Liam McNeeley Shooting | Page 4 | The Boneyard

Liam McNeeley Shooting

Dogdeacon said:
True. Also true that Donovan Clingan came back, dominated and improved his draft stock and $$.
Expand ...
Clingan had to show the NBA he could reasonably be the guy for the year.

If he left after his freshman year it would’ve been off potential. Him coming back provided more production to go off.

Liam already has that production to show.
 
Right now LM would go into the draft as a "Cooper Flagg Light". A facsimile, a somewhat similar player. Come back next season and dominate and he'll be to the '26 draft what Flagg will be to this one. Needs to come back.
 
Liam is only a freshman. I mean we had guys develop over 3 years, superstars like Hamilton, Ray, Emeka, Donnell and many more. Imagine what he would be by 3rd year. And we expect him to be this NOW. Of course it won’t happen.
 
jibsey said:
Liam is only a freshman. I mean we had guys develop over 3 years, superstars like Hamilton, Ray, Emeka, Donnell and many more. Imagine what he would be by 3rd year. And we expect him to be this NOW. Of course it won’t happen.
Expand ...
Donyell? (Sorry. Had to...)
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
It's genuinely too bad McNeeley missed so much time. It's hard not to think he'd be a much more polished player at this point in the season with another 8 BE games under his belt.
Expand ...
At the time of the injury I thought it was a blessing in disguise as Stewart and Ross would get more PT to improve their game but Liam’s extended absence was costly in so many ways.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
It's genuinely too bad McNeeley missed so much time. It's hard not to think he'd be a much more polished player at this point in the season with another 8 BE games under his belt.
Expand ...
This injury was so detrimental to UConn's season because it happened while UConn was on a roll and their cohesion was getting stronger.
 
Liam has not been the same since he came back from his injury with the exception of the 30pt plus out burst. He's making bad decisions, slow to the hoop, defensive lapses. I wish him the best but he just does not look like a 1 and done now. Hoping he can turn it around in the Florida game. It's a tough match up for him and the team.
 
Husky Alien said:
Liam has not been the same since he came back from his injury with the exception of the 30pt plus out burst. He's making bad decisions, slow to the hoop, defensive lapses. I wish him the best but he just does not look like a 1 and done now. Hoping he can turn it around in the Florida game. It's a tough match up for him and the team.
Expand ...
He’s a great player with great instincts but he is not very quick. How do you get faster on defense? In fact he and Alex look about the same when they go to the hoop and often get blocked. Alex uses the floater more to combat that and Liam should do that more of that as we’ve seen him do earlier.
All of these judgements on Liam are on a freshman who under normal circumstances would develop and get better with 2 more years that no one says he’s going to have.
If he turns into a very late first rounder then maybe he stays and now he’s mid first, but he’s going to be on the bench or play in the G league quite a bit. Get him a 2 million NIL.
Eric Dixon is 6’ 8” 265 and 24.5 with an NBA body and projected 55th playing 4-5 years in college.
 
TouchdownHusky said:
Right now LM would go into the draft as a "Cooper Flagg Light". A facsimile, a somewhat similar player. Come back next season and dominate and he'll be to the '26 draft what Flagg will be to this one. Needs to come back.
Expand ...
He is not near the player as Flagg. Flagg has some vertical. He has spin moves. Goes to the rim hard. With intentions. Plays above the rim. Dunks. Defends. LM is not that. Pre injury or after. Not saying LM isn't a pro. But if I'm a NBA GM I'm not taking him early. I'm not bashing LM. But his body of work this year is just OK.
 
Husky Alien said:
Liam has not been the same since he came back from his injury with the exception of the 30pt plus out burst. He's making bad decisions, slow to the hoop, defensive lapses. I wish him the best but he just does not look like a 1 and done now. Hoping he can turn it around in the Florida game. It's a tough match up for him and the team.
Expand ...
It’s as if that 38 point game outburst changed his approach. Love that he’s more than willing to apply pressure with dribble penetration but it seems like, once he puts the ball on the floor, he’s made up his mind to take it all the way to the hole and defenses are collapsing on him. I don’t know if he’s just becoming too predictable. Maybe more kick outs and after he puts it on the floor would keep defenses more honest and open things up for him and the team.

To me, Liam’s a big reason for optimism tomorrow and going forward. He hasn’t been the same lately but we know his upside is huge. If he plays to his potential, UConn’s offense is as good as any team out there.
 
Kowalski said:
It’s as if that 38 point game outburst changed his approach. Love that he’s more than willing to apply pressure with dribble penetration but it seems like, once he puts the ball on the floor, he’s made up his mind to take it all the way to the hole and defenses are collapsing on him. I don’t know if he’s just becoming too predictable. Maybe more kick outs and after he puts it on the floor would keep defenses more honest and open things up for him and the team.

To me, Liam’s a big reason for optimism tomorrow and going forward. He hasn’t been the same lately but we know his upside is huge. If he plays to his potential, UConn’s offense is as good as any team out there.
Expand ...
He definitely lacks athleticism that's needed at the next level. He definitely has the moves and a good first step. But his shot has fallen off badly.
 
Let's disect Liam shooting a bit.

Around 1/3 of his shots are decent or better good looks from 3. Liam, keep shooting to good open looks. You are a shooter keep shooting if wide open. I will take my chances.

Around 1/3 of his looks are shots with the clock running down. Since we have very few guys who can create their own shot, it often comes down to this. How do we fix it? Start the offense much sooner.

Around 1/3 of his shots are wild abandonment spin moves into the lane where most of the time lately he cannot finish the shot or get a good clean look. Many times he shoots an airball or a brick, sometimes he gets fouled, and other times he lacks the strength to finish. Often he can't even square up to get a good look because the energy to get in the lane saps his strength. These are predetermined drives resulting in a crapshoot outcome.
 
One thing I noticed with Liam is that on pick and rolls with Samson or Reed, I very rarely see him pass. When turns that corner, he is almost always going to dive to the rim and shoot and I think defenses know that. He seems a split second behind in recognizing that there is an easy dunk or layup for Samson or Reed. Given that we run this many times a game, its 6-10 easy points that we miss out on.
 
Methinks Liam needs an evening (tonight?) inspired by Susan Sarandon in Bull Durham.
 
Storrs South said:
Liam they should be able to run that pick and roll on the high elbow they love to action with Samson and get two on ones where the lone defender has to decide whether to check Liam or the big. With Oklahoma's rim protection being non existent, Liam can do exactly this as he did v. Creighton except this time should have no resistance getting to and finishing at the rim.
Expand ...

the OK big was not coming out to guard reed or Samson, they just stayed in the lane. There is no way reed or Samson will shoot the ball so no need to defend.
 
jibsey said:
Liam is only a freshman. I mean we had guys develop over 3 years, superstars like Hamilton, Ray, Emeka, Donnell and many more. Imagine what he would be by 3rd year. And we expect him to be this NOW. Of course it won’t happen.
Expand ...
Of course we expected it now because of the high expectations bestowed on him coming in. There were all these accolades before stepping foot at UConn. 5 star, one and done, blah, blah, blah. This is what happens when it does not materialize to the expectations. Unfortunately, he was not recruited for more than 1 year which puts an enormous amount of pressure to perform instantly. Yes, imo he needs a 1 or 2 more years. Does he get more $ from NIL to stay a another year or two?
 
Most Freshman wear down after a long and challenging conference schedule.
I think he does remarkably well given the lofty expectations
 
BigTenFan said:
Most Freshman wear down after a long and challenging conference schedule.
I think he does remarkably well given the lofty expectations
Expand ...
He has worn down. Have you watched the last 6 games?
 
Summary of his shooting broken into the first 8 games, next 9 games and last 9 (to date, and hoping for 5 more):

First 8 (first game through UMES):
FG- 31/75 (41.3%)
3's- 14/40 (35%)
FT-24/30 (80%)
Pts-12.5/game

Next 9 games (Baylor through first Seton Hall):
FG- 47/109 (43.1%)
3's- 19/48 (39.6%)
FT- 44/50 (88%)
Pts- 17.7/game

Last 9 games (first Villanova through Oklahoma):
FG- 34/110 (30.9%)
3's- 11/49 (22.4%)
FT- 34/39 (87.2%)
Pts- 13.7/game

He peaked in the middle of his season with his highest shooting percentages for FG (43.1%), 3's (39.6%), FT (88%) and points per game (17.7). Looked like a first rounder and possibly a lottery pick.

While he's kept his touch on FT's, keeping it at the elite level it's been at all year, there's nothing positive regarding FG and 3 Point shooting in the last 9 games:
-30.9% FG
-22.4% on 3's

Could it be simply a factor of the minutes he's played?
He's averaging 32 minutes per game and I'm not sure we've ever had anyone play that many minutes as a freshman.......unless it was KEA.
 
A couple of good points here.

He tends to get quite a few grenades at the end of the clock. Seems that he’s the guy who gets the ball with 5 seconds on the clock after our unguarded big at the three point line seems help.

Liam is really good coming off the curl and going to the hoop. But in our offense, the opposing big doesn’t have to guard our big unless it’s Tarris posting up so Liam is on his own to make a play. He’s still legit the only guy who can consistently get in the lane.

As said, he went out at the worst possible time as we were just starting to get an offensive identity. He has not shot the ball well from deep and right or wrong he’s trying to be our go to guy because we really don’t have another complete offensive player. Would be glorious for him to show out tomorrow.
 
uchusky32 said:
He is not near the player as Flagg. Flagg has some vertical. He has spin moves. Goes to the rim hard. With intentions. Plays above the rim. Dunks. Defends. LM is not that. Pre injury or after. Not saying LM isn't a pro. But if I'm a NBA GM I'm not taking him early. I'm not bashing LM. But his body of work this year is just OK.
Expand ...
Agree. He needs to come back and get stronger, get stronger and get stronger! He needs to work on his explosiveness going to the basket. Maybe a pull up jumper to help with that. He needs to work on his three point shot and his D.

This is not to say he hasn't been good as a freshman - he has been very good. He could parlay this into becoming one of the nation's top players as a soph and jr. It would be so nice to have top college players stick around for 2-3 years - for them to benefit from college and for the fans to enjoy them. This one and done crap has ruined college athletics.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Online statistics

Members online
233
Guests online
2,557
Total visitors
2,790
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Share This Page

Forum statistics

Threads
163,956
Messages
4,376,627
Members
10,168
Latest member
CTFan142


.
..
Top Bottom