presence. I know a lot about the game of basketball, and I love to play defense; so if there’s anything I can do to help the team, that’s it.
“Besides, with (Eric Robertson) shooting the way he’s shooting, and (Greg Pryor) and Casey (Jones) playing the way they’ve been playing offensively, I don’t worry about offense because I know they’ll get the job done.”