PC West's Neal named Gatorade POY

Putnam City West’s boys basketball season ended short of the gold ball the Patriots desired, but postseason acclaim is still coming their way.

PC West’s 6-foot-6 senior forward Tyler Neal was named the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year on Thursday.

Neal averaged 18.6 points and 8.3 rebounds in teaming with fellow standout Amric Fields to lead the Patriots to the Class 6A semifinals in their first state tournament appearance since 1977.

“We wish we would’ve gone a little further, but we had a good season,” Neal said Thursday while out of town for spring break. “This is a great honor, but it wasn’t just me. It took the whole team for us to be as successful as we were.”

While he remains undecided on his college future, Neal has received recruiting interest from Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel in recent weeks. He is keeping much of the recruiting process private, but has received offers from multiple NCAA Division I programs.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com