By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
The West Virginia University men’s basketball team lost one talented guard from Northern Kentucky and gained another this month.
After Holmes graduate James “Beetle” Bolden left the West Virginia program to play for Alabama, Cooper graduate Sean McNeil accepted a scholarship offer from the Mountaineers.
Sean McNeil
James Bolden
McNeil, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard, played for Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, last season. He was the leading scorer in Division II of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) with a 29.7 average and made 4.3 3-point goals per game.
“Sean gives us another physical guard who is a tremendous 3-point shooter,” said West Virginia coach Bob Huggins in a press release. “He brings a physical mentality to the guard position, while also giving us an outstanding rebounder in the backcourt.”
McNeil will have three years of eligibility at West Virginia. He was recruited by Higgins because he shot 49.5 percent from the field, 43.1 percent from 3-point range and averaged 6.1 rebounds for Sinclair. He set team records for most points in a game (55), most points in a season (921) and most 3-point goals in a season (132).
The 2017 Cooper graduate was named an NJCAA Division II first-team All-American and invited to play in the national junior college all-star game on May 18 in Las Vegas. He received recruiting offers from several other colleges, including Oregon, Texas Tech, Ole Miss, Dayton and Western Kentucky.
Bolden transferred to Alabama for his final season of college basketball after using three years of eligibility at West Virginia. Last season, the 6-foot guard played in 18 games, 12 as a starter, before being sidelined by an ankle injury.
A 2015 Holmes graduate, Bolden was averaging 12.2 points, 2.5 assists and 2.6 rebounds when the injury ended his season. In his career with the Mountaineers, he averaged 7.7 points while shooting 43.4 percent from the field and 40.3 percent from 3-point range.
