So much to speculate here. Brea was my biggest want and McNeely was #2. The kid Mahaney is a good catch but I wasn't to thrilled looking at his stats against some of the tougher competition from the lesser P5 opponents. I trust Hurley will make it work but an experience ball handler is still a concern. I just know Castle and Newton carried that load and it will be missed
They're just very different players.
Mahaney is better than his stats show, and he's exactly the experienced ball handler we need. His numbers are depressed a bit because (a) he was forced to take bad shots at the end of the shot clock a lot, and (b) the Gaels play at a
really slow pace, so he simply got fewer opportunities. He's similar to Newton and Spencer in a lot of ways, just a great decision maker. There's concerns of course.... he's not the rebounder Newton or Spencer were, it remains to be seen if he has the athleticism to hang in the Big East, etc. But he's a great get.
Brea would be fantastic to land too, but he's much more one-dimensional. He would be an amazing weapon for Hurley and staff to deploy, but I feel like he's a bit more of a luxury, whereas Mahaney fulfills a clear need.