APSU Sports Information
Clarksville, TN – Two game-changing Spanish guards joined Austin Peay State University men’s basketball this week and will contribute right away in Matt Figger‘s first season at the helm.
Acoydan McCarthy, a 6-6 guard, comes to Clarksville with an exceptional pedigree after playing for Spain’s national team and Real Madrid’s club team.
He is known as a slashing ballhandler with impeccable defensive skills owing to his ability to guard four positions.
As an 18-year old playing with and against players a decade his senior, McCarthy averaged 3.1 points and 1.3 assists last season, his third as a member of the junior team, which plays in the amateur fourth tier level of Spain, Liga EBA. Real Madrid was 23-7 in 2016-17, tied for the best record in Stage One, Group B.
Real Madrid’s second squad also produced future NBA players Willy Hernangomez, Bojan Bogdanovic and Maciej Lampe.
On the national side, McCarthy has been a fixture with the Spanish national team since 2015, when he averaged 9.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists for Spain in the 2015 U16 European Championships, scoring 16 points against France. He also helped lead Spain to a fourth-place finish in the 2016 U17 FIBA World Cup, averaging 5.1 points and 1.7 rebounds. He also made the initial 15-man roster for the 2017 U19 FIBA World Cup.
“He’s played the point for his national team, he’s played the point in the Jordan Brand Europe vs. Africa Game,” Figger said. “He’s played at the highest level in Europe. He’s a recognizable name as one of the better kids coming out of Spain.
“He allows us to have more flexibility in our lineups. We can go 6-6 across the board if I want to go large. As a coach, that gives me a lot of versatility. I can play him on or off the ball, so having him gives us flexibility defensively; offensively, it gives us something most teams in the league don’t have—a big guard who can see over defenses.”
