Q&A Part 2: Virginia was the clear choice for McKneely
Editor's Note: This is the second part of our conversation with four-star shooting guard Issac McKneely, as the No. 57 overall player in the class of 2022 breaks down what went into his decision to commit to Tony Bennett and the Wahoos. You can check out the first half here.
Let’s talk comparisons. You mentioned fit earlier. I’m guessing you’ve spent a lot of time with the staff going over film and I’m curious about how they see you and what kind of comparisons you’ve heard.
We’ve done I think two or three Zoom calls with Coach Bennett and he’s taken a lot of his time to study my film and cut it up and told me where I need to work on and what I’m really good at. He’s told me I’m kind of like a Joe Harris, Kyle Guy kind of player. I can play on or off the ball. I can get off pin downs or ball screens or what not. Like I said, he’s taken a lot of time looking at my film and breaking it down for me.
He’s been up front and honest with me, telling me what I need to work on and all that. And I really respect that. I can see how a lot of kids might not like that. I’m not saying it’s the wrong thing to do but some coaches just tell kids everything they want to hear, that they’re perfect and all that. But Coach Bennett’s really up front and honest. He’s really talked through what I need to work on and I really respect that outta him.
He’s been really up front with me. He’s told me he can’t promise me a starting spot. He can’t promise me 40 minutes a game. He can’t promise me that. He’s just told me if I’m willing to work, I’ll work my way into the rotation. But he can’t promise me a starting spot and all that. It’s whether I’m a good worker or not.
I would imagine it helps that you have such a background in a lot of what UVa is going to ask you to do.
He has said that, that it’s big that I already know the system really well. Obviously, high school to college is a big difference but just knowing the system and what Coach Bennett likes to do, I think that’s an advantage for me.
Speaking of things that are big, I’m going to guess that being UVa’s first offer in 2022 was a big deal for you. What did that mean to you and what did it say to you?
That was huge. And Coach Bennett, another thing I really respect with him is that he’s not like a lot of coaches who just throw out offers. He really took the time to get to know me personally and my family too. He called my family a lot. He studied a lot of film, just to make sure the fit was right. He’s big on seeing people in person and obviously that couldn’t happen with me and this year and everything.
So he really took the time to study me and it really meant a lot that he gave me an offer and especially that I was the first one. That really made me feel like he really, really wanted me and I was priority for them.
Alright, so we’ve talked long enough now without talking about you going from recruit to recruiter. This is the nature of the beast, right? Because now the question seems to be how hard you’re working on recruiting Isaac Traudt to join you in this class. How much have you guys talked since you committed?
First thing I did, as soon as I put that tweet out there, I immediately texted him and I said, ‘You’re next.’ But, seriously, me and him aren’t that close since he lives in Nebraska and everything but we’ve been texting some because we were being recruited by a lot of the same schools. So me and him got to know each other through that.
Coach Bennett said now that I’m committed, I’m going to be his lead recruiter. I guess I’m going to get to recruit him and we’ll get ‘Issac Squared’ here.
Last question, I want to ask about the last year. Going through the recruiting process at this specific time, I imagine it’s got to be difficult. I can imagine on the basketball side it’s worse because not only can you not take visits but coaches weren’t able to come watch you play this past spring and summer. Looking back on it, how tough was that on you and how much of an impact did it have?
It was really hard. A college decision, no matter what year is it, is a tough decision but that’s especially true in a year like this. When you can’t go on visits and coaches can’t come see you, it’s real hard. All we had to rely on was Zoom calls, so it was really really tough. But I just realized that Virginia was the right place for me.
Coach Bennett just did all the right things and Coach Getter did a great job recruiting me as well. It was really tough to go through and it was really stressful. I wish we could’ve gotten to some of these other places. Obviously, I went to UVa twice before things were shut down and I was fortunate to be able to do that.
I still wish I could’ve been there more and gotten to hang with the players a little bit. I really would’ve liked that. I’ve texted with some of the players, especially since I’m committed. They’ve texted me congratulations and stuff but I would’ve really liked to have gotten to know them on a personal level and all that, hang out with them. But COVID is restricting that, obviously. It really sucks. But yeah, it wasn’t too bad but at times it was hard and it got stressful.
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