Sharpshooter breaks 3-pointer record

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The Chargers have gone 8-2 in the last 10 games and help from a special teammate has resulted the breaking of a school record.

The Carroll Chargers and the North Side Legends battled in a conference game last Tuesday ending in a Charger victory, and a three-point record broken by Dan McKeeman.  

McKeeman started the game off 1 for 2 from the three-point line, finishing 9 for 14. Racking up seven three’s in the second half. His impressive stroke from different depths of the court has really showed this year.

“I could not believe it when the ninth three went down, it honestly felt like a dream. When I went into the second half with only two three-pointers, I would never have imagined being able to break the record that night.” McKeeman said.

Displaying 249 points on the season so far has allowed the Carroll Chargers to carry a shifty guard that knows the game well. McKeeman has put up 57 three-pointers, leaving David Ejah behind him at just 16.  

Head Coach, Marty Beasley feels like McKeeman has always been able to find a way to get comfortable behind the three-point arc.

“He is an excellent shooter and on any given night he could get in a good rhythm and make a lot of three’s” Beasley said.

Showing his talent on the court as well against a big SAC match-up last Friday against the Northrop Bruins has proved how talented he really is. Hitting another five three’s on the night sparked his energy for sectionals coming up.

“Breaking the record felt great. Especially being able to shoot the ball this consistently at the end of the year, it could really help going into Tournament.”

If McKeeman stays hot throughout the last three regular season games, beginning tonight against Homestead, teams in the SAC have a lot to be worried about coming into sectional play.

Previously, Jacob Redding; a walk on at Louisville, held the three-point record at 8 makes in a single game.

In the 2016-2017 season, Redding finished with 43 three-pointers on 95 attempts. This year, McKeeman has shot 57 three-pointers on 129 attempts, with a few games remaining.

Beasley said, “They both put a lot of time into working on their form and footwork with their shot allowing their sleek performances to be noticed.”

Coincidently leaving both of these players shooting 45 percent behind the 3-point arc, while breaking the single game record of three-pointers. (Mckeeman at the time 55 for 123).

Is this surprising at all though?

The answer is no.

In 2017, Redding finished his senior season with 22 games played and 363 points. Redding was one of the most clutch players the Carroll basketball team has ever seen.

Now, McKeeman is easily making a name for himself taking Redding’s spot.

“Jacob is an incredible player and shooter, and I remember competing with him everyday in practice in shooting drills and I could never win very many of them because of how good a shooter he was, so it felt pretty great to finally beat his record” McKeeman said.

During the 2017 season, McKeeman put up 30 three-pointers out of 74 attempts, shooting at 41%.

Making sense that McKeeman was already out-performing his competition as just a sophomore in high school. No shocker there.  

This made it easy to tell that he was a rising star, ready to take whoever’s place needed to be filled.

And so he did just that.

McKeeman has scored over 20 points in three of the last five games.

• Carroll vs Merrillville: 21 Points (5 of 7 from three-point arc)

• Carroll vs North Side: 27 Points (9 of 14 from three-point arc)

• Carroll vs Northrop: 25 Points (5 of 11 from three-point arc)

He could catch Redding if he averages a little over thirty points in the next three games. Which may feel unrealistic for a high school athlete, but McKeeman has proved people otherwise. Especially tossing up 25 against Northrop, which was, at the time, undefeated in the SAC.

McKeeman himself knew he had to step up these last few years, which has allowed him to now throw his name up along the record board at CHS.

“ At the beginning of this year, I was not prepared to do those little things and was not leading to my full potential. After Christmas break and the loss to Homestead in the Holiday Tournament, I started making an effort to do the little things like getting deflections, taking charges, and huddling the team up on every dead ball to refocus us. I realized that in order for us to achieve our goals, I was going to have to embrace doing the little things, and be a leader for the team along with the rest of the seniors,” he said.

All in all, it’s safe to say that McKeeman has been a strong backbone for the Carroll Chargers this season. He has thoroughly proven himself as one of the best three-point shooters Carroll has ever seen.

McKeeman believes that the constant support from the NACS community has driven him to perform at his maximum potential.

“The support from the teachers and faculty, Neon Nation, my coaches and teammates, my friends and family, and the entirety of the NACS Community has been unbelievable my last 4 years and I would not trade it for anything,” Dan said.

Catch McKeeman and the Chargers hosting the Homestead Spartans Friday at the Charger Fieldhouse. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.