Originally published at pickandroll.com.au

Versatility has been Mitch McCarron’s calling card so far in the NBL, regularly guarding multiple positions, playing both on and off ball on offence, and rebounding like a power forward some nights. Finding a true position hasn’t been a pressing need as his ability to contribute in different line-up combinations has equalled significant minutes in the early phase of his pro career.

The 2019/20 season saw McCarron start alongside the pick and roll heavy Melo Trimble and the shot-making of Chris Goulding. He served dual roles again but there was a noticeable uptick in his play-making responsibilities compared to year one in Melbourne.

“He played more combo-guard on offence, but he guarded the threes,” Dean Vickerman explained on NBL Overtime. “He wants a real crack at the point guard position. There’s still some learnings there for him but we’ve seen enough to say we think you can do it.”

Now at the age of 28, McCarron has high-level experience playing that combo-guard role as well as a short season in Slovenia playing point guard just prior to joining Melbourne.

“It was a big risk for me going over to Slovenia,” remarked McCarron at the beginning of 2019. “A lot of people were saying it’s not the right decision, or maybe you’re not ready for point guard. I made it work and we won a championship, so that was a really rewarding feeling.”

Last season for United, McCarron was closest to the full-time point guard role when playing in transition where he regularly pushed the ball with success off of opponent misses or turnovers.

“I love that kind of game where you get a rebound, you get that big first push dribble, and get to throw a kick-ahead,” McCarron explained to ESPN. “Or I get to attack a guy one-on-one in trans, and maybe cause an advantage.

“When we talk about when Mitch McCarron is great for us, that’s the first thing we talk about,” added Vickerman. “We talk about him being a defensive rebounder, him being a facilitator and a pusher, to get others and himself some early buckets.”

When looking at transition possessions that ended in either a McCarron field-goal attempt, free throw, turnover, or assist, Melbourne scored at a whopping 1.63 points per play per Synergy Sports. This mark placed McCarron eighth in the entire league and number one for those with at least 50 transition plays.

As well as hitting a streaking teammate going toward the rim, McCarron was also excellent at knowing where his shooters were. At times he would remain patient, wait an additional second or two, and then execute a dribble hand off for the likes of Goulding or Trimble once they had a chance to catch up.

In the half-court, point guard opportunities were more shared, but McCarron certainly still made his mark. Per Synergy, McCarron generated an excellent 1.20 points per play as the pick and roll ball-handler, when accounting for both his scoring and passing. If you zero in on just his passing results, then that number jumps up to 1.33 PPP which ranked number one across the league (minimum 35 plays).

McCarron understands how advantages are created and reads the defence well. This, together with his unselfishness and capabilities as an outside shooter (38% on 320 NBL attempts), provides him with opportunities to make the extra pass or to attack an overcommitted defender.

Overall, whether it be in transition or in the half court, McCarron is super stingy with turnovers. The control he plays with is elite and a real standout feature of his game. Per spatialjam.com, of the top thirty players for assist percentage last season, McCarron had the fourth lowest turnover rate (min. 200 minutes). He achieves this despite retaining some flash to his passing game.

In terms of elevating his play to a higher level, and perhaps into the All-NBL conversation for this upcoming season, the next development for McCarron is in relation to scoring. His 6.8 field-goal attempts and 1.6 free-throw attempts per game from last season will need to increase.

“I didn’t shoot a lot as a junior in games,” McCarron noted on Adam Gibson’s podcast. “I enjoyed passing ten times more. I think it just became a habit where I wouldn’t even look to shoot sometimes and that’s something that I had to change as I got older.”

With no Melo Trimble to break down the defence in late clock situations, as well as one less import on rosters, McCarron will need to turn up the aggression. For Melbourne to be a championship level team again, he will need to prove that he can put more points on the board in crunch-time moments.

Interestingly, United did move away from Trimble in the starting lineup late last season. Shea Ili, a defence first point guard, came into the group and Melbourne played well, still managing to score at around a league average mark with Ili, McCarron and Goulding sharing the floor per spatialjam.com.

“With the ball in [Mitch McCarron’s] hands, him making decision for our group right now, him feeling more involved in what’s going on in the offence, that’s been the upside in the rotation shuffle,” explained Vickerman at the time of the line-up change.

Aside from the increased point guard duties for McCarron, Melbourne also had the benefit of starting two elite defensive guards. Last off-season, United had moved away from their defensive identity with both Trimble and Long offensively gifted but defensively unproven on arrival. The in-season improvement was impressive, but it took a full campaign of Vickerman screaming from the sidelines to make it happen. You get the feeling the coach will be more comfortable heading into this next season with a more proven defensive mix from day one.

Rewinding back to 2018, McCarron was clearly happy to embrace the idea of fitting in and playing whichever position was necessary, whereas now he’s more locked into the idea of nailing down a clearer role.

“If I’m being honest, it’s the one,” McCarron said to Gibson when asked about his preferred position. “It’s probably when I’m most aggressive, when I’m most creative, and it’s when I have the most fun.”

Prior to the pandemic, McCarron was set to use his off-season to further consolidate the move and fully shift his mindset to the point guard role with a stint in the NBL1 competition. It would have particularly benefited him by giving him repetitions in the half court environment as the lead initiator.

“A big reason Mitch McCarron signed with us was he had a clear goal in the off-season to keep getting point guard development,” explained Geelong head coach and Melbourne assistant Justin Schueller. “From a United point of view, that was going to benefit us.”

Whilst he didn’t get that particular opportunity to improve, McCarron’s steady progression, intelligence, and skillset will hold him in good stead to complete the transition. He won’t completely move away from being that super versatile guard, especially if Shea Ili plays well, but he will certainly log more point guard minutes than ever before in the NBL.

“It’s probably a little bit closer to a Perth model with a Damian Martin, and your scoring in other guard positions,” commented Vickerman. “We believe Mitch can do both things. He can get his 12-14 points a game, get his five to six rebounds a game, pick up his four assists, and if he does that, he’s got to be looked at down the track for the Boomers for opportunities to be a point guard.”

With the confidence of his head coach on his side, McCarron is ready to level up as a player and make United’s decision to move away from an import point guard look like a no-brainer.