MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — West Virginia guard Sean McNeil is returning to the Mountaineers for his senior season.
McNeil took to Twitter on Saturday to make it official.
“The NBA Draft process and the feedback I received was extremely helpful,” McNeil wrote. “I feel like I’ve grown more as a player and as a man. After analyzing the feedback and weighing my options, I have decided to return to West Virginia for one more season.”
McNeil averaged 12.2 points per game and shot 38.8% from 3-point range and led the Mountaineers with 69 3-pointers last season.
In his two seasons at WVU, he’s connected on 98 threes and has shot 36.8% from behind the arc.
McNeil was the first of four WVU players to enter the 2021 NBA Draft and receive an evaluation from the NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee.
Derek Culver, Taz Sherman and Deuce McBride soon followed.
While Culver and McBride eventually decided to keep their names in the draft and go pro, the Mountaineers did see Sherman return along with McNeil.
McNeil and Sherman’s return forms a deep-shooting nucleus at WVU next season.
“Those guys were two of the best shooters and not just in our league,” WVUhead coach Bob Huggins said last week. “Those two guys can really get going and make shots. I think both of them are going to continue to get better in other areas.”
McNeil came to WVU in 2020 as a high-scoring junior-college prospect, but he had taken a year off from athletics before enrolling at Sinclair (Dayton, Ohio) Community College.
Because the NCAA granted athletes an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic, McNeil still has two seasons of eligibility remaining. He turns 23 next month.
McNeil’s return means the Mountaineers currently have 12 players on scholarship for next season. The NCAA limit is 13.
Returning fifth-year seniors Gabe Osabuohien and Sherman do not count against the NCAA’s limit, because they are taking advantage of the extra season of eligibility.
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