Pitt has a desperate need for a 3-point shooter and have their eyes on JUCO guard Sean McNeil.
McNeil (6’4”, 190) from Sinclair Community College averaged 29.7 points per game this past season and was named the conference player of the year. He averaged four 3-pointers per game and shot 43% from behind the arc.
Following the news that he’d officially received an offer from Pitt, PSN talked with McNeil about the offer, his thoughts on Pitt and his overall recruitment, which is skyrocketing.
“Coach Capel and I have been building a good relationship and I’ve talked with Coach Brown probably more than any of them,” said McNeil. “They seem like great people and I’m just excited to continue to build our relationship. I was excited about the offer with them being in the ACC, which is big-time so I’m proud of that. I just want to continue to get to know them and find out what their program is all about.”
The departure of Jared Wilson-Frame and the immediate need for an outside shooter is something McNeil is aware of.
“Yes, that’s what they told me today. They’ll be a lot of opportunity for a player like me with my skill-set to come in and make an impact right way.”
“As far as things I’m looking for in a school, the culture is probably the biggest thing for me,” said McNeil. “How everyone gets along with each other and how they care about each other. Also, opportunity will be important. With me being a junior college transfer, I want to go somewhere that I can make an impact right away. Style of play is something I’ll be looking at. So far, Pittsburgh has a lot of the things I’m looking for.”
McNeil tells me that he will have three years left of playing eligibility.
Right now, he holds offers from Pitt, Arkansas, Kansas State, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Providence, TCU, Texas Tech, West Virginia and Dayton.
This weekend, McNeil plans on narrowing his list of offers down and then next week will narrow it down even more before deciding on a list of schools that he’ll make upcoming visits to.
Does he anticipate Pitt getting a visit?
”Like I said, Pittsburgh and I will continue to build our relationship. So far, things have gone very well as far as the communication and our talks. I can see me taking a visit there but we’ll see how things play out.”
