He never played professional basketball and instead pursued a coaching career at Pampa High School in Texas.

[5] McNeely first attended Decatur Baptist Junior College, where he set high-scoring records on the school's basketball team.

[2] He helped guide Texas Wesleyan to an undefeated record during the 1941–42 regular season, with the team's only two defeats coming in the postseason against Sam Houston State in the Southwestern AAU Tournament and San Diego in the Kansas City National Intercollegiate Basketball Tournament.

[6] In October 1942, McNeely enlisted to serve with the United States Army Air Corps in World War II.

[2] McNeely received professional basketball contract offers following his discharge, including a "dollar, two eighty a game" deal with the Leonards "B" team, but elected to return to Texas Wesleyan for the 1946–47 season.

[2] By the start of 1947, McNeely, nicknamed "The Man of a Million Shots", was leading the nation in scoring by a margin of 116 points.

[10][11] McNeely led his team to a school-best 30–4 record,[12] won the conference championship[13] and earned third-team All-American honors after leading the NAIA in scoring with 725 points.

[17] McNeely studied Administrative Education at Texas Wesleyan,[18] and completed his master's degree after returning to the university in 1953.

[1][19] Former members of the Pampa basketball teams he coached founded the Clifton McNeely Endowed Scholarship in 2002.