Clifton McNeely

Clyde Clifton McNeely (June 22, 1919 – December 26, 2003) was an American basketball player and coach. A forward, he played college basketball for the Texas Wesleyan Rams for three seasons and led the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in scoring during his senior season in 1946–47. McNeely was the first player ever drafted in the National Basketball Association (NBA) when he was selected by the Pittsburgh Ironmen as the first pick of the league's inaugural 1947 draft. He never played professional basketball and instead pursued a coaching career at Pampa High School in Texas.

Early life McNeely was born in Greenwood, Texas, His father was an ordained deacon in the Greenwood Baptist Church. McNeely had two brothers: one, William Floyd, died at the age of two.

College and military career

McNeely first attended Decatur Baptist Junior College, where he set high-scoring records on the school's basketball team. He transferred to Texas Wesleyan University in 1940, but his "shot-crazy" style created doubt as to how well he could fit on the team. During his service, he played basketball with the Fort Worth Army Air Field team from 1943 to 1944, and then with the Randolph Field team in 1945. He missed three games in January 1947 after suffering a fractured wrist. McNeely led his team to a school-best 30–4 record, won the conference championship and earned third-team All-American honors after leading the NAIA in scoring with 725 points. He was named to the All-NAIA first-team alongside teammate E. F. Parham. McNeely held the Texas Wesleyan single season scoring record for 62 years until Chris Berry had 740 points in the 2008–09 season. Regarded as a "deadly" free throw shooter,

McNeely studied Administrative Education at Texas Wesleyan, and completed his master's degree after returning to the university in 1953. However, McNeely was not interested in signing with the team, and ultimately never played a game of professional basketball. McNeely and Gene Melchiorre of the 1951 NBA draft are the only two number-one draft picks in NBA history to never play basketball professionally. The Pittsburgh Ironmen ultimately folded before the start of the 1947–48 season.

Coaching career After working for Phillips 66 in Bartlesville, Oklahoma for four months in 1947, McNeely returned to Texas and became the head basketball coach at Pampa High School in Pampa, Texas in 1948. He led the Harvesters to state titles in 1953, 1954, 1958 and 1959.

Personal life McNeely married Peggy Jean Gallagher, who was a fellow student at Texas Wesleyan, on June 14, 1947, in Cisco, Texas. Peggy worked as a teacher at Pampa High School during her husband's tenure there. The couple had three children: twin sons Phillip and Michael, and daughter Sheryl. McNeely's two sons played together at Denton High School where he was the principal and they would both go on to become high school basketball coaches. Pampa's gymnasium was renamed McNeely Fieldhouse in his honor after his retirement.