Paul McNeil Jr. will return to NC State basketball for 2026-27 season
RALEIGH, NC — NC State males’s basketball guard Paul McNeil Jr. has introduced he will return for his junior season in Raleigh. The rising junior gave Wolfpack followers a large offseason current by re-signing with this system after getting into the portal earlier within the month, giving Justin Gainey and the Pack a signature piece within the backcourt.
McNeil’s return was something however assured over the previous few weeks. Since he entered, McNeil has been rumored to obtain curiosity from all around the nation, together with Maryland, Kentucky, UNC-Chapel Hill and several other others. But after preserving Wolfpack followers on the sting of their seats, McNeil is staying dwelling to play for Gainey.
Once McNeil entered the switch portal, he turned the No. 32 general switch prospect and No. 3 capturing guard within the cycle.
This previous season, McNeil averaged 13.8 factors per sport together with a 42.7 p.c capturing clip from behind the arc. The 6-foot-5, 190-pound guard tied DJ Horne for probably the most 3-pointers in a single season, flattening 105 triples as a sophomore.
Not solely did McNeil eclipse 100 3-pointers in a single season, he did so whereas capturing 42.7 p.c from behind the arc. He completed the season at fifth all-time in a single season, marking the primary time a Wolfpack participant has shot above 42 p.c on three-pointers since Scott Wood in the course of the 2012-13 season.
McNeil had 10 video games with 4 or extra 3-pointers made together with one other 9 video games the place he drained a minimum of three. Given these numbers, State not solely bought a three-point sniper returning to the lineup, however somebody that attracts defensive gravity away from different shooters within the backcourt.
He’ll additionally go down as a Wolfpack legend after sticking with this system for three years below three totally different head coaches and rising as a pacesetter in his closing seasons. That sort of loyalty is not as frequent within the switch portal period — by gamers or coaches — however McNeil proved that it is nonetheless doable.
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