Kevin Keatts travels to California to visit 2024 NC native, McNeil Jr, who had HISTORIC sophomore season

Paul McNeil Jr (2024) is currently out in Napa, CA, but originally the 6’6 shooting guard was playing his high school ball in Rockingham, NC.

NC State Head Coach, Kevin Keatts, and an assistant are at @ProlificPrep for 2024 Paul McNeil Jr., a source tells @247Sports.

North Carolina native.

— Travis Branham (@TravisBranham_) September 13, 2022

Keatts traveled out to Prolific Prep in Napa Valley, CA to check out McNeil Jr. This tells us a lot.

Keatts is putting in some serious work trying to get a replacement for Terquavion Smith, who is almost surely headed to the NBA after this season.

So far, NC State has shown a lot of interest in 2023 4-star guards Silas Demary Jr, Davin Cosby Jr, and Braelon Green. McNeil can be added to the list, but he’s a 2024 kid, so he wouldn’t be here next season.

Demary Jr and Green are both more suited to be combo guards. They aren’t really shot hunters like Terquavion Smith. So it wouldn’t surprise me for Keatts to take one of those guys for next year and then focus on bringing in McNeil in 2024.

Just watch McNeil Jr in these highlights. He’s big, strong, and super smooth. His jumper has impeccable form and he scores it on all 3 levels, not afraid to stop and pop from mid-range.

McNeil isn’t some unkown kid, either. He’s a big time recruit. He was just the second sophomre in history to win the NC Gatorade Player of the Year. This past summer he was in NC dominating for Garner Road AAU. He finished with 19ppg, 3.3 assists and almost 7 rebounds. And let’s say this again…this is his sophomore summer.

While at Richmond High in Rockingham, NC, McNeil was a beast, averaging 24.5 ppg, almost 10 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.7 steals. You’d think he’d be pretty happy with those results, but it seems he wants more.

“I have so much more to do,” McNeil told Sports Illustrated “I haven’t done anything yet. All of the awards and offers are cool, but I’m too busy working to think about that stuff.”

And NC State is far from the only school involved here. McNeil is also hearing from UNC, Georgetown, Clemson, FSU, Indiana, Ohio State and UCLA.

Give this kid another season and he’ll likley earn that 5th star.

“I’m gunning for the top,” McNeil says. “It keeps me working harder and harder. I want to be the No. 1 player. I think everyone does. I’m not satisfied with anything I’ve done so far because I have so far to go.” (SI.com)