Decision Primer: 5-star Liam McNeeley to pick between Indiana basketball and Kansas

2024 five-star wing Liam McNeeley is one of the top players in the class and he will be announcing his college decision on Sunday night. He is set to decide between the Indiana basketball program and Kansas.

McNeeley is set to play at the GEICO Top Flight Invite at the Border League returns to Las Vegas October 13-15. Sunday is the final day of the event. The championship game is 9:00 pm ET and televised on ESPN2, when McNeeley will play. He will make his announcement at halftime of the 3:00 pm ET game with ESPN recruiting analyst Paul Biancardi.

He took official visits to both Kansas and Indiana in September — including two total official visits to Indiana throughout his recruitment.

Originally from Texas, McNeeley transferred to Montverde last season and emerged as one of the top prospects in the country. This past season he averaged 13.7 points and was second in the NIBC averaging 2.2 made 3s per game. 

Playing for Florida Rebels on the Nike EYBL Circuit this summer, McNeeley averaged 16.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game across 17 games. He shot 37 percent from three (30-of-81).

Liam McNeeley comes from a basketball family. His grandfather, uncle, mom and other family members played college basketball.

McNeeley has been the top priority for Mike Woodson and the Indiana basketball staff over the last 12 months.

“Their consistency has never wavered for the time that they have been recruiting me,” McNeeley said of Indiana basketball’s message. “I have formed good relationships with all of (the coaches).

“Indiana is obviously a historic basketball state, and the fans in Indiana almost worship basketball. Love from the fans make me feel wanted.”

Kansas showed up later in his recruitment and quickly rose to the top, along with Indiana.

“They have had many wing players that have been successful at Kansas such as Gradey Dick, Jalen Wilson, and Christian Braun,” McNeeley said of Kansas. “I had a great time on the Kansas visit. Getting to meet and spend time with the players was a lot of fun.”

McNeeley proved this summer his ability to play both on or off of the ball. He is a tremendous and proven shooter who is highly efficient on the floor. His best tool may be his playmaking ability, however. At 6-foot-7, he can play on the ball and orchestrate the offense. He has good court vision and great feel for the game and the speed of each possession.

“They (Indiana) emphasized me being a bigger guard and being versatile. Coming off ball screens or posting up smaller defenders and moving the ball in transition,” McNeeley previously told HoosierIllustrated. ” … I see myself coming in and making winning plays to help the team in as many ways as possible … I try and take things from Luka’s game. He is a big guard and my favorite player.”

If Liam McNeeley were to pick Indiana, it could start a domino effect. Indiana is currently heavily involved in the recruitments of five-star guard Boogie Fland and five-star forward, and teammate of McNeeley’s, Derik Queen. While Fland’s recruitment is very much separate of McNeeley’s, Queen’s isn’t.

Sources have indicated to HoosierIllustrated that a commitment from McNeeley to Indiana could ultimately play somewhat of a role in Derik Queen’s recruitment. Both are high school teammates. While it will be a basketball decision at the end of the day, the friendship between the two holds a lot of weight. The programs that are recruiting both Queen and McNeeley are Indiana and Kansas. They took back-to-back visits to Kansas and Indiana the first two weekends of September.

“We have a great relationship. We’re brothers,” McNeeley said of his relationship with Queen.

Liam McNeeley is ranked the No. 13 overall prospect in the 2024 247Sports composite rankings.

Trilly Donaven, Full Ride Network College Basketball Insider, and 247Sports National Basketball Recruiting Analyst Travis Branham have both predicted Indiana will land McNeeley.

As of this weekend, sources remain consistent that Indiana basketball has remained and is the team to beat for McNeeley. We’ll know, officially, on Sunday.

SEE ALSO: Despite murky timeline of next ‘week’ or ‘month’, 5-star Indiana basketball target Boogie Fland in decision mode

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