UConn’s Liam McNeeley is looking forward to returning home to Texas on Sunday

Liam McNeeley received his first scholarship offer from Texas in August 2021. He made his first official visit to the Longhorns’ campus in April 2023 and a second five months later.

It wasn’t until last April that the 6-foot-11 Richardson, Texas, native was scheduled to receive an offer from UConn and take a visit. But three days after that offer came on April 26, McNeeley committed to the Huskies.

So it’s perhaps understandable that Texas coach Rodney Terry is a little bitter about an escaped local star. Not like that.

“We’ve seen Liam for a long time and recruited him pretty hard,” Terry said via Zoom call on Friday. “He’s a great boy, comes from a great family. He’s doing what we expected him to do in his first year of college basketball. He is outstanding and shoots the basketball at a very high level.”

McNeeley is currently the Huskies’ second-leading scorer (13 points per game) and rebounder (5.6 rpg) heading into Sunday’s game against Texas at the Moody Center in Austin (5 p.m., ESPN). He hasn’t shot the 3 as well as perhaps expected early on (34 percent), in part because he’s shot 3-for-19 in his last three games.

But McNeeley has already proven he’s good at knocking down shots when UConn needs them. In the Huskies’ decisive 76-72 win over Baylor on Wednesday night at Gampel Pavilion, McNeeley hit a 3-pointer (which was later ruled a long 2-pointer) just over midway through the second half to give UConn one Four-point throw. point lead.

A few minutes later, he hit a three-pointer (a real three-pointer this time) that gave the Huskies a 64-57 lead. In the end, McNeeley led UConn with 17 points and eight rebounds in 36 minutes, by far the most of any Husky player on the night. He also blocked three shots.

“He even showed some athleticism tonight,” teammate Aidan Mahaney joked. “It’s always nice to see. It’s not just the flying high dunks he can do on two feet, but also the rim protection he brings.”

“Liam McNeeley is one of the best freshmen in the country,” coach Dan Hurley added. “(I told him) just go out there and let it fly and play with some confidence and confidence.”

McNeeley certainly did, making his “phone calls” (à la Tristen Newton) after each of his big throws and immersing himself in the electric atmosphere while playing against his former Montverde Academy teammate, freshman Robert Wright .

“I was excited to play against someone I knew. “My hometown team is really good,” McNeeley said afterwards. “I tried to leave it all out there.”

McNeeley’s path from Richardson, Texas, to Storrs isn’t entirely linear. He originally committed to Indiana last October but decommitted last March.

Now he will be even more excited to return “home” to face Texas on Sunday. Richardson is a suburb about 40 miles north of Dallas (where everything is 40 minutes away). It’s about four hours north of Austin, where UConn and Texas will face off.

But his Texas roots run deep. McNeeley’s mother, Ashley Elsey, played at Rice and his grandfather played at TCU. He has an uncle who played at Baylor.

McNeeley said he will have 22 friends and family members at the Moody Center Sunday evening. And a coach on the other side who would have liked to see him in the burnt orange, but still respects his decision (and his game).

“He’s done a great job of getting better at attacking the basket,” Terry said. “He’s really improved downhill. He’s not just a catch-and-shoot guy, he’s a dual threat. But he’s a guy that’s playing at the level we thought he would play as a freshman.”