McCloud attended Mainland High School in Daytona Beach and Florida State University in Tallahassee.

While at Florida State, McCloud was among the most discussed NBA prospects in the school's history.

[2] Earlier that season, McCloud was suspended for one game and fined for a postgame fight with Cleveland's John Battle.

At NBA All-Star Weekend in 1996, he appeared in the Three-point Shootout but lost in the semifinal round.

[4] During the 1998 NBA Playoffs, then on the Suns, McCloud averaged a postseason-best 14.3 points per game as Phoenix lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the first round.