NEW YORK – No matter where he ended up being selected in the NBA Draft, UConn’s Liam McNeeley was going to be happy.
It took awhile, but McNeeley finally realized the dream he had as a five-year-old when his name was called as the 29th overall pick of the Charlotte Hornets just before midnight on Wednesday. He and former Duke guard Kon Knueppel, the Hornets’ fourth overall pick, landed in Charlotte Thursday afternoon, all smiles as they stepped off the plane and were welcomed by a sizeable crowd.
They immediately visited a basketball camp and were badgered with questions from young Hornets fans, already getting familiar with their new territory. It wasn’t long before McNeeley fired off a tweet asking the best places to eat in “Buzz City.”
“Those guys, they’re built for the moment,” Hornets President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson told reporters in Charlotte after the first round. “The pressure doesn’t get to them, they’ve lived it, they’re coached really, really hard. They put the time in, they work. Of course there’s gonna be somewhat of a learning curve when they get to this level, but I think both are ready to rise to the occasion.”
The general reaction when McNeeley was picked about 5-10 spots later than expected was that Charlotte got a steal.
“I’m fairly confident that we are gonna get to the end of the first contract cycle of everyone that was drafted in the first round here, four years on from this, and Liam McNeeley is going to be among the at least 13 or 14 best players in this draft,” CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander said. “It is entirely possible that he is just a legit pro. I mean, he is so mentally tough, willing to work, awesome locker room guy. The intel reports come back on him from a personality standpoint so well. He could grow into one of the 10 or eight best players in this draft.”
UConn’s Liam McNeeley selected 29th overall in NBA Draft
So, why the slide?
As he pointed out the day before the draft, McNeeley never fully got back to 100% after the high ankle sprain he suffered on New Year’s Day, early in the Big East season. He missed eight games but returned as soon as possible, despite not being able to plant his feet or use his athleticism the way he normally would.
Once touted as one of the best shooters in his high school class, McNeeley finished his freshman year of college shooting just 38.1% from the field and 31.7% from 3.
“Some of those numbers are based on the team dynamics and having to take harder shots because we weren’t as good a team,” Hurley said. “Part of it was the injury, part of it, I think, Liam puts a lot of pressure on himself because he wants it so bad, he’s an intense guy. So being able to channel that going forward, he’s got some of that Cam Spencer crazy competitiveness, he’s got to learn to channel it like Cam, go from cursing and slamming the ball to getting back on task quicker. But yeah, I mean, sometimes you’re better off going 29th to a certain organization where you’re gonna have more of an opportunity than being picked 15th to a bad organization where there’s not a lot of opportunity at your position.”
McNeeley becomes UConn’s 24th first-round pick, 52nd player drafted overall and only the third one-and-done in the program’s history.
Dom Amore: For Liam McNeeley’s mom, the NBA Draft’s a dream come true, too
