Liam McNeeley Wowed Me Last Night

Last night I made the trip from Lincoln to Omaha to see my much hated Creighton Bluejays, but most importantly I got to see the Dan Hurley-led, two-time reigning national champs, UConn Huskies. I went with some friends but for me, this was a scouting trip. Kalkbrenner will get an NBA contract, Jackson McAndrew has some intrigue as a big shooter, Solo Ball has teased me with great shooting, Karaban will get drafted this year, and Liam McNeeley is potentially a lottery pick. I went with some friends but this was a scouting trip and MAN did Liam McNeeley show the part.

The freshman from Texas played lights out, setting the UConn freshman record for single-game scoring at 38, which was also good enough for 4th in program history. McNeeley came into this year known as a lights-out shooter, and he for the most part has lived up to the part. He hasn’t burned the nets off like I expected, but he has been productive in more ways than I expected him to be. Last night was proof of that. He started off the game by hitting a catch-and-shoot 3 and a floater, and from that point on it was evident that no one on the floor could guard him. He gave Jamiya Neal and Jasen Green the business all night. Repeatedly he was able to leverage his shooting and get straight to the rim, where he then was excellent at finishing through contact.

I have always loved Liam’s ability to get inside the lane and play with some pace. He initiates contact and has good touch despite not being an above-the-rim finisher, and can play well as an off-the-ball scorer. Against Creighton, this strength was on display. He went into Ryan Kalkbrenner a few times and just completely dominated the game.

On defense, I like his ability to compete. He has super big legs that stand out in person, and I thought this helped him bang against drivers and hold his line. He clearly has good awareness and did an overall good job at playing at the point of attack while the offensive load he took on the offensive end.

Overall McNeeley really wowed me, and on the way out of the arena I said to one of my friends that that was and probably will be the best collegiate game I will ever see a player play.

Everyone Else

Ryan Kalkbrenner confuses me. He has for a while. Despite my distaste for Creighton basketball, Kalkbrenner has always intrigued me as a potential pro. His ability to finish and protect the rim is interesting, and now he has the ability to shoot it a little bit. I still don’t know what any of this means for his draft stock, but he deserves a contract, and I think a lot of teams would pick him up. He has a relatively quiet night against UConn, but Alex Karaban and Aiden Mahaney did a good job at denying the ball, and there was nothing Kalkbrenner could have done to stop McNeeley.

Jackson McAndrew has also been a name to monitor as a potential NBA player down the line, as a big shooter who could work as a play finisher. He has been worse than I expected him to be this year and he has shot it a tad worse than the form looks, but man he can shoot in an open gym. He made about 22 straight threes at one point in warmups and shot it well during the game. I still don’t think he moves to well and he needs to grow into his body to play better college minutes, much less the NBA. The shot is real though.

I left Alex Karaban for last because I didn’t know what to write. He shot a horrific 0-7 from 3 on looks that were basically all wide-open and didn’t offer nearly anything as a creator. Creation isn’t his game, but he often looked very passive and indecisive to me, but he did defend very well. I have never thought he moved well in space, but considering Tarris Reed and Samson Johnson both got 4 fouls in about 10 minutes of play, Karaban was taxed to play center for a large run of UConn’s comeback to start the 2nd half. This opened a lot of space for McNeeley, and he did a good job at fighting (sometimes fouling and not getting it called) for position. I don’t know what to do with Karaban, and this game didn’t help.