By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Sean McNeil appears to have his basketball career back on track after spending more than a year away from the game he loves.
McNeil earned all-state honors as a high-scoring senior guard for the Cooper High School team that was state runner-up in 2017. But he didn’t play his first collegiate game until a few weeks ago when he became a starting guard for Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio.
In his first 12 games with the Tartan Pride, McNeil averaged 32.3 points. That makes him the top scorer across all three divisions in the National Junior College Athletic Association.
“It feels really good,” McNeil said of returning to the game as a national scoring leader. “It’s a big-time honor. I’m lucky to play in a system and with some guys who put me in good position to score the ball.”
When he was a senior in high school, McNeil accepted a basketball scholarship from Bellarmine University in Louisville, one of the nation’s top NCAA Division II programs. But he came home a few days after the first semester started and never returned to campus. He ended up enrolling at a local junior college that didn’t even have a basketball team.
“That’s nothing against Bellarmine, it’s a great program,” he said. “Things just didn’t work out for me so I left. It actually wasn’t in my plans to sit out a year (of basketball), but it worked out. I feel about as good as I’ve ever felt right now and just lucky to be where I am.”
He resumed his basketball career at Sinclair after taking with head coach and athletic director Jeff Price, who has placed 50 student-athletes in four-year colleges during his 15 years at the community college.
In his first season at Sinclair, McNeil has scored 30 points or more in eight of the first 12 games. In November, he set a team record when he pumped in 55 points during a 113-107 overtime loss to Bryant & Stratton College out of Cleveland.
The 6-foot-4 freshman guard is currently shooting 47.5 percent (125 of 263) from the field overall, 43.3 percent (61 of 141) from 3-point range and 87.4 percent (76 of 87) from the free throw line.
Besides helping his team get off to an 8-4 start, McNeil’s scoring ability has attracted the attention of some major college recruiters.
He said Dayton, James Madison, UNC-Asheville, Lipscomb and Evansville have all made recruiting offers. He could pick up another one on Saturday when he visits Western Kentucky.
“I’ve got about four or five scholarships right now that I’m looking at and I’ve been talking with some other schools that are really interested in me as well,” McNeil said. “I plan on making a decision here in the next month or maybe two months or so.”
The Cooper graduate will have three years of eligibility in college basketball after he finishes his one season at Sinclair. If he maintains his current scoring average, he could break the Tartan Pride’s single-season scoring record of 914 points before he leaves.
“I was kind of opposed to it at first,” McNeil said of playing on the junior college level. “I wanted to be in a program where I’d spend the rest of my career. But it’s actually been a really good experience for me.”
Local players in starting lineups for college football bowl games
Holy Cross graduate Derrick Barnes will be playing defensive end and linebacker for the Purdue football team when it takes on Auburn in the Music City Bowl at 1:30 p.m. Friday in Nashville.
Barnes is the third leading tackler for the Boilermakers with a total of 82 stops. The 6-foot-1, 240-pound sophomore has 54 solo and 28 assisted tackles along with five tackles for a loss and three quarterback sacks.
After an 0-3 start, Purdue won six of its last nine games to become bowl eligible for the second consecutive season. One of the victories came against Ohio State, which was ranked No. 2 in the nation at that time.
Barnes is the second Northern Kentucky high school football product playing in a nationally televised bowl game this week. Ryle graduate Tanner Morgan was starting quarterback for the Minnesota team that beat Georgia Tech, 34-10, in the Quick Lane Bowl on Wednesday in Detroit.
Morgan completed 7 of 13 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns in the victory. The Golden Gophers won four of their last six games with the redshirt freshman as their starting quarterback. He finished the season with 1,401 passing yards and nine TDs.
Boone County accepting applications for head football coach
Boone County High School is taking applications for a new head football coach to succeed Marty Steele, who was in charge of the Rebels program for the last four seasons.
The last time Boone County had a winning season was 2011 when the team finished 9-5 after a loss in the semifinals of the Class 6A playoffs. Over the last seven years, the Rebels have compiled a 6-71 record under three head coaches. Steele had a 4-39 record over the last four years.
A statewide realignment will put Boone County in Class 5A for the next four seasons. The Rebels will compete in a district that includes Conner, Cooper, Covington Catholic and Highlands.
Dayton and Scott are the other Northern Kentucky high school football teams that will have new head coaches next season.