Bad news for McNeeley? | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Bad news for McNeeley?

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Liam would definitely start on the Hartford Caps. Most likely would sellout Bloomfield High.
 
freescooter said:
In another time he would have stayed at UConn and perfected some some of his skills and his IQ. In today’s NBA he goes. In the right circumstances he could become a significant player. In the wrong one, he’ll bounce back and forth between the NBA and the g league or whatever they call it these days. The NBA drafts kids, not like the NFL. Lots of them, most really, shouldn’t really be there.
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NIL vs. the bouncing back and forth between G League and dropping to late first round - better decision would have been to stay another year. Make some $$$ and improve before he moved on. He was good enough where this would have been very little risk.

Liam didn’t look fully developed at the end of the season, and had lackluster performance in tourney. It was kind of a slow downhill after the unreal Creighton game - good games but not lottery pick good.

But I wish him the best either way - he made his choice.
 
Beowulf said:
And you certainly can't develop these things while making millions playing professionally. Can only happen if you're playing for a team I root for
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You can but you aren’t probably getting the coaching, especially if you end up bouncing between the G league and the NBA. And you aren’t getting playing time if you are keeping the bench cozy for the regulars. As I said before in an earier era he would stay in college for at least another year.
 
I have seen Liam listed to the Spurs at 12 on multiple mocks but also in the 20’s on others. I wouldn’t sleep on him in the top 15.
 
He shooting % is very misleading
Because of our roster problems he had to assume a greater roll on the ball not his primary skill.
That results in more difficult shots .
The hate on the BY for McNeeley is unbelievable. Very few UConn freshmen were ever asked to contribute as much as he was . He didn’t exactly have the 2024 cast around him .
 
Can we get a pinned “X should stay another year” post? We went through the same stupidity with Clingan and Castle last year, which aged like a fine milk. This isn’t 30 years ago. Even if he drops out of the lottery, this was the absolutely right decision.
 
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WhereistheDove? said:
Can we get a pinned “X should stay another year” post? We went through the same stupidity with Clingan and Castle last year, which aged like a fine milk. This isn’t 30 years ago. Even if he drops out of the lottery, this was the absolutely right decision.
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As long as McNeeley gets drafted in the first round, and everything at this point indicates he will be, it is absolutely the correct decision.
 
UCan3 said:
NIL vs. the bouncing back and forth between G League and dropping to late first round - better decision would have been to stay another year. Make some $$$ and improve before he moved on. He was good enough where this would have been very little risk.

Liam didn’t look fully developed at the end of the season, and had lackluster performance in tourney. It was kind of a slow downhill after the unreal Creighton game - good games but not lottery pick good.

But I wish him the best either way - he made his choice.
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After the Creighton game Liam really struggled. He did not play like a player with big time NBA potential. But his game suffered from a number of things that NBA scouts will think will go away at the next level: he never looked like he was 100% recovered from his injury; he became UConn’s only option to take whatever shot he could get at the end of the shot clock; and he was under even more pressure to take bad shots after Hass got hurt when our offense didn’t run as efficiently until we got to the end of the shot clock.

Look, I don’t want to minimize how disappointing Liam’s play was down the stretch. Especially for the first 38 minutes against Florida. But if you are evaluating his NBA future over the next dozen years, you have to recognize that not playing up to one’s potential for 6 weeks doesn’t factor into it all that much.
 
Let’s say Liam comes back and we return him to his role of movement shooter. He goes up to 45% FG and 40% 3P, but his overall scoring drops due to less shots and less minutes because we don’t need him to carry the offense anymore. Remember we’re bringing back our next 3 leading scorers from last year + Silas (we recruited exclusively to run the offense and score) and a scoring 5* freshman

What would NBA teams prefer - a 19 year old that averages 14.5 points and 6 rebounds on bad shooting splits playing the wrong role, or a 20 year old that averages 10 points and 5 rebounds on good shooting splits playing the right role?

If he impresses in workouts and the combine, why wouldn’t the NBA team just take the 19 year old and play him in the right role themselves? Nobody’s going to draft him to be their franchise player, they’re drafting him to plug into their offense as a shooter. He dropped his draft stock last year but his draft profile is the same it was last year, and the same it would be next year
 
REB1094 said:
Let’s say Liam comes back and we return him to his role of movement shooter. He goes up to 45% FG and 40% 3P, but his overall scoring drops due to less shots and less minutes because we don’t need him to carry the offense anymore. Remember we’re bringing back our next 3 leading scorers from last year + Silas (we recruited exclusively to run the offense and score) and a scoring 5* freshman

What would NBA teams prefer - a 19 year old that averages 14.5 points and 6 rebounds on bad shooting splits playing the wrong role, or a 20 year old that averages 10 points and 5 rebounds on good shooting splits playing the right role?

If he impresses in workouts and the combine, why wouldn’t the NBA team just take the 19 year old and play him in the right role themselves? Nobody’s going to draft him to be their franchise player, they’re drafting him to plug into their offense as a shooter. He dropped his draft stock last year but his draft profile is the same it was last year, and the same it would be next year
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That's the thing, though. On an NBA team, he'll be what he is. A guy who can hit 3's, create a little, and be a very good connector on offense. He's not an ISO guy or a playmaker, and that's what he had to become because we fielded a roster with no one who could be a true triple threat offensively. On the Spurs, or with someone like Liam, he would have three other players on the court who can also be playmakers, allowing him to play to his strengths.

And to piggyback, because I was bored and did the stats one day, before Liam's injury (when he was coming into his own as our best player, mind you), he was a 14-5 guy on like 45/40/80. After returning, he had the one huge game against Creighton, but had clearly lost a step and was hobbled, AND AK went into a horrific slump. For better or worse, Liam decided to try and take on the alpha role, and his numbers suffered. I think he'll be a very good third or fourth guy on a good team. Might not be an all-star, but he'll be a consistent piece on the right team.
 
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We go through this discussion virtually every year with high ceiling guys delivering good but not dominant results. The NBA chews people up and spits them out. The kid will get his $$ but there is nothing to indicate he is another level player. Excellent BB skills is what he has with good athleticism. He's not a dominant athletic type.
 
Matrim55 said:
He's 6-foot-8 and was shooting 40% from 3 before the injury, with a 2-to-1 a/to ratio as a secondary playmaker against a tough schedule as a freshman.

If he'd stayed healthy he'd have been a bigger Kon Knueppel, and Knueppel's gonna be a top 5 pick.

Like I said, I hope teams are dumb enough to let him drop to my Celtics.
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You talk as if being 6’8” is an anomaly in the NBA. And his lower leg injury is far more likely to impact his agility than his 3 point game. Listen, love on the kid all you want. He underperformed for us when considering the hype with which he came.
 
Just to play a little devils advocate.

I don’t think the Liam situation is the same as Castle/Clingan/Bouknight, those 3 were guaranteed lottery picks, which McNeeley is not.

The obvious choice is to go pro if you’re a solid first round projection, I’d always make the choice McNeeley made in his shoes.

BUT, you could argue another season for Liam could put him squarely in the lottery, like it did for Bouk and Clingan.

Clingan was in the same situation in 2023, he was in the 15-30 range if he declared. Yet nobody questioned him when he decided to forgo the draft. It was easily understood that consistently performing as a starter would put him in the lottery.

Again, if I were in Clingans shoes back in 2023, I’m leaving for the draft every time. I think every player with a first round projection is crazy to risk being exposed in another year of college, or sustaining serious injuries. But there’s something to be said for lottery talents feeling as though they left something on the table if they don’t have that lottery projection anymore, I understand that drive.
 
Iluvsuebird said:
You talk as if being 6’8” is an anomaly in the NBA. And his lower leg injury is far more likely to impact his agility than his 3 point game. Listen, love on the kid all you want. He underperformed for us when considering the hype with which he came.
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Not anomalies, but they are highly valuable. Hence even after struggling with an injury and shooting well below his projected splits he's going to be a top 25 pick.

If he'd stayed healthy and continued to put up his pre-injury numbers, he'd be a top 10 pick, maybe even top 5. Can pretend otherwise if it makes you happy.
 
AZHuskiePop said:
He shooting % is very misleading
Because of our roster problems he had to assume a greater roll on the ball not his primary skill.
That results in more difficult shots .
The hate on the BY for McNeeley is unbelievable. Very few UConn freshmen were ever asked to contribute as much as he was . He didn’t exactly have the 2024 cast around him .
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Please give us your definition of hate.

It's a word used much too liberally today when "criticism" or "critique" might be more accurate descriptions of the posters' intent.

We'll find out in two weeks who's right but I don't believe anyone here wishes anything but the best for LM.
 
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UCan3 said:
NIL vs. the bouncing back and forth between G League and dropping to late first round - better decision would have been to stay another year. Make some $$$ and improve before he moved on. He was good enough where this would have been very little risk.

Liam didn’t look fully developed at the end of the season, and had lackluster performance in tourney. It was kind of a slow downhill after the unreal Creighton game - good games but not lottery pick good.

But I wish him the best either way - he made his choice.
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Money wise, if he had a good season, he would have been better off waiting. Castle got $41 million @ #4 and Clingan $31 million at #7. Jackson got $7 million. So you see the dropoff from top 10 to early second round.
 
Chief00 said:
Money wise, if he had a good season, he would have been better off waiting. Castle got $41 million @ #4 and Clingan $31 million at #7. Jackson got $7 million. So you see the dropoff from top 10 to early second round.
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I agree. And he is that good where I just didn’t see the upside to entering the draft this year - at least once it was clear he was slipping a bit and got some feedback on workouts.

The NIL is a complete game changer in this regard.

I think Liam would; have shined this year not having to be a playmaker and occasional point guard. But this is all in rear view I guess.
 
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Iluvsuebird said:
You talk as if being 6’8” is an anomaly in the NBA. And his lower leg injury is far more likely to impact his agility than his 3 point game. Listen, love on the kid all you want. He underperformed for us when considering the hype with which he came.
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He became skittish after the injury. He played one great game at Creighton. Then underperformed to prevent getting injured again. The hype was real and deserved.
 
uconnbill said:
Love for him to fall to Boston in round one. That would be awesome.
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That would be! Baylor Scheierman looked pretty good toward the end of the season and it seems like the C's are high on him as a cheap depth piece. Liam brings more skills, flexibility and upside to the table but wonder if they are too similar to be 1st round picks in back to back years. Hope not (not that I expect Liam to fall that far in any case).
 
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