While the Florida State men’s basketball team continues its 2021-22 season Saturday at noon against visiting Wake Forest, the program itself will honor one of the greatest to ever take the court for FSU.
At halftime of the game (noon ET, Bally Sports), an FSU hoops legend will see his jersey retired and placed in the rafters of the Tucker Center.
George McCloud, a former forward and later point guard in the late 1980s, will have his FSU jersey retired after a standout career that culminated in winning the Metro Conference Player of the Year Award in 1988-89 and leading FSU to a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament as a senior.
He becomes just the seventh Seminole in history to receive the distinguished honor.
“I am honored, it is a great accomplishment. A lot of people played a part in it. All the players that I played with. We have a group chat that we all still communicate,” McCloud said. "Just the camaraderie and the brotherhood we’ve built. And they played a part in it, all those guys. It's not just me. Coach [Pat] Kennedy, all you guys. All the stuff you guys did for us. It's appreciated.”
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After being selected with the No. 7 pick in the 1989 NBA Draft, McCloud played 12 seasons for Indiana, Dallas, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Denver.
He faced off against a staggering list of NBA greats, from Michael Jordan to his idol Magic Johnson during a career that yielded 6,925 points across 766 games played.
“As a player, I am happy, excited, proud. It really hasn’t hit me,” McCloud added. “This is an honor that no one can take away. Every time I step into the arena, my jersey is there. It’s big. Very humbled to accept it. I really appreciate everyone who voted and gave me this prestigious honor.”
McCloud came to FSU from Mainland High in Daytona Beach in 1985 and was a valued reserve off the bench his first two seasons in college.
Then in 1987-88, his junior year, McCloud switched from forward to point guard and unlocked one of the greatest two-year individual runs in school history. He put up 18.2 points per game and dished out over 100 assists as a junior.
“For me, individually, I had two great years. Coach Kennedy gave me the opportunity. Actually, Pee Wee Barber, my man Pee Wee told Coach Kennedy to move me to point guard,” McCloud reminisced. “So Pee Wee gets some credit. I had never played it. … That was the beginning of it all.”
Wearing No. 21 for FSU, McCloud was nearly unstoppable as a senior, slashing defenses with a combination of inside and outside scoring -- plus passing -- that was rare for a college player.
He averaged 22.8 points per game to lead a memorable team, and he hit 201 career 3-pointers, plus 115 his final season, at a time when there were not many prolific outside shooters.
McCloud's outside shooting abilities, especially for his height and position, were ahead of its time.
“As an individual, I just competed, played as hard as I could,” McCloud said. “Kept getting better from my junior year, got much better my senior year.”
Florida State finished 1988-89 as the regular-season champions of the Metro Conference, which included the likes of Louisville and Memphis.
When asked about his own success, McCloud was just as quick to highlight the excellent core of teammates around him that made up the successful squad his senior year.
McCloud highlighted all of his teammates, including forward Tony Dawson (20.9 points per game that season), guard Tharon Mayes (recent FSU star Xavier Rathan-Mayes’ father, who scored well over 1,000 career points at FSU ), and center Tat Hunter, McCloud’s roommate and a starter who averaged 9 points and 8 rebounds in ‘88-89).
“Our team was great, we were top-20 all year. Still games I could go on YouTube sometimes and watch some of the games,” McCloud said. “Stay in touch with Dawson, teammates, me and Tharon talk. Its an honor to stay in touch with those guys.”
The FSU legend will become the seventh Seminole hoops star to have his jersey retired. McCloud joins Dave Cowens (No. 13), Hugh Durham (No. 25), Bob Sura (No. 3), Sam Cassell (2008), Ron King (No. 33) and Dave Fedor (No. 43).
McCloud has certainly kept in touch with FSU Basketball under Leonard Hamilton, praising the longtime FSU head coach and saying he has, “done a tremendous job.”
“Coach Ham and I talk all the time," he said. "The support that he gives me and support that I give back is important. The fact that he never coached me and we have this relationship.”
Likewise, Hamilton has plenty of respect for McCloud and his progression.
“George is a young man who has gone through the normal improvement process. If you go back and check his record, he averaged four or five points per game as a freshman," Hamilton said. "I don’t think he averaged double-figures as a sophomore. But as a junior, he matured and scored 18 points per game. His senior year, he moved up.
“He understands how to start at one point, he understands working hard and improving through the process. Because he lived it, walked it and talked it. He was mature enough that when he got to the league, the NBA, he was able to utilize the experience that he gained, the maturity that he gained throughout the process. ... George is a guy who keeps things in perspective, and we have developed a good relationship over the years.”
Pointing out that he frequently returns to watch games, McCloud is as dedicated of an FSU fan now as the many who once followed him three decades ago.
“I usually come back and check out some games. Anthony Polite is a kid I have known my whole life. And of course Coach Ham and I are really good friends,” McCloud said. “I’m Florida State through and through. I watch everything. I try to get back and support the team.”
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