Boys Basketball: McClure adjusts to leading role for Westerville South
Thursday, January 4, 2024
By Jarrod Ulrey
julrey@cbussports.com
Westerville South’s Kruz McClure goes to the hoop during the host Wildcats’ win over Harvest Prep on Dec. 28. Defending is the Warriors’ Khalil Daniels. Photo: John Hulkenberg
Asked to take on the leading role this winter for the Westerville South boys basketball team, junior guard Kruz McClure has blossomed into one of central Ohio’s top all-around threats with relative ease.
Learning from one of his toughest on-the-court moments a little less than a year ago has been a part of his maturation process.
During the second round of league play last January at OCC-Capital Division-rival and sister-school Westerville North, McClure helped the Wildcats rally from a 10-point deficit to tie it during the closing minute.
With 12.4 seconds remaining, McClure held the ball momentarily before dribbling to halfcourt.
That’s when North’s Micah Young – another of central Ohio’s rising sophomores at that time – reached around with his left hand, knocked the ball away and stole the ball.
Young then drove in for a layup, but was fouled by McClure with 1.7 seconds left. He made both shots for the game-winning points in a 55-53 victory for the Warriors.
“That was a great motivator,” McClure said. “I used that as fuel for the rest of the season and leading into the summer. That moment haunts me. It hurts.”
Still, some of McClure’s best moments last winter were to come for he and a senior class that included three starters.
Although the Wildcats settled for third at 11-3 in the league, including also losing their other matchup to eventual champion Westerville North, South beat the Warriors 60-55 in a district semifinal. It then edged Dublin Jerome 62-60 to give the program its seventh Division I district championship before its season ended with a 59-51 loss to eventual state runner-up Pickerington Central in a regional semifinal.
Westerville South’s Kruz McClure works to find space during the host Wildcats’ win over Harvest Prep on Dec. 28. Photo: John Hulkenberg
McClure averaged 17.5 points and earned second-team all-district and special mention all-state honors as the Wildcats went 21-6 overall.
This winter, McClure has upped his scoring average to 28 per game as South is 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the league.
“He’s a talented young man,” said Ed Calo, who is 554-277 in 37 seasons as coach. “He loves the game and really works hard at it. He’s got to carry the load a little bit. He’s doing this with a lot of defensive attention, too. It’s really impressive what he’s doing right now.”
McClure opened eyes when he poured in 40 points during a 76-64 win Dec. 8 over Dublin Scioto.
He then topped that performance Dec. 22 when he finished with 41 points in a 73-65 win over Delaware.
Those remain the only losses this winter for both the Irish and the Pacers, who meet Jan. 5 at Delaware in a key league matchup.
South plays host to Canal Winchester in league play Jan. 5.
“We’ve made major improvements,” McClure said. “Each game has been a new learning experience. We’ve taken something new from each game and worked on it really hard in practice. We’re still learning.”
Westerville South’s Kruz McClure drives during the host Wildcats’ win over Harvest Prep on Dec. 28. Photo: John Hulkenberg
The only other players in South’s program history to surpass 40 points in a game were Kaleb Wesson, who had performances of 43 and 49 points in 2016, Marcus Ball, who scored 43 in a 2013 game, and Jordan McMillian, who poured in 40 in a 2019 contest.
The 6-foot-5 McClure has grown an inch over the past few months and has been splitting time between running the point and shooting guard with senior Draz Smith and junior Amari Hodges.
Junior Tyler Kielmeyer, a 6-6 inside presence, and sophomore wing player Hassan Kaba, also have filled key roles.
“We’re struggling a little bit, but we’ll get it together,” Calo said. “We expected to improve as the season goes on. We’re still pretty young. We lost three seniors that are really good players, so we’re just trying to fill that void and try to figure things out right now. We’re not real deep right now, but as time goes on, we’ll find that.”
McClure, who is the son of Kelley McClure, a 1992 Groveport graduate who went on to play for Otterbein and overseas, said he was focused solely on helping his team win during his two 40-point performances.
“I just wanted to do whatever it took to get the ‘W,’” McClure said. “These guys are all still learning the game of basketball and everybody busts their butt day in, day out. We’re just growing as a team, and it’s great to see.”
Westerville South’s Kruz McClure moves on Harvest Prep’s Adonus Abrams during the host Wildcats’ win Dec. 28. Photo: John Hulkenberg