WATCH: Getting to Know NC State Paul McNeil

This offseason, NC State’s Men’s basketball team has been helping the fans to get to know the new players on the 2024-25 roster. Take a moment to get to know True Freshman Guard/Forward Paul McNeil (6’5″/180).

A kid with big dreams! #WPN, meet @PaulMcneilJr 👏 pic.twitter.com/9kILeV006X

— NC State Men’s Basketball (@PackMensBball) July 1, 2024

Transcript

I’m an incoming Freshman from Rockingham, North Carolina. I played at Richmond Senior High School, and unfortunately we didn’t get the state championship. We made Rockingham a basketball city. We turned the whole city around. The kids look up to us. They don’t have anyone to look up to. We became that for them, so that was a blessing. 

My hometown is Rockingham, in Richmond County. Everybody knows everybody. It’s a small town, small county. A lot of people don’t make it out. There’s a lot of distractions, but we did it. 

Paul McNeil is a young boy from a little city, that’s got big dreams. A hard worker, somebody who stays in the gym. A great student athlete. Somebody who puts a lot of smiles on their faces. 

Practice has been great. The physicality, the energy, the pace of the game is way different from high school. It’s been fun. Feeling everyone out. Everybody looking good. Everybody is feeling good. Everybody feels good around each other. It’s a blessing.  

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Paul McNeil is one of three members of the Wolfpack’s 2024 recruiting class, joining two other Guards in Trey Parker and Bryce Heard.

ESPN ranked McNeil as the #48 overall player nationally in the 2024 recruiting class, the #12 Small Forward and the #5 player in the state of North Carolina.

As a Senior at Richmond High, McNeil averaged 31.7 points, 9.5 rebounds, 4.9 assists and  2.6 steals.

McNeil chose to run with the Wolfpack over offers from Clemson, Miami, Alabama, Tennessee, Indiana, LSU, Missouri, Illinois, Georgetown, Virginia Tech and others.