Liam McNeely, Dean Balo, looking forward to the upcoming season for Pearce

Player Spotlight … Pearce Young Guns-Liam McNeeley and Dean Balo:

J.J. Pearce High School has two outstanding young players in 6’6” Liam McNeeley (2024) and 6’2” Dean Balo (2023). The two young standouts look to continue the Mustangs winning tradition. McNeeley attended North Jr. High on the eastside and Balo went to Parkhill Jr. High on the westside of Pearce. “We met when I was in the 7th grade at the rec center, I love playing with Liam,” Balo commented.

Both players have drawn attention from numerous colleges. Although McNeeley has never played a varsity game he has been contacted by Texas Tech, Purdue, Oklahoma, TCU, Georgia Tech, Texas State, Rice, and Houston.

His ability to see the court and handle the ball separates him from his peers. He patterns his game after Luka Doncic with his ability to make his teammates better. Liam has a family pedigree of basketball players dating all the way back to his great grandfather, who played at Tulsa. His grandfather played for TCU, mother played at Rice and his uncle showed his skills at SMU and Baylor.

When asked about the coming season, Liam smiled and said, “I can’t wait to play ball at Pearce.”

Balo echoed Liam with excitement about the coming season. “I’m from Southern California and always enjoyed playing basketball for my father.”

Balo was a starter for coach Marc Johnson as a freshman and has heard from Texas State and Texas Tech. Coach Johnson of Pearce calls Liam a special talent, “he can score on all three levels and has a great motor on both ends of the court.” When talking about Dean, Coach Johnson commented, “Dean is a great competitor and plays with very high energy. He has great vision and creates easy baskets for himself and his teammates, he has the range to stretch the defense and hit the deep 3’s.” With the inside game of senior Walker Timme, the future definitely looks bright for the Stangs.