Did not expect McNeeley to be this good this soon! | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Did not expect McNeeley to be this good this soon!

HuskyFich said:
How easy we forget Stephon Castle, lol.
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I have often said that Castle was a generational talent as a freshman. Never seen anything like it - total package.

Never thought I would be talking about another player sharing this distiction, not in my lifetime.

But, I was wrong.. Liam looks like a senior out there - oh my!
 
Luna said:
Mahaney is also a 3 level scorer.. I think as the season goes on Mahaney is going to be a big part of the success of this team as a backup to Diarra..
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I think mahaney is filling in for nowell. It’s not clicking. Nowell will be the 1st guard off the bench going forward. He’s just tougher and more athletic.
 
HuskyFich said:
Castle could have got 20 points any night he wanted.

I will die on this hill.
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We had a few who could have, some (Ray, as I stated earlier for one) weren't given the opportunity to do so because one (more) was ahead of them. I was intentionally very specific with my wording. I did not say best player as a freshman nor best offensive player as a freshman.

Castle was as good of a player as a true freshman as any we've had (that's a hill that I will die on) but even if you were to take his top dozen games he would be behind McNeeley as a scorer. That doesn't mean that Castle wasn't the better player, even with McNeeley being a far superior three point shooter.

When this season is in the books I would absolutely love to be able to claim that McNeeley was every bit as good as Castle was because that would play a very large role in a great tournament run but, being able to place one of our kids over another doesn't interest me anywhere near as much as enjoying watching our program's success and appreciating greatness that we've seen in players who have accomplished that here.
 
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Let’s not forget how good Rudy Gay was as a freshman.
 
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FfldCntyFan said:
I could be overlooking someone but I think he's the most confident and most successful scorer as a true freshman that we've had here since Corny Thompson.

Granted, there were a few who had quality returning players in front of them in their freshman year (Ray comes immediately to mind), but still, what Liam has shown is impressive.
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Since Caron Butler my friend, but point well taken
 
FfldCntyFan said:
We had a few who could have, some (Ray, as I stated earlier for one) weren't given the opportunity to do so because one (more) was ahead of them. I was intentionally very specific with my wording. I did not say best player as a freshman nor best offensive player as a freshman.

Castle was as good of a player as a true freshman as any we've had (that's a hill that I will die on) but even if you were to take his top dozen games he would be behind McNeeley as a scorer. That doesn't mean that Castle wasn't the better player, even with McNeeley being a far superior three point shooter.

When this season is in the books I would absolutely love to be able to claim that McNeeley was every bit as good as Castle was because that would play a very large role in a great tournament run but, being able to place one of our kids over another doesn't interest me anywhere near as much as enjoying watching our program's success and appreciating greatness that we've seen in players who have accomplished that here.
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not ready to put him on equal footing just yet. But I think even the fact McNeeley is in the conversation is a huge testament to what he's brought to this team the one wildcard I would give to castle is the defense
 
willie99 said:
Since Caron Butler my friend, but point well taken
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I also included "true" before freshman. That was with Caron in mind.
 
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DogMania said:
I'm sure some will disagree and say Alex is as important, if not more, but if it was between Alex or Liam, I'd take Liam who provides a particular set of skills. ;)
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I see what you did there!
 
FfldCntyFan said:
I could be overlooking someone but I think he's the most confident and most successful scorer as a true freshman that we've had here since Corny Thompson.

Granted, there were a few who had quality returning players in front of them in their freshman year (Ray comes immediately to mind), but still, what Liam has shown is impressive.
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UCan3 said:
not ready to put him on equal footing just yet. But I think even the fact McNeeley is in the conversation is a huge testament to what he's brought to this team the one wildcard I would give to castle is the defense
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Castle was as talented and with as great future potential as any freshman we ever had but he was the 5th option on a great team who opponents frequently ignored to double another shooter . He played a key role but was never the man.
You can’t compare hIm freshman vs freshman to Khalid the leading scorer and facilitator on a veteran team.
Ot even Emeka whose interior D and rebounding were complete game changers
Rip was also the number 1 option as a freshman as was Corny.
We’re talking about players who are singled out in practice by opponents as the man we have to stop or adjust are offense because of ., to have a chance . Castle as much as we love him was not that guy ,
McNeeley is that guy .

I didn’t even put Ray on the list as it was Donyell Marshal’s team and he was probably the most talented UConn player ever .
 
I said immediately after the Sacred Heart game that we need to enjoy him this year cause he isn't going to be here next year. He just has it.
 
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FfldCntyFan said:
I could be overlooking someone but I think he's the most confident and most successful scorer as a true freshman that we've had here since Corny Thompson.

Granted, there were a few who had quality returning players in front of them in their freshman year (Ray comes immediately to mind), but still, what Liam has shown is impressive.
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Earl Kelley was also a confident and successful scorer. If I remember correctly he was also BE freshman of the year. And he did it in an era where UConn had few other scoring options and opponents could focus on him defensively.
 
UCan3 said:
I have often said that Castle was a generational talent as a freshman. Never seen anything like it - total package.

Never thought I would be talking about another player sharing this distiction, not in my lifetime.

But, I was wrong.. Liam looks like a senior out there - oh my!
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McNeeley is further ahead of Castle at this point of the season. Castle was still figuring things out at the end of last year. We also need much more out of McNeeley than what we needed out of Castle.
 
This team would be borderline awful without Liam. I actually think he’s a better offensive player than the Flagg.

Instead of comparing Laim with Stephon, I prefer to imagine what this team would look like with both on this roster. Top 3 anyway, and I’d probably take that team to beat everyone but Auburn.
 
Scottzer said:
This team would be borderline awful without Liam. I actually think he’s a better offensive player than the Flagg.

Instead of comparing Laim with Stephon, I prefer to imagine what this team would look like with both on this roster. Top 3 anyway, and I’d probably take that team to beat everyone but Auburn.
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With a Sophomore Castle? Gotta be the best team. Soph Castle is an All American at our position of greatest need
 
Scottzer said:
This team would be borderline awful without Liam. I actually think he’s a better offensive player than the Flagg.

Instead of comparing Laim with Stephon, I prefer to imagine what this team would look like with both on this roster. Top 3 anyway, and I’d probably take that team to beat everyone but Auburn.
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I know he was advertised as a deadly sharpshooter, but I've been impressed how he's been able to create his own shot and drive it into the hole and finish. And also his ability to draw fouls. He's also been a lot better on the defensive end than I thought he would be at this stage.
 
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RuffRuff said:
Steph at the 2g would make this team NC favorite
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It's a little sad we will never know what a fully unleashed Steph would have done in a UConn uniform this season. I'm glad he's having success in the NBA (despite a recent rough stretch) and know it was the right decision for him to go pro.
 
ctbro1999 said:
I know he was advertised as a deadly sharpshooter, but I've been impressed how he's been able to create his own shot and drive it into the hole and finish. And also his ability to draw fouls. He's also been a lot better on the defensive end than I thought he would be at this stage.
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It feels like he’s filling a hole by playing some point forward, b/c he’s the only guy who can. I think he is as good a shooter as advertised, but we might not get to see it with so few other players capable of effectively driving.
I’m with you on the D - it’s not going to be lockdown, but his effort is there and it’s improving.
 
ctbro1999 said:
Sad that this will definitely be his only season in a Husky uniform. May he go out like Steph did last year!
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It's not sad it's reality. I never expected him to wear a Husky uniform.
 
Scottzer said:
This team would be borderline awful without Liam. I actually think he’s a better offensive player than the Flagg.

Instead of comparing Laim with Stephon, I prefer to imagine what this team would look like with both on this roster. Top 3 anyway, and I’d probably take that team to beat everyone but Auburn.
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McNeeley and Castle on the same team? Yeah, we would kick Auburn's butt along with everyone else in the country.
 
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