Texas Basketball: 3 Longhorns offers that stood out at EYBL Dallas

The third session (Dallas, TX) of the Nike EYBL 2023 circuit saw a number of different Texas basketball recruiting targets compete in the action from May 12-14. I attended one of the days at EYBL Dallas to see some of the top Texas priorities on the recruiting trail for hoops in the 2024 and 2025 classes.

I’m sure that if I was paying close attention to some of the top recruits from the next few cycles in action at EYBL Dallas this weekend, the same could be said for new head coach Rodney Terry and the rest of the Texas staff. Terry and some of the other Longhorns coaches were already spotted at the first few of the Nike EYBL sessions this year.

The Nike EYBL circuit consists of four sessions in four different cities. Dallas was the third stop of the circuit after Atlanta and Phoenix. That just leaves the fourth session in Memphis before the finals of the EYBL circuit takes place at Peach Jam in North Augusta, SC, starting on July 3.

Texas basketball offers that stood out at Nike EYBL Session 3 in Dallas

Here’s a look at three of the Texas offers that stood out to me at the Nike EYBL session in Dallas last weekend.

Liam McNeeley, F

One of the top priority recruits in the 2024 class for Terry and the Longhorns staff is the elite five-star Montverde Academy forward Liam McNeeley. The 6-foot-7 and 205-pound McNeeley is one of the top-ranked forward recruits in the nation in the 2024 class and has the Longhorns among his top group of schools.

Last weekend was the first time that I got to see McNeeley play live and in person. What really blew me away about the couple of games that I got to see him play was his defensive chops. While McNeeley was still productive on the offensive end, the two games I saw from him saw his defensive ability come to the forefront.

McNeeley put up a circuit-high five steals for the Florida Rebels in a big 90-86 win over Team Griffin on May 14. He was consistently holding his own against some highly-rated recruits such as blue-chip 2024 Team Griffin forwards Dylan Warlick and Annor Boateng.

Another impressive part of McNeeley’s showing at EYBL Dallas last weekend was his ability to take care of the basketball as a tertiary facilitator on offense. He didn’t turn the ball over a single time last weekend while posting a half-dozen assists in the two games I saw him play.

All in all, the fact that McNeeley fared so well on the defensive end while scoring in double figures in each of the four games at EYBL Dallas without posting a single turnover has to be considered a success for the elite forward recruit out or Florida.