Liam McNeeley Shooting

[Rico444]

That’s fine. You are not wrong. And maybe the NBA’s profile is seeing a player 4 years out. But my eyeballs didn’t see a lottery player THIS YEAR! I love him and I love his motor. Kid never stops competing. One more year.

I think your idea of what makes a lottery player is vastly different from NBA scouts and GMs. Walter Clayton was the best player on the floor yesterday and he's slated to be a borderline 1st rounder. It's about more than college success and stats.

 

[Stinger92860]

Liam is 19 and Clayton is 22, thats a big difference to the NBA.

Perhaps Liam would benefit from a chat with Bouknight and the virtues of playing with the Rip City Remix? He was “evaluated” for his super talent and went 11. Nobody is claiming to be an NBA evaluator, but watching a kid every moment on the floor within the context of game situations gives you a pretty good insight. Bouknight suffered from a similar problem as Liam… not ready to take over and deliver in the crucial moments but gets his numbers. When it was crunch time, the Florida AA did just that and buried us.

Liam is 19 and Clayton is 22, thats a big difference to the NBA.

 

[ctbro1999]

I think your idea of what makes a lottery player is vastly different from NBA scouts and GMs. Walter Clayton was the best player on the floor yesterday and he's slated to be a borderline 1st rounder. It's about more than college success and stats.

It's all about growth potential and age. As good as Clayton has played, he's 22 which is ancient in NBA draft prospect terms, while McNeeley is years younger. Same reason why Broome is a projected 2nd round pick while Flagg is the unanimous #1 pick: Flagg is arguably already as good a player as Broome but has tons more upside due to his youth. NBA teams are all about upside when it comes to lottery picks. And if said player is already a very good player? That's just a bonus.

 

[PNolanFan]

Clayton gave me some Napier vibes to be honest, the way he hit those shots against us was reminiscent for sure. I do think Napier was a better college player though. I expect him to have a similar NBA career as well. It was so sad watching Clayton hit those pull up 3s over and over again, must be how everyone felt against us

 

[George C]

I think Liam is a great player and I think he played his heart out for us. But toward the end of the game, he made a number of mistakes that really cost us. There was a missed layup. There was an open pass available to Sampson breaking for the basket, but he held the ball and then inexplicably passed it right to someone on Florida team that led two points. He also miss handle two rebounds toward the end of the game that gave Florida another possession. He did score a ton of points in the last minute, but there were two basically uncontested layups. He did hit two fall shots. And he did hit the final three pointer, but that was when he was not guarded, and it would be impossible for us to win, even if he hit the three-pointer. So I think his statistics look better than they actually were during the game. Once again, great kid. Great competitor. But he was a freshman and he played that way at the end of the game.

 

[Matias]

First two mocks I checked has Liam at 14 and 17.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25171964-2025-nba-mock-draft-full-2-round-predictions-and-pro-comps-ncaa-tournament

2026 NBA Mock Draft with Lottery Simulator | Tankathon

Live updating 2026 NBA Mock Draft with lottery simulator and traded picks. Draft order and selections based on team needs are updated after every NBA game.

www.tankathon.com

Any mid first-rounder is going to continue his development in the league. While there's always a chance he might be crowded out in the coming weeks, he will be gone if he remains 1st round.

Unfortunately, his 5 weeks out really put a ceiling on this year's team. If he does somehow manage to come back, he will be playing with a major chip on his shoulder. But if he goes, we wish him the best.

 

[giddyup]

Liam is 19 and Clayton is 22, thats a big difference to the NBA.


Liam is 19 and Clayton is 22, thats a big difference to the NBA.

Exactly ..

 

[Kowalski]

Interesting topic.


Honestly never looked at Liam's stats until reading this thread but his percentages are pretty low.

His overall FG% is a tad under 40% and 3pt.% is right around 33%.

For somebody touted as a great shooter those values don't correspond.

Liam’s more than just a shooter.

As for his shooting stats, he’s only going to get better (probably in the NBA). As a rule, players don't shoot their best as freshmen - much less a player that misses a good chunk of season due to injury.

Jordan Hawkins shot 33% from 3 as a freshman. He worked out pretty good.