Jerel McNeal facts for kids

Jerel McNeal, born on June 1, 1987, is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball at Marquette University. After college, he played professionally in many countries. These included Belgium, Italy, China, Greece, Germany, and Israel. He also had a short time in the NBA with the Phoenix Suns in 2014.

Early Life and High School Basketball

Jerel McNeal was born in Chicago, Illinois. His parents are Edward and Meryln McNeal. He has two siblings, January and Jeremy. He went to Hillcrest High School. His future college teammate, Maurice Acker, also attended Hillcrest. In 2005, Jerel was named a third-team Parade All-American. This is a big honor for high school basketball players.

College Career Highlights

Jerel McNeal played college basketball for the Marquette Golden Eagles. He was a standout player.

Defensive Player of the Year

In the 2006–07 season, Jerel was a sophomore. He won the Big East's Defensive Player of the Year award. This shows how good he was at stopping other teams from scoring.

All-American Honors

In his senior year, 2008–09, he was the only guard on the Big East's All-First Team. He was also named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press.

Marquette Records

On February 10, 2009, Jerel broke a 41-year-old school record. He passed George Thompson's record of 1,773 points. This made him Marquette's all-time leading scorer at that time. Later, Markus Howard passed Jerel's scoring record. However, Jerel still holds other Marquette records. He is the all-time leader in steals, field goals made, and field goal attempts. He is also third in games played and seventh in assists.

Professional Basketball Journey

After college, Jerel McNeal began his professional career. He played for many teams around the world.

Starting in Belgium and the NBA D-League

After the 2009 NBA draft, Jerel joined the Sacramento Kings for the NBA Summer League. He later signed with the Los Angeles Clippers but was waived. In November 2009, he went to Belgium. He signed with Dexia Mons-Hainaut for the 2009–10 season.

In 2010, he played in the Summer League again. He joined the Charlotte Bobcats and the Chicago Bulls. He then signed with the Houston Rockets but was waived. On October 30, 2010, he joined the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the NBA D-League. He briefly signed a 10-day contract with the New Orleans Hornets but did not play.

Playing in Italy and Returning to the D-League

In July 2011, Jerel signed with Sutor Basket Montegranaro in Italy for the 2011–12 season.

In 2012, he signed with the Toronto Raptors but was waived. He returned to the Vipers and was then traded to the Bakersfield Jam. In February 2013, he was chosen for the NBA D-League All-Star Game. Later, he signed two 10-day contracts with the Utah Jazz. He then signed with the Jazz for the rest of the 2012–13 season. He played for them in the 2013 NBA Summer League.

Time in China and NBA Debut

In October 2013, Jerel signed with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls in China. He played 15 games before being released in December 2013. In February 2014, he rejoined the Bakersfield Jam.

In 2015, he was named the NBA D-League Impact Player of the Year. On April 1, 2015, Jerel signed a 10-day contract with the Phoenix Suns. The next day, he made his NBA debut. He scored two points in a game against the Golden State Warriors. He signed with the Suns for the rest of that season and the next. However, he was waived by the Suns in July 2015.

Playing in Greece and Germany

On July 31, 2015, Jerel signed with Aris Thessaloniki in Greece. He played well there, averaging 14.1 points per game in league games. He also played in 16 EuroCup games.

On December 21, 2016, Jerel signed a two-month contract with the German club Brose Bamberg. He re-signed with them for the rest of the season in February 2017.

Years in Israel

In August 2017, Jerel signed with the French team SIG Strasbourg. However, he left the team soon after. On September 30, 2017, he signed a one-year deal with the Israeli team Hapoel Tel Aviv.

He had a great game on March 10, 2018. He scored 25 points, had eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals. He helped Hapoel reach the 2018 Israeli League Final Four.

On November 2, 2018, Jerel returned to Hapoel Tel Aviv for the 2018–19 season. He took part in the 2019 Israeli League All-Star game. He helped Hapoel reach the playoffs again.

On September 6, 2019, Jerel signed with Ironi Nahariya. He joined his former coach Danny Franco and teammate Tony Gaffney. On October 28, 2019, he scored a season-high 27 points against his old team, Hapoel Tel Aviv.

The Basketball Tournament

Jerel McNeal also played for the Golden Eagles in The Basketball Tournament in 2018. This is a special tournament where teams compete for a big prize. In five games, he averaged 13.4 points, 5 rebounds, and 2.4 steals. The Golden Eagles made it to the semi-finals.

Career Statistics

NBA

Regular Season

College

See also

In Spanish: Jerel McNeal para niños

• 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans