By Keenan Cummings
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia has made the list for the final eight schools in the hunt for top in-state 2022 guard Isaac McKneely.
The Poca product and top 100 prospect nationally trimmed his list down to WVU, North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia, Illinois, Purdue, Louisville and Indiana. Those are some of college basketball’s heavy hitters, but you can’t win the race if you’re not in it to begin with.
McKneely, a consensus 4-star prospect, received well over 20 scholarship offers and is one of the most highly coveted prospects to come out of the Mountain State in recent memory. He averaged 22 points per game last season and has the ability to play the one or two given his versatility.
A strong shooter, McKneely also demonstrated the ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the basket, and is developing into a complete prospect at the position.
For the Mountaineers, their recruiting efforts are led by head coach Bob Huggins and assistant Ron Everhart. The latter has been a fixture in McKneely’s recruitment and has established a solid bond.
“It’s going really well with West Virginia,” he said. “I’ve built a pretty good relationship with coach Everhart and coach Huggins.”
McKneely has been to Morgantown on a visit prior to the recruiting dead period and he also participated in virtual tours with the school to get a more in-depth look. There’s a lot of work left in this recruitment, but the Mountaineers are putting their best foot forward.
That helps considering the ties, because while McKneely is keeping an open mind about his recruitment, he admits he grew up a fan of the West Virginia basketball and football teams.
While that won’t ultimately affect his choice, it doesn’t hurt.
“It does mean a little bit more to me,” he said.
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