Gainey says Paul McNeil Jr. has been ‘amazing’ and has stepped into a leadership role

One of the biggest hauls of the portal season for NC State basketball wasn’t a new coach, Justin Gainey, landing a highly-ranked transfer. It was bringing back Paul McNeil Jr, the rising junior who broke out and became one of the most coveted players in college basketball this offseason.

In his sophomore campaign, P2, as they call him, averaged 13.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting 43.3% from the field, an elite 42.7% from three-point range (on 7.2 attempts per game, with 105 made threes, tying the NC State single-season record), and 82.4% from the free-throw line.

He had 23 double-figure scoring games, including a career-high 47-point explosion (with 11 threes) against Texas Southern.

Retaining the local sharpshooter (a former top-100 recruit from Rockingham, NC) was a massive early win for new coach Justin Gainey, especially after McNeil briefly entered the portal following Will Wade’s departure.

McNeil was reportedly offered over $4 million to join Will Wade as LSU, but ended up passing up the mega-deal and staying at NC State to finish what he started in Raleigh.

Gainey, in his presser a couple days ago, noted the change in McNeil.

“Paul has been amazing. Like, he has been amazing this offseason, you know. Obviously, you know, a good player, a great player. But just his leadership, him wanting to lead, the conversations that we have at night when he texts me or he calls, “Hey, Coach, I think the team is feeling this.” , or “Hey, Coach, I think we need to, you know, go go-karting and do some things.” Like, he’s been amazing. And so that relationship between him and me has just continued to grow. And he wants to be pushed. He wants to be coached hard. And he doesn’t want to be treated differently than any of the guys. And we’re not going to do that. But it’s been fun, but it’s still continuing to grow because, you know, although we have been through some adversity together, right, practice and stuff, games are different. Right? The season is different. And so we’re building that foundation.”

 

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And it wasn’t just the words from Gainey. After the presser the team opened the gym for the media to get a glimpse of the team during workouts. McNeil was vocal and engaged the entire time.

Paul McNeil taking on a new leadership role this season.

Very vocal throughout today’s drills. pic.twitter.com/90G2ZAKgZW

— Sara Holland (@SaraaHolland) July 21, 2026

This is a great sight to see and an encouraging report from Gainey since NC State is going to rely heavily on McNeil’s ability to score it this season.

We chatted with NC State basketball GM Patrick Stacy earlier this month about Paul McNeil Jr and here is what he had to say…

“You’re not going to find a bigger Paul McNeil fan than myself. I think Paul is a special, special jumpshooter, but on top of that he’s just a special player. He’s the only player in college basketball to make 3s at the volume he did last season, at the accuracy he did. So at 43% or better with a turnover rate under 5%. No one has ever done what he did last season. So when you talk about efficiency and making the team better, Paul’s the one. We were 15 points better when he was on the floor last year per 100 possessions. So obviously, keeping Paul was huge.”

With his breakout season under his belt and stepping up to take a leadership role with the Wolfpack, Paul is set to take the next step. And if he can do that, coupled with his loyalty and decision to forgo millions to return to Raleigh, you could be watching an NC State legend be born right before your eyes.