[Rosiak's Blog] McNeal will return to MU

[ToddRosiakSays]

McNeal will return to MU

Written by: Todd Rosiak


Jerel McNeal will withdraw his name from the National Basketball Association draft pool today, less than a month after declaring himself eligible.

Having failed to land an initial invitation to next week's NBA pre-draft camp in Orlando - McNeal was instead named an alternate - McNeal will instead return to Marquette University for his senior season, a move made possible by his decision to not hire an agent when he initially declared himself eligible on April 25.

"I felt after yesterday and thinking about things and weighing all the options, it was the best decision," said McNeal. "I've still got things here I want to accomplish and goals to work toward. Getting better on the court and off the court, in the classroom, and winning championships with my teammates."

Last week the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers both scheduled workouts with McNeal. But with the draft pool overflowing with underclass prospects, uncertainty about McNeal's ability play the point and no guarantee he'd even be picked on June 26, he saw no reason to drag the process out any longer.

"It could have changed in the next day or so and guys might have dropped out and I could have told I was going to be in," McNeal said. "I've got one year left and an opportunity to do some great things here that's going to be very important to me here down the line. I think staying here and being here for another year is much more important than actually going through that whole process, trying to squeeze out a spot when people may not necessarily want you. I think it's just the best thing to do."

McNeal's teammate, Dominic James, also failed to make the initial cut for the pre-draft camp last year but didn't immediately pull his name and eventually was invited as an alternate. Ultimately he struggled in Orlando, though, and announced his decision to return to MU less than a day prior to the deadline.

McNeal, who would have needed a guarantee he'd be taken no later than the mid-second round in order to have kept his name in the draft, now has a better idea of what he needs to improve upon individually.

"I didn't get anything specific," he said. "One of the main things is just being able to play some point guard. Being able to move over to the point-guard spot and not having to play off the ball all the time, things like that. That along with just improving my shooting. Everything else will just take care of itself, I think."

With McNeal now back in the fold the Golden Eagles will return four of five starters from last season's 25-10 team that finished in a tie for fifth place in the Big East at 11-7, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2003.

The 6-foot-1 McNeal led MU in scoring at 14.9 points and steals at 2.2 per game last year.

"We're a team that was a shot away from being in the Sweet 16," he said. "We're excited going into this year knowing that we can be even better .We return the core group of guys that we made a run with, and we've got some new guys coming in that I think are going to help us along the way, too. So I'm just excited about the whole thing."



http://blogs.jsonline.com/muhoops/archive/2008/05/22/mcneal-will-return-to-mu.aspx

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Rosiak now lists him at 6'1"?

Wasn't he always listed at 6'3"?

I've met him in person, so I know 6' 1" is accurate... but rarely are the accurate heights published.

[nola03]

This is big news for Buzz. He now has everything laid out nicely for a 25 win season.

[THEGYMBAR]

Great news!!! Sweet sixteen here we come.

[Gwaki]

sweet 16??  ncaa championship here we come

[WarriorHal]

Sweet 16? NCAA championship? The center and power forward positions are going to be big problems once again. Hard to go very far without any size up front. Burke is a few-minutes-a-game reserve on most other BE teams; Trevor is a 6'7" forward, not a center, and has virtually no experience; and Otule is a raw, completely unproven freshman. This should be a good team, but let's not go overboard with unrealistic expectations.

[Niv Berkowitz]

Sweet news. Buzz couldn't have asked for a better situation regarding the returning team. Can't wait for the season to start.

And Gwaki...what in God's name is that kid-on-fire?

[CrackedSidewalksSays]

Jerel McNeal undeclares for the draft

Written by: noreply@blogger.com (NY Warrior)

Rosiak has the news.......Good decision by Jerel.  Buzz Williams rejoices as expectations go way up for the '08-'09 Warriors.

http://www.crackedsidewalks.com/2008/05/jerel-mcneal-undeclares-for-draft.html

[nyg]

Yeah that fire-kid.  Can't tell the gender, but.......

[ChicosBailBonds]

Sweet 16? NCAA championship? The center and power forward positions are going to be big problems once again. Hard to go very far without any size up front. Burke is a few-minutes-a-game reserve on most other BE teams; Trevor is a 6'7" forward, not a center, and has virtually no experience; and Otule is a raw, completely unproven freshman. This should be a good team, but let's not go overboard with unrealistic expectations.

The expectations at a minimum are NCAA tournament, top 6 Big East finish (probably more like top 5).  Everything else is gravy.  But with 3 Seniors and 1 Junior starter, 3 of them All Big East.....anything less than that would be unacceptable barring a season ending injury or something.

Too much leadership, too much talent, too much depth not to get there.  And remember, Trevor would have NO experience at all if he didn't play last year, at least now he has a 1/3 of a season under his belt and has a barometer on what to improve.

[THEGYMBAR]

Top five in BE is madatory this year with the experience coming back. Obviously we are very short upfront on talent but seniors should lead this team. We need BE tourney bye and NCAA seeding of #4 or higher. Everything is there for this to happen.

[mviale]

McNeal - so happy to hear this.  Get that degree and lets get another championship.

[GoMarquetteSays]

MU's Jerel McNeal To Withdraw Name From NBA Draft
         

Marquette University men's basketball player Jerel McNeal has withdrawn his name from the upcoming National Basketball Association Draft and will return to the Golden Eagles in 2008-09 for his senior campaign.
         

http://onlyfans.cstv.com/schools/marq/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/052208aaa.html
         

[Avenue Commons]

Rosiak now lists him at 6'1"?

Wasn't he always listed at 6'3"?

I've met him in person, so I know 6' 1" is accurate... but rarely are the accurate heights published.

I thought the same thing. He's pretty "long", but I always thought 6'3" was a little generous. It's too bad that isn't his actual height.

[dsfire]

It'll be interesting to see how the feedback from the NBA scouts will tie in to Jerel's role next year - specificially, whether he'll be taking a more active role at point when DJ isn't on the court.  Glad to see him back either way.

[ecompt]

Very nice to hear. Nice to have you back, Jerel. Get your degree and go from there.

[BrewCity83]

It'll be interesting to see how the feedback from the NBA scouts will tie in to Jerel's role next year - specificially, whether he'll be taking a more active role at point when DJ isn't on the court.  Glad to see him back either way.

I suspect that Buzz will let Jerel run the point at times against lesser opponents.  But when the games are tough, we probably won't see much of it unless he really excels there.

[77ncaachamps]

IF they play much like they did last postseason, they'll go much deeper with this year's new additions. Though Barro was serviceable but irritating on the offensive end and Fitz was always a 3 away from a groan and cheer, I can't imagine how difficult it is to improve on their play (or lack of, at times).

[MU Chi_IL]

Chicago Trib Article on Mcneal:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/chi080522-jerel-mcneal-nba-draft-marquette,0,4428004.story?track=rss

[Markusquette]

I have more faith in our bigs this year than I did last year.

[RawdogDX]

No reason to think we won't be better than last year.  I feel that everyone on our team improved last year and there isn't a reason to think some of them won't continue to do so. 

[MarquetteDano]

We must be better next year.  With a new coach, there may be some tranisition pains, but by the Big East tournament if we are not better (barring injury) then we have a coaching problem:

- We lose Fitzgerald, but gain Fulce.  That will probably end up being a wash

- We lose Barro and Blackledge, but Mbakwe will be healthy, and O'tule is an optoin.  Burke returns with another year of experience.  That is also a wash.

- Cubillan was not healthy to finish the season.  My guess is by Big East tournament time he will be fine next season and much improved.

- Jimmy Butler is a new option at the guard spot.  This should soften the early season Cubillan loss

- The Seniors.  They will be playing for their life.  How many times have we seen seniors really step it up come postseason?  They know this is their last chance.


In terms of expectations... assuming no injuries we should finish Top 6 in Big East (I think the Big East will be even stronger next year so that is still improvement if we end up a #6 seed).  For the Big East tourney: Semifinals; for the NCAA's: Sweet Sixteen.

[ChicosBailBonds]

We must be better next year.  With a new coach, there may be some tranisition pains, but by the Big East tournament if we are not better (barring injury) then we have a coaching problem:

- We lose Fitzgerald, but gain Fulce.  That will probably end up being a wash

- We lose Barro and Blackledge, but Mbakwe will be healthy, and O'tule is an optoin.  Burke returns with another year of experience.  That is also a wash.

- Cubillan was not healthy to finish the season.  My guess is by Big East tournament time he will be fine next season and much improved.

- Jimmy Butler is a new option at the guard spot.  This should soften the early season Cubillan loss

- The Seniors.  They will be playing for their life.  How many times have we seen seniors really step it up come postseason?  They know this is their last chance.


In terms of expectations... assuming no injuries we should finish Top 6 in Big East (I think the Big East will be even stronger next year so that is still improvement if we end up a #6 seed).  For the Big East tourney: Semifinals; for the NCAA's: Sweet Sixteen.

Please don't use "we" or Tony Reeder will ask you if you are playing for MU next year.    

[79Warrior]

We must be better next year.  With a new coach, there may be some tranisition pains, but by the Big East tournament if we are not better (barring injury) then we have a coaching problem:

- We lose Fitzgerald, but gain Fulce.  That will probably end up being a wash

- We lose Barro and Blackledge, but Mbakwe will be healthy, and O'tule is an optoin.  Burke returns with another year of experience.  That is also a wash.

- Cubillan was not healthy to finish the season.  My guess is by Big East tournament time he will be fine next season and much improved.

- Jimmy Butler is a new option at the guard spot.  This should soften the early season Cubillan loss

- The Seniors.  They will be playing for their life.  How many times have we seen seniors really step it up come postseason?  They know this is their last chance.


In terms of expectations... assuming no injuries we should finish Top 6 in Big East (I think the Big East will be even stronger next year so that is still improvement if we end up a #6 seed).  For the Big East tourney: Semifinals; for the NCAA's: Sweet Sixteen.

No decent sixe upfront will be the achilles heel again. There is no way around it. It will be a repeat from last season unless Fulce or Otole really can contribute.

[Pakuni]

Video of Jerel discussing his decision to return:

http://www.sportsbubbler.com/DisplayTopic.aspx?topicID=1815