How NC State retained star SG Paul McNeil to begin the Justin Gainey Era: 'He's one of ours'

Justin Gainey is quick to remember the first time he spotted Paul McNeil Jr. on the recruiting trail. It was here in a back gym of an Adidas AAU event that the coach watched a 10th-grade shooter with an elite skill level that oozed top-60 player in the 2023 cycle that the then-Tennessee assistant gazed from afar.  It didn’t take long for Gainey, a North Carolina native himself, to offer the Rockingham product. He was the first to extend an opportunity to play at the collegiate level to McNeil, who quickly blossomed into a can’t-miss prospect as a four-star recruit.  Although McNeil ended up committing to NC State, Gainey never lost track of what happened to the 6-foot-5, 190-pound wing. Just as he did that first day in a steamy summer gym with not many high-major college coaches evaluating the young talent, Gainey always kept tabs on what McNeil did.  That featured his state record 71-point performance against Lee County as a senior at Richmond High in 2024. It also included McNeil riding the bench with more “DNPs” than double-figure scoring efforts as a freshman under Kevin Keatts with a breakout sophomore season as NC State’s top 3-point threat under Will Wade as a sophomore this past year.  And now, finally, it’s Gainey’s turn to coach McNeil.