It’s often a good thing to stop and think things through.
Unfortunately for junior college transfer Sean McNeil, shooting the basketball certainly isn’t one of those instances. That was where McNeil often found himself during his first up and down year in Bob Huggins' basketball program.
After shooting 43-percent from three during his time at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio, McNeil struggled to find his footing during large portions of his first season with the Mountaineers. Adjustments are hard and that is especially true with the demands that Huggins puts on his players on both ends.
It takes a while to get rested and relaxed in new surroundings.
Still, he couldn’t help but be disappointed by the results. McNeil only connected on 29 of his 88 attempts from three-point range, good for only 33-percent, and he attributes a big portion of that what was going on before he even released the ball.
“I did that to a fault last year. I did that way too much,” McNeil said. “That’s what they recruited me and were telling me to come in and do. They wanted to be able to space the floor and I was just so panicked because I was thinking about it almost too much last year.”
Because of his high-scoring profile prior to his arrival in Morgantown, McNeil admittedly put a lot of pressure on himself before and during the games to live up to those expectations. It’s only human-nature, but in actuality it makes the job a lot more difficult.
“The chances are more so than not that you’re going to end up missing,” he said.
Once he did finally start to settle into things, the season was abruptly ended due to the pandemic. But still the lesson that last year provided is one that he won’t soon forget.
So McNeil used the off-season to clear his mind. Instead of placing extra pressure on himself to perform in certain areas, he instead let the game come to him. The results have been noticeable. In practice, Huggins has expressed confidence in what he has seen from his impressive shooting guard.
“I wouldn’t be afraid to put Sean McNeil in a three-point shooting contest with anybody in our league or anybody in somebody else’s league,” Huggins said. “He can really shoot the ball.”
So how did he do it? It’s as simple as just trusting the work and effort that you put into your craft on a daily basis and clearing your mind from any distractions. Of course, there is the performance piece as McNeil has been a frequent visitor in the gym getting up shots. But the mental side of things is perhaps the biggest hurdle in order to have confidence when letting the ball go.
“Trusting the work I’ve put in and not really thinking about it,” he said.
McNeil figures to be a big piece of the puzzle for the Mountaineers on the perimeter especially with the attention that the big men will attract on any given play. That means that McNeil will have his opportunities, at least early, to make defenses pay for collapsing in the paint.
He’s worked on refining his catching and shooting, ball screen work and other elements to become a more complete offensive threat. Now it will be time to stop thinking and just let it go.
“There’s no reason to think anymore. Just go out and do it,” he said.
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