2024 Recruiting: Liam McNeeley

[husky429]

Strikes me as the kind of kid who will take his visits and do his due diligence before making a decision.

 

[bendm]

Getting him in before Bama is big.

i thought "first or last" was the motto when it came to visits

 

[AntG168]

Strikes me as the kind of kid who will take his visits and do his due diligence before making a decision.

I mean maybe in a normal recruitment. But this is his second time at it. He may just be ready to get it over with and know where he’s going in the fall.

 

[Scrutiner]

My question is, "how could he watch the tournament and not be impressed by how Castle developed, how well UConn played and how easily they won."
All those are positives that would indicate he would be coached by the best and gain recognition far beyond what he might get at the also rans.

 

[Fishy]

His mother played D1 basketball. At Rice. And she's a single mom. So that's a couple reasons why she's probably heavily involved.

Just keep her away from Mrs. Flagg.

No, it's because she's his mom.

That's how it works with motherhood.

 

[DRBackup]

No, it's because she's his mom.

That's how it works with motherhood.

Nah, only former D1 athlete moms get involved with their athlete sons.

 

[UconnU]

No, it's because she's his mom.

That's how it works with motherhood.

This is becoming a bit of a trend where we recruit players whose mothers were D1 college basketball players. Clingan, Castle, Flagg, McNeeley…

 

[Kenny11]

This is becoming a bit of a trend where we recruit players whose mothers were D1 college basketball players. Clingan, Castle, Flagg, McNeeley…

There is some crazy statistic out there for nba players having either one or both parents as former d1 or professional athletes. And it’s only growing

 

[AllHusky]

There is some crazy statistic out there for nba players having either one or both parents as former d1 or professional athletes. And it’s only growing

They have just made incredible discoveries in this new science, they are calling it GENETICS

 

[KembaRunner]

And Momma Castle.

And Kemba, Shabazz and Boat’s moms

 

[TheShot1990]

Exactly, the only freshman who was really ready from day 1 to be the starting point guard at UConn in the last 35+ years was El-Amin.

Chris Smith?

 

[businesslawyer]

Chris Smith?

Smith, like Doron, came in as a combo guard. Plus the team that Chris Smith joined did not have a talent level nearly equivalent to what the talent level at UConn would thereafter become.

 

[husky429]

They have just made incredible discoveries in this new science, they are calling it GENETICS

It's a bit more than that too. Sons and daughters of ballers have access to great training resources from more money, parents know about skills they need to learn, kids are more likely to specialize their sport early, etc.

I coached the nephew of an NBA HOF'er and the kid wasn't particularly athletic, but he'll be playing college ball because his uncle has been paying for 1:1 training, a strength coach, and the best AAU team he could get him on since he was 7. Kid never played any other sport.

 

[TheHorde]

And Kemba, Shabazz and Boat’s moms

While they can’t comment on how Hurley coaches because their sons played for Calhoun or Ollie, they CAN comment on how UConn is a true brotherhood and family. Good point.

 

[boog204]

Well, no, not really.

He came in and was our second scoring option behind Rip and the secondary ball handler next to Ricky. Khalid was great, but he stepped into an amazing situation.

Biggest what-if with Khalid…what if he had stuck around for one more year and got to pair with Caron for a season?

Khalid was the secondary ballhandler? That's not my memory at all. While Ricky certainly held some of the playmaking duties, Khalid was still the defacto PG on that squad. We love Ricky now, but he took a lot of abuse in those days on these boards and was still "Rickety" Moore at that point and had a really up and down year his soph year as the primary PG.

 

[kansashusky]

Kansas beat writer reporting KU no longer pursuing Liam. Sounds like Michigan vs UConn.

 

[TheHorde]

Kansas beat writer reporting KU no longer pursuing Liam. Sounds like Michigan vs UConn.

Huge if true

 

[auror]

Kansas beat writer reporting KU no longer pursuing Liam. Sounds like Michigan vs UConn.

And Alabama?

 

[Inyatkin]

Well, no, not really.

He came in and was our second scoring option behind Rip and the secondary ball handler next to Ricky. Khalid was great, but he stepped into an amazing situation.

Biggest what-if with Khalid…what if he had stuck around for one more year and got to pair with Caron for a season?

What? El-Amin was absolutely the primary ball handler, ahead of Ricky Moore, from day 1.

 

[Kenny11]

They have just made incredible discoveries in this new science, they are calling it GENETICS

25 years ago a lot of NBA players came from inner cities. It is much much different now.

 

[FlexOnEm]

Kansas beat writer reporting KU no longer pursuing Liam. Sounds like Michigan vs UConn.

More like UConn vs. Alabama with Michigan as a dark horse. Bodes very well for us that we’re getting the first visit of the three.

 

[HooperScooper]

No, it's because she's his mom.

That's how it works with motherhood.

Yes, of course. But in addition she played D1 basketball so she probably has more knowledge of the process and is more interested. Remember how Flagg's mother, who played D1 basketball at Maine, ran her son's recruiting process? And yes, mothers should be involved in their sons' recruiting, but you don't hear much about the mother's involvement in most recruitments.

 

[upstater]

There is some crazy statistic out there for nba players having either one or both parents as former d1 or professional athletes. And it’s only growing

Half of it is genetics.
BUT...
the amount of money involved in training youth athletes, paying tuition to top teams, getting them strength and conditioning, high schools which support sports enough that they make allowances for missing academics, and then to top it all off, TRAVEL everywhere... well, that's what it takes.

 

[controlfade]

Kansas beat writer reporting KU no longer pursuing Liam. Sounds like Michigan vs UConn.

I posted this the other day> Kansas went all in on the Alabama guard and pretty much have him locked up and dropped out on McNeely.

 

[upstater]

It's a bit more than that too. Sons and daughters of ballers have access to great training resources from more money, parents know about skills they need to learn, kids are more likely to specialize their sport early, etc.

I coached the nephew of an NBA HOF'er and the kid wasn't particularly athletic, but he'll be playing college ball because his uncle has been paying for 1:1 training, a strength coach, and the best AAU team he could get him on since he was 7. Kid never played any other sport.

A kid from a former soccer team my daughter played on got a D1 scholarship to a top school this year. Last I saw her when she was 13, she was the worst on the team, unathletic too, could not run properly. Her development is not a matter of LATE growth or growing into a more adult body. She comes from a very rich family. Father has a jet. Well, she got all the training in the world, trains on her skills for many hours every day, and has translated that to a hustle mentality on the field. Good for her, works very hard. Now she gets rewarded. This is a mix of very hard work by the kid and money that won her that scholarship.