Daquein McNeil Signs National Letter of Intent With Gophers

 

The Minnesota men’s basketball program announced today that Daquein McNeil has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Gophers.

McNeil, the first player signed during the Richard Pitino tenure at Minnesota, will be eligible to compete during the 2013-14 season.

“Daquein McNeil is an exciting player that affects the game on both ends of the court,” said Pitino. “He is an active guard that has a knack of getting into the lane, but also plays hard on the defensive end. He will be a great fit in our full court style of play.”

The Baltimore native was a three-year starter at Vermont Academy (Saxtons River, Vt.). A 6-3 combo guard, McNeil averaged 19.0 points per game as a senior on the way to second-team All-New England Preparatory School Athletic Council honors.

He scored a season-high 31 points in a game against South Kent. McNeil averaged 16 points, five rebounds and five assists his junior year.

McNeil played his AAU basketball with Nike Baltimore Elite. He averaged 12.4 points and 4.8 rebounds in 20 EYBL games last season. He received three-star ratings from both Rivals.com and Scout.com.

McNeil initially signed with Florida International, but was granted a release from his NLI and ultimately chose to follow Coach Pitino to Gold Country. At the time when he signed with FIU, McNeil also had offers from Louisville, Oklahoma, Richmond, Rutgers, VCU, UAB and Washington.