Facing reporters shortly after Marquette's 12-point dismantling of Georgetown Jan. 31, Jerel McNeal couldn't help but laugh.

He had just heard fellow senior guard Wesley Matthews address the same group, answering the question, "Is anyone in the country playing better in the backcourt than Jerel McNeal?"

Matthews had responded with a quick look at McNeal, who was waiting patiently in the corner of the media room, and a simple "I am."

Now, a reporter in the back of the room had just posed the question to McNeal, "Jerel, are you going to challenge Wesley to a game of one-on-one after this?"

"He doesn't want that," McNeal said, shaking his head. "He doesn't want that."

That sort of not-so-quiet confidence comes easily for a player who, after scoring 22 points in a 57-56 loss to South Florida Friday, sits on the brink of Marquette's all-time scoring record. McNeal needs just 20 points to match George Thompson's record 1,773 points, set in 1969.

McNeal is averaging 20 points per game this season, a number that jumps to 23.9 ppg in Big East play. His contributions have been numerous — McNeal has also tallied 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game in his final season.

But that confidence, that toughness, wasn't built this season. It was built when McNeal stepped onto Marquette's campus and started 31 games as a freshman, averaging 11.1 ppg. It was built when McNeal enjoyed a breakout sophomore season (in which he averaged 14.7 ppg and 4.8 rpg) only to find himself relegated to the bench with a wrist injury during a 61-49 loss to Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

It was built when McNeal established himself as Marquette's go-to scorer in his junior year. And it was built when he and the rest of the Golden Eagles experienced greater tournament heartbreak a year later when Stanford center Brook Lopez hit a circus shot that cost Marquette a chance in the Sweet Sixteen.

"I think he's playing with an unbelievable chip on his shoulder, with a toughness that defines him as a person and as a player," coach Buzz Williams said. "He's all over the floor every possession…he's playing maybe as good as he can possibly play."

It's tough to argue with Williams' logic as McNeal has scored at least 21 points in each of Marquette's last seven games. His combined stat line in consecutive games against Georgetown and DePaul read: 76 minutes, 52 points, 17 assists, 10 rebounds, 10 steals and seven blocks.

Long hours in the practice gym have turned McNeal's shooting — previously considered his biggest weakness — into a strength (he is shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 47.2 percent from the 3-point line this year).

"It's hard to talk about (Jerel) because he's here right now," Matthews said after the Georgetown game, glancing over at McNeal again. "But he's playing very well. Well is an understatement right now. That's a tribute to his work. He's grown up a lot."

That growth was evident even before the Golden Eagles embarked on their 2008-'09 season, when McNeal assessed his goals for the year.

"I have some more to prove here," McNeal said. "My entire career as a basketball player there have been a lot of nay-sayers, or people who may not have been big on my abilities or my team's ability…I'm looking forward to the challenge."

Despite Marquette's recent road loss to lowly South Florida, McNeal appears to have helped change the minds of at least some of those nay-sayers (both toward himself and the Golden Eagles). Marquette is still ranked No. 10 in the latest AP Top 25 poll, and McNeal has shot up the college draft boards of late (see This stock is soaring, page 11).

"All of us have just matured a tremendous amount since our freshman year," McNeal said. "Things are so much easier for me when other guys are playing well, and other guys are locked in…that gives me the ability to freelance."