Jury still out on Barako import

MANILA, Philippines - Despite an endorsement from no less than Michael Jordan, it’s not certain if highly-touted scoring machine Cornelius (Scooter) McFadgon will stick as Barako Bull’s import in the coming PBA Fiesta Conference.

But for sure, McFadgon will make his Barako debut against Rain Or Shine at the Araneta Coliseum this Sunday.

“We’re still evaluating him,” said a team insider yesterday. “He’s about 6-3 1/2 and a scorer. He’s basically a perimeter player, a shooting guard who can also play three. He’s adjusting to our climate. He came from 40-degree weather in Memphis and it’s very hot in Manila now. We’re looking to see if he can be more accurate from three-point range. He’s supposed to be a good free throw shooter. He can create but needs a point guard to set him up. We want him to rebound a little more. He’s a quiet guy. He’s got a good attitude. His fiancée is back in Memphis expecting to deliver their first baby in May.”

The Bulls lost a practice game to Purefoods last Friday even as the Giants played without an import. McFadgon played sparingly as he battled cramps.

With Celino Cruz gone, Bulls coach Leo Isaac has turned to Warren Ybanez and Paolo Hubalde to play point guard. Comebacking Reed Juntilla is another option to quarterback the squad but is still learning Isaac’s system after joining the team last week from the PBL.

The Bulls end their overnight team-building exercise at the Thunderbird resort in Binangonan, Rizal, near the Eastridge golf course today. The attendees include offseason recruits John Arigo, now playing with a face mask after taking an elbow on the nose in a recent practice, and Alex Crisano. Also attending are Isaac’s newly appointed assistants Ariel Vanguardia and Raymond Celis.

McFadgon, 26, worked in Jordan ‘s summer camp before his senior season with coach Buzz Peterson at the University of Tennessee and impressed the NBA legend. Jordan recommended McFadgon to Peterson, his varsity roommate at North Carolina.

There’s no question the 210-pound McFadgon can fill the stat sheets. He learned the game from his uncle and mentor, former Tennessee point guard Clarence Swearengen. At Raleigh Egypt High School in 1999-2000, he averaged 21.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists. McFadgon shot .540 from the floor and .900 from the line. From high school, McFadgon enrolled at the University of Memphis where coach John Calipari immediately gave him a key role with the varsity. He became the first freshman to start at Memphis in seven years and was involved in several memorable clutch plays, including hitting game-winners over Miami at Ohio and DePaul and forcing overtime with a triple against Saint Louis.

Varsity scouts said McFadgon plays “old-school” basketball and his style of throwing up scoop shot runners and one-handed leaners is reminiscent of the late NBA forward Dave DeBusschere’s.

“Scooter scores the ball and is a pretty good shooter,” said Calipari, a former NBA coach. “He’s long and he can play some three which makes him versatile. He’s good around the basket, too. He’s got good size for a wing. He can post up guards. We asked him to get stronger and to work on scoring off the dribble and he did that.”

One of McFadgon’s Memphis teammates was former Red Bull import Earl Barron. In two years at Memphis, McFadgon played on teams that posted a combined 48-24 record. In his second year, he averaged 9.4 points in 31 games, including 28 starts, as Memphis won the NIT title.

McFadgon redshirted in 2002-03 to gain eligibility at Tennessee under Peterson. In 2003-04, he shot at a 17.6 clip and hit .912 from the line, ranking No. 5 in the nation with consecutive conversion streaks of 32 and 27 to finish 134-of-147. McFadgon netted at least 20 points in 11 games and tallied 33 against Kentucky and 31 against Georgia and Wofford. As a senior in 2004-05, he averaged 14.3 points and hit .333 from three-point distance.

“He’s got all the weapons for the job,” said Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. “It starts with three-point shooting but he also uses his size to get inside the lane and score, either with a deadly pull-up jumper or strong moves to the hoop. And if he’s fouled, he is just about automatic.”

McFadgon never made it to the NBA although he had tryouts with Washington, New Orleans and Memphis. He has played for the Harlem Globetrotters and suited up as an import in Estonia, Italy, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Ukraine, Cyprus and Chile.

In two years with the Bakersfield Jam in the NBA D-League, McFadgon averaged 17.3 points and shot .465 from the field in 70 games. McFadgon’s coming off a stint with Deportes Castro in Chile where he averaged 23 points.