Kevin McLinton, a former star basketball player for Maryland, passed away on Thursday. McLinton was just 52 years old. He was a dependable and charismatic point guard for Maryland in the early years of Gary Williams’ career.
After coming from Ohio State, McLinton was a vital part of Williams’ rebuilding phase, keeping the team viable as it emerged from the shadow of NCAA penalties and returned to national prominence. As a senior in 1992–1993, he averaged 15.8 points, 6.3 assists, and 1.6 steals. With 5.2 assists per game and 1.5 steals per game, he currently holds the fourth position on the school’s career chart.
“I placed my hat there. In a 2021 podcast, McLinton and his old colleague Walt Williams, a former standout player at Maryland, remarked, “I took pride in that, being able to defend really good players and score when it was needed.”
McLinton, a local basketball trainer and salesman, is married and has two children. The elder McLinton was coaching his son’s AAU squad, K.J. McLinton, who is a talented young player.
On social media on Wednesday, Kevin McLinton shared a picture of himself lying in a hospital bed.
“I need some prayers, please! Could certainly put them to use,” he wrote.
From McLinton’s 1990 Washington Post profile:
Many people believe that McLinton’s turning point occurred last February at Duke, which was then ranked No. 1. When senior guard Walt Williams, Maryland’s best player last season, fouled out, McLinton took over. He totaled 25 points and 11 assists as the Terrapins came close to pulling a monumental upset before falling 91-89.
However, McLinton remembers a game from his sophomore year. It was against North Carolina, and he scored a then-career-best 21 points.
“I think that was the game that really showed me I could score on this level,” said McLinton, who played just six games as a freshman because of a stress fracture in his left leg.
Despite that injury that kept him from playing in the National Invitation Tournament (Maryland’s only postseason appearance of his career so far) and despite the NCAA sanctions that have held the program back throughout his career, he is happy and ready to move on.
“You probably say, ‘What if’ and ‘What could have been,’ ” said McLinton, who will end the spring about a semester shy of his degree in criminal justice. “But I wouldn’t trade these four years for anything in the world.”
A Silver Spring native who led Springbrook High to a state championship in 1988 — upsetting a Crossland team featuring his future teammate, Maryland and NBA star Williams — he was also a highly recruited high school football player. His father, Harold McLinton, was a standout player for the Redskins who passed away in 1980. His younger brother, Darren McLinton, also starred at Springbrook before playing for Maryland coaching legend Lefty Driesell at James Madison. Darren McLinton is also a trainer, with a client list including former Maryland point guard Jahmir Young and incoming guard Rodney Erice.