The ACC’s 2026-27 preseason teams came out yesterday, and NC State’s Paul McNeil Jr. was nowhere to be found.
That omission stands out when you look at what McNeil did a year ago. The guard averaged 13.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting 43.3% from the field and 42.7% from three-point range. He led the ACC in 3-Point Percentage in 2025-26, and his 105 made three-pointers ranked second in the league.
What makes the snub even harder to ignore is how his numbers stack up against the players who did make the list. McNeil scored more per game than two First Team selections, Flory Bidunga and Patrick Ngongba II, and matched Shelton Henderson’s 13.8 points per game. Of course, scoring isn’t the entire story in basketball, but McNeil’s shooting production is tough to brush aside.
The full preseason comparison only sharpens the debate. Among the nine returning players named to the preseason teams, none shot better than 40% from three last season.
Jackson Shelstad, who earned Second Team honors, averaged 15.6 points and 4.9 assists at Oregon but played in just 12 games because of injury. He shot 39.1% from the field and 31.4% from deep.
McNeil, by contrast, played 34 games and finished at 43.3% overall and 42.7% from long range.
Virginia’s Chance Mallory also landed on the Second Team after averaging 9.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists last season.
Preseason teams are supposed to forecast what voters think will happen next, not just reward last year’s numbers. And by all accounts, McNeil has only added to his game since the season ended. He’s put on nearly 20 pounds, he’s improved defensively, and he’s worked on his ball-handling.
Still, the biggest reason he keeps coming up in this conversation is the same one that defined his season: the shot. From what I’ve heard, that part of his game has only gotten better too.
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