Report: McNeil Coming To Minnesota UPDATED 4/23: McNeil signs LOI with Gophers

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bga1 said:
Wow! That's an impressive kid right there. Has the confidence that he can play beside Andre and the humility to play behind him. Great attitude! Can't wait to see "Day Day" in summer ball.
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+1

He's extremely well-spoken.
 

Emil said:
Our new coach takes over. He looks at his returning roster and sees some players he really likes who will easily fit his system. He sees other players and isn't so sure. He sees zero recruits coming in and 4 empty scholarships. He is busy getting his staff together and NCAA rules are going to soon deny him direct contact with potential recruits until July. Then there is this kid he recruited to FIU who is 100% his type of player and just wants to play for our coach whether that be Florida, Minnesota or wherever. And he can play PG. Coach P wants him on board here. I feel good about this kid coming here. Welcome Daquein![/QUOTE]

+1
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Looks and sounds like an aggressive player on offense and defense. Looks like a lot of mid majors went after him. Had he went to one of those mid majors, he maybe could have become one of those players everyone wonders why he didnt get a shot at a bigger school (much like Wolters and Woodside). Not a mind blowing commit, but a pretty solid one, especially for the short time Pitino has to bring in his guys.
 

He looks to be a major upgrade from Ahanmisi or Welch coming off the bench. He might give be the PG next season with Coleman coming off the bench and Austin playing the 3 spot. Or, perhaps we will play 4 guards at times with only 1 big. We'll need another quick guard to press and play up tempo. Interesting that none of his highlights in the Strib package featured a 3 point shot. But this is exactly what this team needs. A pass first PG. Good get!
 


skauma said:
Looks and sounds like an aggressive player on offense and defense. Looks like a lot of mid majors went after him. Had he went to one of those mid majors, he maybe could have become one of those players everyone wonders why he didnt get a shot at a bigger school (much like Wolters and Woodside). Not a mind blowing commit, but a pretty solid one, especially for the short time Pitino has to bring in his guys.
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What? At the time he committed to FIU, it's been reported he had offers from Oklahoma, Rutgers, VCU, and Richmond standing. He also had an offer from Washington at one point. His ESPN profile also shows that at one point he held an offer from Louisville (I doubt it).

McNeil's recruitment went nothing like Wolters'. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Wolters was going to commit to Augustana before he picked up an offer from SDSU. Nate played for a ma-and-pa AAU team, and got practically no looks. McNeil played for Baltimore Elite - an EYBL team.

ZebH82 said:
A pass first PG.
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Everything I've read (Ryan James, From The Barn, stuff from Gopher Hole, etc.) seems to think McNeil is more of an off-guard.
 

RoyalGopher said:
Everything I've read (Ryan James, From The Barn, stuff from Gopher Hole, etc.) seems to think McNeil is more of an off-guard.
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I've read the same, but I don't get it. To me, I think he will play PG. He seems to like to distribute and make the right pass.

A lot of the comments I've seen are something like "He is more of a two guard ... He really excells at distributing" - sounds like he could play the point to me. I guess we won't know until he is here though and how Pitino uses him.
 

scher215 said:
I've read the same, but I don't get it. To me, I think he will play PG. He seems to like to distribute and make the right pass.

A lot of the comments I've seen are something like "He is more of a two guard ... He really excells at distributing" - sounds like he could play the point to me. I guess we won't know until he is here though and how Pitino uses him.
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Chances are - he plays both on an as needed basis. It's likely that their big move to get a true point guard will be this fall as they try to go after Tyus but more likely get someone we don't know about yet. They are never going to sign anyone that is just a true point guard until the verdict is in on Tyus. Looks like McNeil is just a guard and perhaps a real good one who feels that even if they sign Tyus- he (McNeil) could still play the 2G and get on the floor plenty.
 

STrib: Q&A with new Gophers commit Daquein McNeil

Did your friends tell you that you were crazy for choosing FIU over Louisville?

No, I mean, most of my relatives were [saying that] – but for the main part, my friends, they were just excited. They were like, it’s a good choice. They know he’s a young coach and everything, he’s not new to the game, but he’s a young coach and they were saying ‘That’s going to make it fun for you.’

Have you talked with Pitino about whether he wants to keep you at point or play you in another guard position?

No, we haven’t even talked about positions at all, we’ve just talked about how – we all know the Big Ten is a big step up and we’ve talked about how I need to come in ready to work and be prepared.

What do you think is the biggest strength that you bring to the table?

I’m a pretty good slasher, I would say, going to the rim.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/204305741.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Go Gophers!!
 



From the article. Sounds like he can play point at least:

Have you played at point for most of your high school career?

Yes. I’ve played a lot of different guard positions, but at my high school, I’ve mostly played point.

And do you feel like that’s kind of where you belong, at point? Or do you feel comfortable in a lot of positions?

I kind of feel like I belong there with how my attack can create shots for others.
 

I like the looks of this pickup more and more over time.....mainly cause he's signed with us and I am only looking at the positives. But there are plenty of them. I mean, if he had a Louisville offer, he clearly has talent, I'll take any talented player that wants to work hard and just see what happens.
 

Daquein McNeil Signs National Letter of Intent

Per of of MN Press release:

The Minnesota men’s basketball program announced today that Daquein McNeil has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Gophers.

McNeil, the first player signed during the Richard Pitino tenure at Minnesota, will be eligible to compete during the 2013-14 season.

“Daquein McNeil is an exciting player that affects the game on both ends of the court,” said Pitino. “He is an active guard that has a knack of getting into the lane, but also plays hard on the defensive end. He will be a great fit in our full court style of play.”

The Baltimore native was a three-year starter at Vermont Academy (Saxtons River, Vt.). A 6-3 combo guard, McNeil averaged 19.0 points per game as a senior on the way to second-team All-New England Preparatory School Athletic Council honors.

He scored a season-high 31 points in a game against South Kent. McNeil averaged 16 points, five rebounds and five assists his junior year.

McNeil played his AAU basketball with Nike Baltimore Elite. He averaged 12.4 points and 4.8 rebounds in 20 EYBL games last season. He received three-star ratings from both Rivals.com and Scout.com.

McNeil initially signed with Florida International, but was granted a release from his NLI and ultimately chose to follow Coach Pitino to Gold Country. At the time when he signed with FIU, McNeil also had offers from Louisville, Oklahoma, Richmond, Rutgers, VCU, UAB and Washington.
 

It says what he averaged his junior year but what were his averages his senior year??
 



gopherhoopsguy said:
It says what he averaged his junior year but what were his averages his senior year??
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The Baltimore native was a three-year starter at Vermont Academy (Saxtons River, Vt.). A 6-3 combo guard, McNeil averaged 19.0 points per game as a senior on the way to second-team All-New England Preparatory School Athletic Council honors.
 

I'm sure it's listed somewhere in this thread, but do we get this kid for 2 years or what???
 



GopherLady said:
Daquein McNeil Signs National Letter of Intent

Per of of MN Press release:

The Minnesota men’s basketball program announced today that Daquein McNeil has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Gophers.

McNeil, the first player signed during the Richard Pitino tenure at Minnesota, will be eligible to compete during the 2013-14 season.

“Daquein McNeil is an exciting player that affects the game on both ends of the court,” said Pitino. “He is an active guard that has a knack of getting into the lane, but also plays hard on the defensive end. He will be a great fit in our full court style of play.”

The Baltimore native was a three-year starter at Vermont Academy (Saxtons River, Vt.). A 6-3 combo guard, McNeil averaged 19.0 points per game as a senior on the way to second-team All-New England Preparatory School Athletic Council honors.

He scored a season-high 31 points in a game against South Kent. McNeil averaged 16 points, five rebounds and five assists his junior year.

McNeil played his AAU basketball with Nike Baltimore Elite. He averaged 12.4 points and 4.8 rebounds in 20 EYBL games last season. He received three-star ratings from both Rivals.com and Scout.com.

McNeil initially signed with Florida International, but was granted a release from his NLI and ultimately chose to follow Coach Pitino to Gold Country. At the time when he signed with FIU, McNeil also had offers from Louisville, Oklahoma, Richmond, Rutgers, VCU, UAB and Washington.
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It is neither here nor there but Louisville does have an open scholarship perhaps from a player going pro and Oklahoma did sign an unrated player on 4-15… Perhaps McNeil had to think about these other options before signing on the dotted line for the Gophers…
 



University of Minnesota said:
McNeil initially signed with Florida International, but was granted a release from his NLI and ultimately chose to follow Coach Pitino to Gold Country. At the time when he signed with FIU, McNeil also had offers from Louisville, Oklahoma, Richmond, Rutgers, VCU, UAB and Washington.
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(Not really)
 

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