West Virginia basketball makes cut for top in-state 2022 guard McKneely

Poca (W.Va.) 2022 guard Isaac McKneely has trimmed his list and West Virginia has made the cut.

McKneely, 6-foot-4, 175-pounds, trimmed his list to eight schools including West Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia, Illinois, Purdue, Louisville and Indiana.

The Rivals.com four-star prospect is rated as the nation’s No. 94 player in the 2022 class and has garnered plenty of attention with over 20 scholarship offers to his credit. He averaged 22 points per game last season and is unquestionably the top player in the Mountain State.

A versatile guard, McKneely has the ability to play the one or two in college. A strong shooter, McKneely also has demonstrated the ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the basket.

His AAU coach, Tom Droney of the Wildcats Select, sees him as a multi-faceted playmaker on the perimeter at the college level.

“Isaac is a long and lanky 2-guard who is proficient at shooting the basketball. He has great feet and shot preparation, with the ability to make shots coming off down-screen and curl-screens,” Droney said. “He has a smooth handle and is a capable secondary facilitator. As he continues to get physically stronger, his game will continue to grow and expand.”

West Virginia has been involved for quite some time and during that period, assistant Ron Everhart has built a solid connection with the talented two-guard.

“We’ve been staying in constant contact,” he said.

McKneely actually participated in a zoom call with the West Virginia coaches a few weeks ago where he was able to see the facilities and how he would fit into the program. He had already been to Morgantown before but this gave him a chance to see where the players live and their style of play.

“It’s going really well with West Virginia,” he said. “I’ve built a pretty good relationship with coach Everhart and coach (Bob) Huggins.”

McKneely is keeping an open mind about his recruitment but admits that 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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