(2024) G - Paul McNeil Jr.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Not a bad day at the office for McNeil at the Cherokee Holiday Classic in an 86-57 win over Lincoln Charter.  He finished with 33 pts on 14-18 FG; 4-6 on 3s; 1-1 FT; 11 reb; 6 asst; 3 stl; 4 blk; 2 TO.  Plays again tonight at 8 pm.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

McNeil's team went 3-0 at the Cherokee Hardwood Classic and McNeil was named tournament MVP.

In his 2nd game against Avery County he had 31p / 7r / 6a / 0s / 2b / 1t.

In the championship game he had 31p / 11r / 7a / 2s / 3b / 3t

In his last 4 games he's averaging 30+ ppg.

Thru 11 games he's averaging 29 ppg on 59% FG; 33% on 3s; 88% FT; 7.8 rpg; 4.7 apg; 2 stl; 1.5 blk; 1.8 TO

 

[Demo]

44 minutes ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

McNeil's team went 3-0 at the Cherokee Hardwood Classic and McNeil was named tournament MVP.

In his 2nd game against Avery County he had 31p / 7r / 6a / 0s / 2b / 1t.

In the championship game he had 31p / 11r / 7a / 2s / 3b / 3t

In his last 4 games he's averaging 30+ ppg.

Thru 11 games he's averaging 29 ppg on 59% FG; 33% on 3s; 88% FT; 7.8 rpg; 4.7 apg; 2 stl; 1.5 blk; 1.8 TO

 

Seems like a little bit of a different kid, but he’s a helluva talent. He’ll have his pick. Hopefully there’s value in being in early here.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

McNeil with 26 pts. and 12 reb. in a 70-59 win over Hoke County.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

In that Hoke Co. game he was 10-21 FG; 2-7 on 3s; 4-6 FT.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Richmond on a historic season starting off 13-0 with a win last night over Union Pines (12-2) 71-65.  McNeil had a game high 23 pts. including 9-11 FT.  The following is an extract from The Richmond Observer post-game story.

...McNeil hit a jumper coming out of the (1stQ) mask break, which was followed by a triple from Chavis to cap his 7-point first quarter. With under a minute to play, McNeil laid a shot off the glass to give the Raiders an 11-10 lead.

Off the inbound to start the second, McNeil splashed home a three-ball, but again the Vikings surged ahead to take a 19-14 lead. That run ended when McNeil drained a triple from the top of the arc, which ignited an 8-0 spurt by the Raiders.

McNeil added a drive in that run and Drake finished an old-fashioned three-point play to give Richmond a 22-19 lead.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Last Saturday, Richmond HS set a new program record winning its 14th straight win to start the season, breaking the previous record (2003-04). Richmond defeated Lumberton 51-45.  McNeil 13 pts.

Last night Richmond (15-0) beat Scotland 70-41.  McNeil 24p  10r  4a.

 

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Details for McNeil's last 2 games from MaxPreps

Lumberton:  13p on 5-13FG; 2-5 on 3s; 1-1 FT; 8r; 2a; 1s; 2b; 1t

Scotland:  24p on 8-15 FG; 2-8 on 3s; 6-7 FT; 10r; 5a; 1s; 2b; 0t

 

Thru 15 games he's averaging 23.9p; 7.9r; 4.2a; 1.8s; 1.5b; 1.5t        Shooting 50% FG; 32% on 3s; 84% FT

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Richmond's undefeated season came to an end at the hands of Pinecrest (12-4) (5-1)  80-76.  McNeil called for a charging foul 3:30 into the 2nd Q and landed awkwardly.  Got up noticeably favoring his left leg and spent the remainder of the Q on the bench.  He started the 3rd Q but went to the bench after just 2 min. clearly favoring his leg and stayed on the bench the rest of that Q.  He started the 4th and did his best to pull out a win for Richmond but it wasn't to be.  On the night he played just 21:30 and still finished with a game high 19 points.  He scored 13 of his points in the 4th and also had 2 assists.  The teams combined to  score 52 points in the final Q.     He was 9-14 FG; 1-5 on 3s; 0-1 FT; 6 reb; 3 asst; 1 stl; 3 blk; 1 TO.  On the season Richmond now (15-1, 5-1 SAC).

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Richmond (16-1) defeated Hoke County 76-64.  McNeil 17 pts. and newspaper account indicated he was in early foul  trouble. He scored 10 of his 17 in the 4th Q hitting 3 FG and 4 FT.  His teammate Deshon Watson who had missed the last 4 games scored 18 all on 3-pointers.  As a team, Richmond nailed 12 of them.  

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Richmond (17-1) with a 60-54 win over Union Pines (16-4).  McNeil 28p and 11r.  He scored 12 of his 28 in the 3rd Q.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Discussion on who should be the North Carolina POY.  Commentary on McNeil starts around the 5:00 min.

https://phenomhoopreport.com/highlights-whos-ncs-player-of-the-year-candidates-phenom-hoops-give-their-case/

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Richmond (18-1) over Southern Lee (3-13) 71-50.  McNeil 19p and 6r.   

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Richmond (19-1) with an 84-59 win over Lee County (3-15).  McNeil with 29 pts. and 13 reb.  His 29 pts. included 6-3s.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

https://www.richmondobserver.com/sports/item/15019-paul-mcneil-the-official-richmond-county-male-athlete-of-the-week.html

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

On Wednesday  night, Richmond(20-1, 10-1 SAC) defeated Lee County (3-18, 0-11 SAC) 87-37.  Running clock started with 3 min. left in the 3rd.  McNeil finished with 24p scoring 20 of them in the first half and played minimal min. in the 2nd half.  @$$'t. Coach Sean May of UNC watched.

Tonight Richmond (20-1, 10-1) hosted Scotland (3-16, 2-9) in its regular-season finale and McNeil scored a career high 41 in an 84-60 win.  He had 10 in the 1st; 11 in the 2nd; 12 in  the 3rd and 8 in the 4th.  

His 41 included going 10-11 FT.

Edited February 12, 2022 by Class of '66 Old Fart
Added FT stat

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

In a conference semifinal game Richmond 70-55 over Union Pines.  McNeil 30  pts (12-23 FG, 5-5 FT);  12 reb; 2 asst; 3 blk.  

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

McNeil led the scoring with 19 pts. in Richmond's (23-1) 69-50 win over Pinecrest for the SAC tournament championship earning the top 4A SAC berth and are projected as the No. 1 overall seed in the 4A East according to High School OT. 

The North Carolina High School Athletic Association will announce full playoff seedings today.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Opening round game in tournament play and Richmond defeated Green Hope 88-72.  McNeil 17p  13r  6a.  NC State head coach Kevin Keatts watched.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Jamie Shaw on '24 wings to watch.

https://www.on3.com/news/2024-wings-to-keep-an-eye-on/

The wildcard

6-5 Paul McNeil

McNeil is a bucket-getter in its truest sense. He has natural size with good length and has put up over 22 per game this season on 50/40 shooting splits. The wildcard part comes with McNeil’s continued development. He will need to get stronger, and more explosion should come. While the Rockingham (NC) Richmond Senior wing has deep range and a crispy pull-up, he should continue learning to become a scorer. While he is not there yet, learning the footwork and the angles of getting to his spots could see him shoot up the 2024 wings rankings lists.

Claimed offers: NC State, Clemson, Indiana, Tennessee, Florida State