Illinois Basketball: Isaac McKneely clearly a top priority for Illini

Illinois basketball realizes that Isaac McKneely is a future star and continues to push for him on a regular basis.

A 6-foot-4, 170-pound shooting guard, McKneely checks in as a four-star recruit who is the No. 57 player in the class of 2022 and the No. 10 shooting guard in the nation. He is also the best player coming out of the state of West Virginia.

The talented guard has roughly 18 scholarship offers on the table right now with, apparently, Indiana, North Carolina State, Virginia and West Virginia as his top four, according to 247Sports. They also have one Crystal Ball Prediction in for McKneely, and they have him heading to West Virginia with a confidence of six out of 10.

With that being said, Illinois continues to pursue the sharpshooter. McKneely received an offer from the Illini back on July 2 and the presence of Brad Underwood and the coaching staff has been there ever since.

In August, McKneely named Illinois as one of the teams that were contacting him just about every day. On Tuesday, that contact continued as Underwood and the Illinois coaching staff had a Zoom call with McKneely.

Opinion

Illinois is clearly putting in a lot of resources on McKneely and it is a smart thing. This kid is the real deal. Some people are saying McKneely is a comparison to Tyler Herro but I disagree. I think he has better handles than Hero and maybe even a better shot.

When I watch McKneely, his game reminds me of someone like Ja Morant. I honestly believe he could come into the college game and play the No. 1 through No. 3 roles on any team in the country. McKneely has a solid outside shot, great driving ability, great handles and the ability to finish at the rim.

The Illini should be putting in the resources they are putting in right now. If they want any shot at landing McKneely, they are going to need to keep on him over the next couple of years. The sky is the limit for this kid.