Anthony ‘Bird’ McNeal, the son of former Logan County girls basketball coach Paul McNeal and his wife Dawn, has signed the paperwork to become a college basketball player.
Bird McNeal will play for the University of Rio Grande, an NAIA school in Ohio, which is his dad’s alma mater. He was a three-year letterman for Logan High School in Ohio, not Logan County High School in Kentucky.
Paul McNeal coached the Lady Cougars for three seasons from 2000-2003. His first team had a district tournament win taken from them via a mistake by the clock keeper at Franklin-Simpson and the officials’ inattention to detail. The next year the Lady Cougars were district runner-up. In his last season here, the Lady Cougars not only won the district but beat Bowling Green at region before losing by three in the semifinals to Barren County.
Bird led the Chiefs in assists this year and was second in scoring and rebounding. He hit eight 3-pointers in a game this season to set the school record. He broke the record despite having a chipped bone in his elbow. That injury caused him to miss three games, which led to his coming up four 3-pointers short of the school record for a season. He had to play with that elbow in a sleeve much of the season.
Ken French, head coach of the Rio Grande Red Storm, says, “Bird will be a great asset to our program and to our school. He understands the game and also knows the importance of giving back to the community. We will be relying on him to be a leader for our program in the future."
He is going to Rio Grande on both athletic and academic scholarships. He plans to major in business and marketing. “The thing I am probably the most proud of is his community service. He has begun a non-profit company called KIX 4 KIDZ. This program is designed to collect new or slightly used shoes and redistribute into the community,” Paul McNeal says. “He has filled out the paperwork to make this his business and will continue this at Rio Grande.”
Bird has two younger sisters. Jaclyn, a junior, is to meet this week with the Ohio commander about her interest in becoming part of the Air Force ROTC. Being accepted into the program is very competitive.
Allison is excelling in athletics as a freshman. She has lettered in three different sports this year. Currently she is ranked as the number two freshman in the state and number 24 in the nation in shot put, and she is the fourth ranked freshman in the state in discus. Colleges are already expressing interest in her as an athlete.
Paul McNeal is director of the Multi-Handicapped unit at Athens High School. No longer coaching, he is recruiting and scouting for colleges and holding individual workouts for players in the area. He goes to schools as a speaker and evaluates practices.
Dawn McNeal is librarian at Berne Union High School where Paul coached after leaving LCHS. She has been with that school for a decade.
The McNeals are active in their church. In fact, new Crittenden Drive Church of Christ minister Dale Parsley and his wife Angie were recommended to the elders by the McNeals. He had been their minister in a much smaller congregation than Russellville’s Crittenden Drive.
The proud dad says most people don’t know that Bird’s given name is Anthony. “Everyone calls him Bird, in the paper, on TV, even on his driver’s license,” he says.
Now the Bird will fly as part of the Red Storm.