Star point guard Darius McGhee announces plans to return for fifth season
Four years, 1,864 points, two ASUN Player of the Year accolades, and yet, Darius McGhee isn’t quite ready to walk away.
The 5-foot-9-inch guard announced April 15 that his journey with Liberty men’s basketball remains incomplete, as he intends to use his COVID-19 year of eligibility and return to the team for the 2022-23 season.
“After talking with my family and coach, I felt that it was in my best interest to return to Liberty,” McGhee said in a news release. “For the last four years this has been my home, and I just felt called to return back to Liberty and continue (to) create memories that will last a lifetime.”
While chasing a professional playing career was thought to be on the forefront of McGhee’s mind at the close of last season, the idea of returning to the Flames for one final run had always been the primary topic of conversation.
“I think (my decision) was pretty set like a week after the season ended,” McGhee added. “But we also still explored a little bit to see what was what.”
The Roxboro native is fresh off a stellar senior campaign, where he led the nation in total points (812), field goals made (276) and 3-pointers made (142). He was the ASUN’s leading scorer, averaging 24.6 PPG, and he was recently recognized as the first player in program history to receive the Virginia Sports Information Directors’ Player of the Year title.
“I know I speak for many when I say that we couldn’t be more excited about Darius’ decision, and I hope Flames Nation will get their tickets now to see one of the all-time greats and a potential All-American hopefully lead us to a special season.”
Head Coach, Ritchie McKay
Now, already No. 5 on Liberty’s all-time scoring list, McGhee will look to add to those numbers in his fifth season while furthering his legacy as the most electric player to ever put on a Flames basketball uniform.
“When they say, ‘Good things come in small packages,’ they mean it,” Head Coach Ritchie McKay said of McGhee. “Darius McGhee’s decision to return for an additional season is such a blessing to our program. In many ways, it is a testament to the kind of young man he is – humble, pursuant, hard-working and a fantastic teammate. But it also speaks to the incredible young men that we have in our program that he would forgo opportunities that are very appealing in order to pursue a year of shared experiences with the family he resides in on our campus.”
Despite Liberty’s unexpected fall to Bellarmine in last season’s ASUN tournament semifinal, McGhee’s announcement now makes them the 2022-23 favorites to win the ASUN conference for the fourth time in five years.
“The whole entire year you could see the potential that we had, and seeing our guys persevere through things and seeing them kind of own who they were as players and as people,” McGhee said. “Just knowing the potential we could have in the second year in a row of us playing together … a year of growth, and then they have this offseason, everybody just puts in that work and just expands their games, there’s no telling how far we could go and how talented this team could be.”
Along with McGhee’s return, new additions to the Flames’ roster in 2022 will likely serve to strengthen the unit, as a pair of 6-foot-7-inch forwards in Zach Cleveland and Ben Southerland as well as guard Colin Porter are expected to elevate the program.
Regardless, it goes without saying that McGhee is a difference-maker every time he steps foot on the court.
“It speaks to what a special place Liberty University is,” McKay said. “I know I speak for many when I say that we couldn’t be more excited about Darius’ decision, and I hope Flames Nation will get their tickets now to see one of the all-time greats and a potential All-American hopefully lead us to a special season.”
CORY is the sports editor. Follow her on Twitter