Texas Tech basketball is still a few months away from tipping off their 2016-17 season, but the local media had a chance to sit down with the members of this Red Raider squad one-on-one to see how things have been progressing over the summer.

Today we share our Q&A with Quinnipiac transfer and senior guard Gio McLean, who gave insight as to why he chose Texas Tech and what he expects for this team.

Q: You’ve had quite the journey. You went from high school to two junior colleges to being an Oklahoma commit to ending up at Quinnipiac before finally signing with Texas Tech. Could you go through what that was like and how you ended up in Lubbock?

“Man, it’s been a long process. It’s been a long, long, strenuous process, but sticking to hard work has been my bread and butter. It’s been about hard work and dedication. It’s worked out, and I’m happy to be here at Tech. I’ve loved it so far. Everything is great. I love the program, the coaching staff is unbelievable, man. The way they work for us, how they expect us to work in return for them, it’s just a family, man. That’s what I love about it.”

Q: What was it that drew you to Coach Beard and his staff?

“It absolutely was about honesty. They were honest with me from the jump, from the get go, and everything they’ve told me has come through. They didn’t try to hide anything from me. They just told me straight up what it is that they need from me, what they don’t need from me. They just tell you everything straight up, and I love that about them.”

Q: How has your first offseason, your first summer here at Tech gone so far?

“Just grinding every day. Some guys are doing three-a-days, some doing more than that. Every day, everyone is in here working every day. I know it’s the best conference in basketball, so we have to do that every single day, and everyone is holding up to their end of the bargain right now.”

Q: What has it been like bonding with the nine players who were already at Tech?

“It was easy, man. When a team has one goal, it’s not hard at all. Everyone wants to win. Everyone wants to win the Big 12 championship. Everyone wants to go to the national tournament, and not just go. We want to win, and that’s how we portray ourselves. We work to win every single day.”

Q: Why do you think everyone on this team, whether a returner or newcomer, has bonded together so well so quickly?

“No egos. There aren’t any. At this stage, there should be a whole lot of egos, cause everyone really wants to pursue a career in basketball after this. But, on this team, there are no egos. Everyone buys in, and everyone works, hard, and that’s what I’ve loved about it. It was a great decision for me to come here.”

Q: How much fun has it been learning Coach Beard’s motion offense?

“Oh it’s fun because there aren’t any plays to remember. All it is about is the better you screen. The better you screen, you might get a better shot. That’s all a big part of coming together, working together every day. That helps a lot with the motion, the passing, and no egos that comes with it. We all just are here to win.”

Q: You’re still roughly three months away from the season getting started, but where do you feel like this team is going into the fall?

“So far so good, man. I’ve loved it so far. The grind is going well so far. We’re all here trying to win, so it’s been so far so good.”