Liam McNeeley after landing in Charlotte: "This is where the work really begins"

It may have taken longer than Liam McNeeley and UConn fans originally thought, but Liam McNeeley eventually heard his name called in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft. 

Selected No. 29 overall to the Charlotte Hornets, McNeeley was mostly projected as a mid-to-late first-round pick. A range of mock drafts listed the 19-year-old as high as No. 11 and as low as No. 20 leading up to the big night, but none expected he would remain seated until the second-to-last pick of the evening.