The first time Darius McGhee suited up for Liberty in a basketball game came during the preseason of his freshman season in 2018-19. The Flames were playing Division II member Queens in a closed scrimmage.
“Darius wasn’t even on our scouting report,” current Queens head coach Grant Leonard, who was the associate head coach then, recently said. “He lit us up. He hit a bunch of threes in the first half.”
On a team that ended up winning the 2019 ASUN Tournament and knocked off Mississippi State for the program’s first ever NCAA Tournament win, it’s not surprising that a 5’9″ guard from Roxboro, North Carolina who wasn’t highly recruited wasn’t on the scouting report. But, as he has been doing his entire career, McGhee left no doubt that he shouldn’t be discounted for his talent on the basketball court.
“I remember not knowing any of the plays,” McGhee recalled of that first scrimmage. “That was my first time in a game situation with Georgie (Pacheco-Ortiz), so not really being able to understand Georgie communicate on the court. A little bit of nervousness to the point where that played into not knowing where to be but just relying on my instincts and reading the game. Luckily it was a day of making shots. I had a little bit of a solid game.”
Getting to know McGhee over the years, he was certainly underselling his performance where he “almost had 30” according to Liberty redshirt-senior forward Blake Preston. Impressive for any true freshman, but even more so for McGhee to do that on a team that featured veterans like Lovell Cabbil, Caleb Homesley, and Scottie James.
“I know Darius had a bunch of threes that game,” Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay said when thinking back to the scrimmage against Queens. “When you have Darius McGhee, you don’t really have a playbook.”
Since that scrimmage a lot has changed. Not only for McGhee but also for the Liberty and Queens programs. McGhee has grown from being Liberty’s sixth man during his freshman campaign to a starter over the past four seasons and the program’s all-time leading scorer.
Meanwhile, the Flames would go on to win the next three ASUN championships, including the win over Mississippi State in the Big Dance, a 30-win campaign the following year, and one of the best mid-major programs in the country year in and year out.
As for Queens, they would win 27 or more games in three of the last four years under former head coach Bart Lundy while a Division II member. Also the former head coach at High Point, Lundy has returned to the Division I level as head coach at Milwaukee while his former associate head coach, Grant Leonard, is in his first season as head coach for the Royals.
Leonard has been able to help guide Queens to the Division I level where they are currently competing in their first season as an ASUN member. Now, Queens and Leonard and McGhee and Liberty all see their paths cross once again with the Flames hosting Queens Friday night at Liberty Arena.
Not only will the game be pivotal in seeding scenarios for next week’s ASUN Tournament, it is also the regular season finale for both teams and Liberty’s senior night where Darius McGhee, and others, will be honored prior to tip-off.
“When he came in, he was all 5’9″ maybe 145,” McKay said of McGhee as a freshman. “To see his growth physically, not so much in height, but he’s certainly stronger, he’s tougher. His emotional capacity is highly developed, maturity, humility, and then what he’s done as a basketball player.”
Over the past five seasons, that 5’9″ guard has staked his claim as the greatest player in school history all while playing on some of the best teams Liberty has ever fielded. Some of the Liberty records that McGhee owns includes single game scoring record (48 points), single game record for three-point field goals (9), single season record for three-pointers (142 last season), career three-point field goals, and the career scoring record. McGhee has also become the all-time leading scorer in the ASUN. He’s also just the fourth player in the NCAA Division I to ever make 500 or more three-point field goals.
McGhee celebrated senior day once before, as last year at this time he was unsure of his next steps following his fourth season with the Flames. Against Kennesaw State on senior day last year, McGhee dazzled. He set a Liberty Arena record with 47 points, helping the Flames to the victory.
Friday’s game against Queens will be the end of an era. Sure, Liberty is assured of at least one more home game at Liberty Arena this season, but there will be no more regular season games for Darius McGhee in a Liberty uniform. He gets to put a capstone on top of his record-breaking career against the same team he made his collegiate debut against five years ago. The first meeting was with little fanfare in a closed door scrimmage. Friday night’s game at Liberty Arena should be a capacity crowd that gets one more shot to “ooh” and “ahh” at Darius McGhee while wearing the Liberty red, white, and blue.
“To have been part of that time-lapse, I’m grateful,” McKay said. “He’s blessed my life and the lives of many that he’s touched. I hope he goes out with a win.”
