2024 Recruiting: Liam McNeeley

[Hurlees4hed]

Think of a Grady Dick kind of shooter in McNeeley... maybe a half a tier below that.

He played a decent amount of the 2 at MVA. Surprisingly good playmaking ability. Handle is not quite there yet, just OK at HS level.

Defense was pretty good at MVA. Question was, will he be a step slow on the perimeter at the next level? Probably not initially strong enough to be a plus defender in the paint. Personally I think he will be able to hold his own on the perimeter as a freshman by the time conference play rolls around, but he does not IMO have Castle's athleticism.

You wouldn't call him a tenacious player on D but he tends to get a sneaky amount of steals and blocks. Hard to judge because MVA is basically an all-star team playing worse all-star teams, more or less. I think he will have a learning curve on that end at first but he has a good enough BBIQ and length to make it work. Shooting and playmaking should be there from the start...

Could grow into an exceptional college 3 and D player with very good NBA potential.

Hurley would be the right coach to help him become that.

 

[AntG168]

I don’t know what Arkansas fans are expecting. Before this season Muss had been to 2 straight elite 8’s and lost to the eventual national champs both times of I’m not mistaken. How much better do they think Cal is gonna do than that?

 

[husky429]

These were the 4 games that I could find that were closest to not blowouts. Prolific Prep, Columbus, AZ, and Paul VI. Basically the best teams in all of HS Ball.

12.5 PTS
2.8 REB
1.8 AST

0 TO
0.8 STL
0.3 BLK

55% 2FG (5 attempts per)
35% 3FG (5 attempts per)
54% FT (3.3 attempts per)

Overall: Starts for the best team in the country, and it’s really not close. These 4 games were the best competition I could find videos for. 6’7 210lbs or so. Plays the 3 or 4 for Montverde and would probably do the same here. Good but not great athlete; plays without much wiggle to his game, very stiff. Fundamentals are good across the board, but only his shooting is excellent. Defense is a work in progress because of his athleticism, but he has a high BBIQ to help with that.

Offense: Absolutely pure shooter. Even misses aren't bad misses. 3-point stroke and FT stroke are textbook. He must be the best shooter in his class or close to it. I doubt 54% from FT is a reflection of his entire season. Had literally 0 turnovers in these 4 games. He’s a low-usage, high efficiency scorer and will probably project that way wherever he plays. He’s more of a system passer than a creative passer (ie. Karaban vs. Newton). I don’t think he has much of a left hand drive or finish. Handles are okay, but not great for a 3. Probably would struggle as a secondary ballhandler.

Defense: His athleticism will hinder him a bit on defense. Right now he’s generally guarding the weakest perimeter threat on the other team. Rebounding is pretty weak considering his size–most of what he’s getting isn’t contested. That being said, he has solid team defensive IQ and helps/rotates on time and aggressively. I don’t think he’ll be as poor in a 1v1 situation as Cam, but he will need to be a part of the system instead of defending on an island. Probably more like Karaban-level defense–there will definitely be a risk of a bad matchup and you aren’t going to pin him as a lockdown defender like Castle was (yet… he will develop).

 

[Hurlees4hed]

These were the 4 games that I could find that were closest to not blowouts. Prolific Prep, Columbus, AZ, and Paul VI. Basically the best teams in all of HS Ball.

12.5 PTS
2.8 REB
1.8 AST

0 TO
0.8 STL
0.3 BLK

55% 2FG (5 attempts per)
35% 3FG (5 attempts per)
54% FT (3.3 attempts per)

Overall: Starts for the best team in the country, and it’s really not close. These 4 games were the best competition I could find videos for. 6’7 210lbs or so. Plays the 3 or 4 for Montverde and would probably do the same here. Good but not great athlete; plays without much wiggle to his game, very stiff. Fundamentals are good across the board, but only his shooting is excellent. Defense is a work in progress because of his athleticism, but he has a high BBIQ to help with that.

Offense: Absolutely pure shooter. Even misses aren't bad misses. 3-point stroke and FT stroke are textbook. He must be the best shooter in his class or close to it. I doubt 54% from FT is a reflection of his entire season. Had literally 0 turnovers in these 4 games. He’s a low-usage, high efficiency scorer and will probably project that way wherever he plays. He’s more of a system passer than a creative passer (ie. Karaban vs. Newton). I don’t think he has much of a left hand drive or finish. Handles are okay, but not great for a 3. Probably would struggle as a secondary ballhandler.

Defense: His athleticism will hinder him a bit on defense. Right now he’s generally guarding the weakest perimeter threat on the other team. Rebounding is pretty weak considering his size–most of what he’s getting isn’t contested. That being said, he has solid team defensive IQ and helps/rotates on time and aggressively. I don’t think he’ll be as poor in a 1v1 situation as Cam, but he will need to be a part of the system instead of defending on an island. Probably more like Karaban-level defense–there will definitely be a risk of a bad matchup and you aren’t going to pin him as a lockdown defender like Castle was (yet… he will develop).

You pretty much nailed this description as someone who has watched him play a lot of games other than the ones you listed here.

An Indiana fan apparently has somewhat* effectively* projected the stats of incoming freshmen by averaging the FR year stats of the six most similar profile players (in size, rank, and position) from the last three recruiting classes.

For McNeeley, this is what they projected... obviously take with huge grain of salt because this lacks a ton of important context. Good amount of variance is likely but should be a decent baseline IMO

• 25.9 minutes/game
• 7.9 shots, 43.8 fg %
• 3.2 of the shots are threes, 35.3%
• 2.7 ft, 76.7%
• 4.7 rebounds
• 1.4 assists
• 1.1 steals
• 0.5 blocks
• 1.2 turnovers
• 10.1 points/game

 

[speckle]

These were the 4 games that I could find that were closest to not blowouts. Prolific Prep, Columbus, AZ, and Paul VI. Basically the best teams in all of HS Ball.

12.5 PTS
2.8 REB
1.8 AST

0 TO
0.8 STL
0.3 BLK

55% 2FG (5 attempts per)
35% 3FG (5 attempts per)
54% FT (3.3 attempts per)

Overall: Starts for the best team in the country, and it’s really not close. These 4 games were the best competition I could find videos for. 6’7 210lbs or so. Plays the 3 or 4 for Montverde and would probably do the same here. Good but not great athlete; plays without much wiggle to his game, very stiff. Fundamentals are good across the board, but only his shooting is excellent. Defense is a work in progress because of his athleticism, but he has a high BBIQ to help with that.

Offense: Absolutely pure shooter. Even misses aren't bad misses. 3-point stroke and FT stroke are textbook. He must be the best shooter in his class or close to it. I doubt 54% from FT is a reflection of his entire season. Had literally 0 turnovers in these 4 games. He’s a low-usage, high efficiency scorer and will probably project that way wherever he plays. He’s more of a system passer than a creative passer (ie. Karaban vs. Newton). I don’t think he has much of a left hand drive or finish. Handles are okay, but not great for a 3. Probably would struggle as a secondary ballhandler.

Defense: His athleticism will hinder him a bit on defense. Right now he’s generally guarding the weakest perimeter threat on the other team. Rebounding is pretty weak considering his size–most of what he’s getting isn’t contested. That being said, he has solid team defensive IQ and helps/rotates on time and aggressively. I don’t think he’ll be as poor in a 1v1 situation as Cam, but he will need to be a part of the system instead of defending on an island. Probably more like Karaban-level defense–there will definitely be a risk of a bad matchup and you aren’t going to pin him as a lockdown defender like Castle was (yet… he will develop).

Excellent write-up. For all your analysis and some of my own, this is why I do not expect him to be a high impact player as a freshman. He could do very nicely in a well defined role, but his lack of creation and defensive chops don't indicate 3peat level player. I'd be hoping he could turn into a Karaban level defender in a few years and despite Cam's lack of elite size and athleticism, he was almost never could out of position which takes a ton of practice and sweat.

 

[businesslawyer]

They don't play similarly at all outside of having a similar size.

McNeely is a low-usage, high-effeciency wing. Much better shooter than Hamilton. Hamilton was a point-forward who needed the ball in his hands and was a constant triple-double threat.

He's closer to Hawkins than Hamilton in usage, but not quite so one-dimensional.

Except that Hamilton lost the ability to shoot while he was here. Couldn’t shoot a lick his sophomore year.

 

[Hurlees4hed]

Excellent write-up. For all your analysis and some of my own, this is why I do not expect him to be a high impact player as a freshman. He could do very nicely in a well defined role, but his lack of creation and defensive chops don't indicate 3peat level player. I'd be hoping he could turn into a Karaban level defender in a few years and despite Cam's lack of elite size and athleticism, he was almost never could out of position which takes a ton of practice and sweat.

I could see him playing about 10-14mpg in a very defined role. IMO his shooting will get him an opportunity to earn minutes and he will be a surprisingly good passer in the offensive system. Defense will be what limits him freshman year, but I believe he sat for two years at MVA, so he has shown that he can buy in and improve over time, not run away from a challenge. His motor in terms of grabbing rebounds I think will also play a big factor in whether he plays/how many minutes he gets.

He'll have his moments but freshmen are freshmen... Think he will be a very dangerous sophomore.

 

[BGesus4]

Except that Hamilton lost the ability to shoot while he was here. Couldn’t shoot a lick his sophomore year.

He did have a 40 pt game that was credited to Brimah

 

[husky429]

I could see him playing about 10-14mpg in a very defined role. IMO his shooting will get him an opportunity to earn minutes and he will be a surprisingly good passer in the offensive system. Defense will be what limits him freshman year, but I believe he sat for two years at MVA, so he has shown that he can buy in and improve over time, not run away from a challenge. His motor in terms of grabbing rebounds I think will also play a big factor in whether he plays/how many minutes he gets.

He'll have his moments but freshmen are freshmen... Think he will be a very dangerous sophomore.

He's playing more than 10-14 a game.

 

[auror]

2 things scare me here.

1) Tyson chicken man
2) Rylan Griffin just unexpectedly left Bama so now they have a clear opening for McNeeley.

And then theres also Bill Self and Adidas waiting in the dark to drop a bag at the 23rd hour.

Well then we get Griffen.

 

[UCTitleTown]

Any kid that chooses a school based solely on NIL is no kid we want anyway, especially after the past two seasons. It's not about TikTok videos, it's about championship highlight videos.

 

[UconnU]

These were the 4 games that I could find that were closest to not blowouts. Prolific Prep, Columbus, AZ, and Paul VI. Basically the best teams in all of HS Ball.

12.5 PTS
2.8 REB
1.8 AST

0 TO
0.8 STL
0.3 BLK

55% 2FG (5 attempts per)
35% 3FG (5 attempts per)
54% FT (3.3 attempts per)

Overall: Starts for the best team in the country, and it’s really not close. These 4 games were the best competition I could find videos for. 6’7 210lbs or so. Plays the 3 or 4 for Montverde and would probably do the same here. Good but not great athlete; plays without much wiggle to his game, very stiff. Fundamentals are good across the board, but only his shooting is excellent. Defense is a work in progress because of his athleticism, but he has a high BBIQ to help with that.

Offense: Absolutely pure shooter. Even misses aren't bad misses. 3-point stroke and FT stroke are textbook. He must be the best shooter in his class or close to it. I doubt 54% from FT is a reflection of his entire season. Had literally 0 turnovers in these 4 games. He’s a low-usage, high efficiency scorer and will probably project that way wherever he plays. He’s more of a system passer than a creative passer (ie. Karaban vs. Newton). I don’t think he has much of a left hand drive or finish. Handles are okay, but not great for a 3. Probably would struggle as a secondary ballhandler.

Defense: His athleticism will hinder him a bit on defense. Right now he’s generally guarding the weakest perimeter threat on the other team. Rebounding is pretty weak considering his size–most of what he’s getting isn’t contested. That being said, he has solid team defensive IQ and helps/rotates on time and aggressively. I don’t think he’ll be as poor in a 1v1 situation as Cam, but he will need to be a part of the system instead of defending on an island. Probably more like Karaban-level defense–there will definitely be a risk of a bad matchup and you aren’t going to pin him as a lockdown defender like Castle was (yet… he will develop).

He bulked up/filled out a lot over the last year. If you watch his tape from 2022 he’s leaner and appears to be more fluid and agile. But now he’s become a much more efficient player. His defense will be fine at this level bc he’ll have such good positional size on the perimeter, and he’s athletic enough to stay in front of these 6’5 wing type players in conference. And he’ll be a smart player. When MV runs their set stuff he’s involved with the screening and cutting, they dont hide him in a corner, he can clearly absorb a playbook.

 

[bendm]

He'll have his moments but freshmen are freshmen...

Dude is ranked 15 in his class. Castle was ranked 10th. Are you saying only the top 10 ranked freshmen are good enough to start or are you saying Liam is severely overrated?

 

[Hurlees4hed]

Dude is ranked 15 in his class. Castle was ranked 10th. Are you saying only the top 10 ranked freshmen are good enough to start or are you saying Liam is severely overrated?

I think that Liam is a really good player but much more limited than Castle athletically. He can definitely play within a system very well and his shooting should translate. I think McNeeley will be good, and after looking closer at who is coming back next year, I could see him playing anywhere from 15/18-25 mins per game depending how Hurley does in Portal Combat season. I'd say if McNeeley is starting next year, it will be an uphill climb to get back to where UConn has been the past two seasons. Personally I'd want him in a 7th man role as a freshman then think he'd be ready to shine as a sophomore. But honestly... Hurley knows what he's doing, so whatever he does will be the right thing (assuming McNeeley does indeed become a Husky).

 

[Fan1978]

Dan Hamilton an all-time "what if" for us

Him and his brothers all left too early for quick money and destroyed almost certain long nba careers. Sometimes you do need another year. Jordan got his money, but needed another year to get mentally tougher. His stroke is perfect but his shooting percentage never correlated. Hope he has a long career

 

[UCFan1513]

Dan Hamilton an all-time "what if" for us

Well judging by how well Ollie developed his players, he’d probably have come back and been just as good or worse. Think the what-if is what-if he had a real coach

 

[McLovin]

Question for people in the know - viewing practices is a big part of the recruiting process for us, How would it work with these transfers we're after and with McNeeley? Presumably there won't be any practices to view for quite a while.

Perhaps i'm missing something

Bring them on campus and lock them in a gym with Cam Spencer for 2 hours. They’ll get all the info they need.

 

[UconnU]

I think that Liam is a really good player but much more limited than Castle athletically. He can definitely play within a system very well and his shooting should translate. I think McNeeley will be good, and after looking closer at who is coming back next year, I could see him playing anywhere from 15/18-25 mins per game depending how Hurley does in Portal Combat season. I'd say if McNeeley is starting next year, it will be an uphill climb to get back to where UConn has been the past two seasons. Personally I'd want him in a 7th man role as a freshman then think he'd be ready to shine as a sophomore. But honestly... Hurley knows what he's doing, so whatever he does will be the right thing (assuming McNeeley does indeed become a Husky).

McNeeley holds offers from every school in the country man, he’s a day one starter everywhere, Team USA starter. He’d slide right into the 3, now an offensive weakness becomes a strength, teams sagged off of Castle all year! He shoots 50% from. 3 vs the best competition. The spacing will be much better. He has great positional size for a small forward he will suffocate smaller wings, and out rebound them like Castle.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

McNeeley holds offers from every school in the country man, he’s a day one starter everywhere, Team USA starter. He’d slide right into the 3, now an offensive weakness becomes a strength, teams sagged off of Castle all year! He shoots 50% from. 3 vs the best competition. The spacing will be much better. He has great positional size for a small forward he will suffocate smaller wings, and out rebound them like Castle.

Let’s just let it play out Mrs. McNeeley.

 

[Huskyforlife]

McNeeley holds offers from every school in the country man, he’s a day one starter everywhere, Team USA starter. He’d slide right into the 3, now an offensive weakness becomes a strength, teams sagged off of Castle all year! He shoots 50% from. 3 vs the best competition. The spacing will be much better. He has great positional size for a small forward he will suffocate smaller wings, and out rebound them like Castle.

I love Liam, but he doesn’t even start for his high school team.

 

[caw]

I love Liam, but he doesn’t even start for his high school team.

That team is absurdly stacked though.

1, 13, 14, 16, 25, 80 in the class of 2024 nationally and a 7th man going to ODU.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

I think that Liam is a really good player but much more limited than Castle athletically.

You could say the same thing about Karaban and Spencer.

 

[nomar]

That team is absurdly stacked though.

1, 13, 14, 16, 25, 80 in the class of 2024 nationally and a 7th man going to ODU.

Did they win the NCAA tournament?

I want him as much as the next guy but he’s not a lock to start, right? (Assuming we get him.)

 

[Hey Adrien!]

That team is absurdly stacked though.

1, 13, 14, 16, 25, 80 in the class of 2024 nationally and a 7th man going to ODU.

A friend of mine who used to work at my school took a job on the admissions team at Montverde Academy when her and family moved to Florida the year that AJ Griffin was a senior.

She's an incredibly sweet person and hilariously clueless when it comes to sports. Prior to the start of winter break, my friend, her husband and newborn son were going to drive back to Connecticut for the holidays all the way from Florida. They offered AJ Griffin a ride back to New York, since it's on the way, he politely, but understandably declined.

 

[mauconnfan]

I love Liam, but he doesn’t even start for his high school team.

It’s not a “high school” team so let’s get that straight. It’s the best prep team in the country and easily so to get good minutes there is impressive in itself.