SAN FRANCISCO — Texas Tech guard Likelihood McMillian’s standing for Thursday’s Candy 16 recreation in opposition to Arkansas at Chase Heart is up within the air.
An indirect harm has saved the Vallejo native and Texas Tech’s third-leading scorer on the sideline for the previous three video games, together with two within the NCAA Event.
McMillian mentioned Wednesday that his objective is to play, however second-year Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland advised reporters that the senior’s availability will likely be a game-time resolution.
“I’m getting better every day,” McMillian mentioned. “I’ve been in the training room, doing a lot of pool workouts and breathing workouts because I strained my oblique pretty bad, but my goal is to play tomorrow.”
Whether or not he fits up or not, McMillian is hoping that his path to the Candy 16 offers an instance for the youthful era, simply as he adopted within the footsteps of Bay Space gamers he watched rising up.
“I feel like right now I’m just another role model like how Trevor Dunbar (St. Ignatius) and Jabari Bird (Salesian) were for me,” he mentioned. “I feel like I’m just carrying on that role model status for the younger generation right now. I’m that person that they can look up to.”
Naturally, McMillian is happy to be again dwelling.
“I went to school up until high school in San Francisco,” mentioned McMillian, a 2019 graduate of Bethel Excessive in Vallejo. “This is my first game in Northern California too, so I have a lot of people excited to watch this.”
McMillian performed his first three highschool seasons at St. Patrick-St. Vincent in Vallejo earlier than transferring to Bethel for his senior 12 months.
At Bethel, he averaged 28.2 factors per recreation and received his third straight Tri-County Athletic League Stone Division MVP. He then performed one season at Golden State Faculty Prep earlier than attending Grand Canyon College in Arizona.
At GCU, McMillian broke out as a junior in 2022, averaging 10.9 factors per recreation. He transferred to Texas Tech final 12 months and has been a gradual scoring presence for the Crimson Raiders.
In two seasons in Lubbock, McMillian has averaged 12.4 factors and 4 rebounds per recreation whereas taking pictures 41% from the three-point line.
“Chance McMillian is remarkable and I mean that in every way,” McCasland mentioned. “He’s allowed us to coach him and to tell him the truth, but also to give him the path that we felt like gave him the best chance to help our team win.
“He’s told me several times after tough practice moments, ‘Coach, keep coaching us hard. Stay on this team and I will not let you lose the locker room.’ Nobody says that. He’s in the 1% of players that really want that, that can say it and then live it.”
McMillian isn’t the one participant from Northern California who will likely be suiting up for the Crimson Raiders. Darrion Williams, Texas Tech’s second-leading scorer, performed at Capital Christian in Sacramento for 2 seasons earlier than transferring to Las Vegas powerhouse Bishop Gorman for his junior and senior seasons.
When requested what it’s like for 2 Texas Tech gamers to signify NorCal within the Candy 16, Williams mentioned, “It’s special. Having me and Chance go into (Texas Tech) made the transition a little bit easier, but it’s a blessing to come back and play in front of a bunch of family and friends.”
McMillian’s harm standing has been on the minds of Arkansas as properly. The 6-foot-2 guard is artful and might shoot with consistency from past the arc, making him a tough matchup for any opponent.
“They’re telling me Chance is playing,” Arkansas coach John Calipari mentioned. “I’ve had to do tape work on Chance. He’s one of their best players. … He can play. He’s tough, a rebounder and can shoot the ball. Now I got to go back on tape and figure out who he is.”
However even when he can’t go well with up on Thursday, McCasland has appreciated McMillian’s willpower to return to the ground.
“He’s been remarkably resilient and he’s been as good as a guy on the bench as he was as a player and that’s because of his belief in what we’re doing,” McCasland mentioned. “I think that’s what allows our team to win when he’s not playing.”
Initially Revealed: March 26, 2025 at 5:25 PM PDT
