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Doug McDermott: Chi-Town’s Next Fan Fave?

By Michael Whitlow

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During most Creighton University hoops games in Doug McDermott‘s record-breaking senior season, if McDermott nailed a three-point shot, I would hashtag “#McBuckets” on my personal Twitter account.

Outside of the 2014 NBA Draft’s top two picks: Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker, I don’t think I enjoyed watching anyone play in college basketball than the one they call “Dougie McBuckets”.

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McDermott won the National Player of the Year Award in college hoops last season, along with the NCAA scoring title (duh), the Big East Player of the Year Award and was named to the All-American First Team.

During the 2014 NBA Draft in June, the Denver Nuggets took McDermott with the 11th overall pick and sent his rights (along with forward Anthony Randolph) to the Chicago Bulls for the Bulls’ 16th pick, 19th pick and a future second-round pick.

"“Our feeling is that he’s much more than a shooter,” explained Forman. “He’s got a lot of game. We’ve seen him play and we’ve studied him for years.“He’s a guy that is crafty with the ball, can create his own shot and run into the post some,” Forman added. “He’s good around the basket and has a quick release whether it’s from the perimeter or inside. We feel he’s a guy that will fit with the pieces we have.”-Gar Forman on Doug McDermott, NBA.com/Bulls"

During a really solid four-game stretch during the NBA Summer League in July, McDermott averaged 18.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.8 per game.

With a good summer under his belt, McDermott has the looks of a guy that can crack the Bulls’ rotation on a nightly basis. This upcoming season is one of the biggest seasons in recent memory for the Bulls after an offseason that jolted them towards the top of the Eastern Conference standings (on paper).

Here’s a quick review of why Bulls fans will adore Doug McDermott in the years to come:

1) He’s a knock-down shooter

During McBuckets’ senior season at Creighton, he shot a staggering 44.9 percent from three-point territory (96/214). His true shooting percentage during the season? 64.4 percent. Yeah, that’s pretty good.

McDermott’s shot chart from the 2013-2014 season is simply a fireball. “McD” can score from anywhere on the floor and what allows him to do that his pure shooting stroke and his underrated ability to create his own shot. McDermott won’t wow you at all with his overall speed, but his ability to put his body in position to get open looks and good shots is excellent.

2) He can do more than just shoot

You will see the three-balls drop, but his ability to get the basket helped create the legend of “Dougie McBuckets”. Scroll back up to his shot chart and you will see that his ability to score around the basket shows his versatility offensively.

Not only was McDermott the best shooter for Creighton, he was their best post player and cutter as well. Along with putting the ball on the floor and attacking, McDermott was simply a weapon for the Blue Jays because he could read defenses so quickly, screen-and-slip, cut and simply shoot the rock.

3) Remember Kyle Korver?

During his two seasons in Chicago, Kyle Korver was the “hot sauce” of the Bulls offense. (Stacey King gets the credit for the term “hot sauce“.) Korver shot 42.5 percent from deep and hit at least 118 three-pointers in each season. (Oh, and Korver played his college ball at Creighton as well.)

Expect McDermott to provide the “hot sauce” for the Bulls offensively in the future.

The NBA is seeing a meteoric rise in “corner threes” and although the shot wasn’t a huge part of his attack throughout his college career, McDermott will get his chance to develop the corner three into his game with a point guard slashing and attacking like Derrick Rose.

You can see that McDermott has the footwork to shoot from the corner with a clean release on a wide-open look. Teams will expect to close out on the perimeter when McDermott’s in the game, but his ability to get his shot off can make him a valuable piece to a Bulls championship run (if head coach Tom Thibodeau isn’t too stubborn to play a rookie).

McDermott has flaws, mostly on the defensive end just because of his size and lack of lateral quickness to guard the quicker wings. But with a scoring punch like McDermott has, Thibodeau may bend his “rookies hardly play” rotation for some scoring.

Picture a Derrick Rose–Doug McDermott–Mike Dunleavy Jr.–Pau Gasol–Joakim Noah lineup for example.

Can you say open looks for McBuckets?

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