McKneely stoked for starting role, ready to show off his skills

By Scott Ratcliffe

While he’s known for his perimeter shooting, Isaac McKneely insists he’s more than just a one-trick pony, and is itching to prove it. The second-year sharpshooter has put a lot of work in this past offseason, and he’s ready to put it all on display with the new-look roster.

McKneely said he’s always working on his shot, but that he’s also been working on all aspects of his game.

“I think teams are going to be expecting me to just shoot 3s like I did last year, but I think this year I’ve got a little bit more to me,” he said. “I think I can prove that I can get off the dribble and score a little bit this year, and of course, I have good guys around me, so if they’re gonna play me a certain way, I’ll get others involved. And of course, [Reece Beekman] is going to get others involved and everybody else, so we’ve got a really good team and hopefully we can all showcase what we can do.”

McKneely is champing at the bit for Virginia’s season opener tomorrow night against Tarleton State (7 p.m., ACCNX). He has noticeably put on some muscle, thanks to UVA strength and conditioning coach Mike Curtis — he said he’s added about six pounds in the offseason — and he’s working into a much larger role this season, likely as a starter.

“I’m really excited,” McKneely said of getting back on the court. “You don’t know what to expect as a first-year, but I think more so this year, I know what to expect a little bit, as far as practicing, games and everything else. And yeah, I probably will have a bigger role this year, a little bit more of the scoring is probably gonna be on me.

“Last year, I was kind of like the sixth, seventh man, just come in and like, hit a couple 3s or whatever. So this year, I think a lot of the defensive roles are going to be on me, a lot of the offensive roles are going to be on me, so I think I’ve got to step into that role, and I’m excited to get going.”

In his first year as a Wahoo, McKneely saw action in 33 games, getting his only start against Albany on Dec. 28. The Poca, W.Va., native averaged 6.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.7 assists across 21.5 minutes per game. He shot 42 percent (77 for 182) from the field, 39 percent (51 for 130) from the 3-point line and 71 percent (17 for 24) from the charity stripe.

Mostly coming off the bench, McKneely scored in double figures eight times, with his career high of 15 points coming against Monmouth last November, in what was just his second college game. You can probably bet the house on him surpassing that total several times in 2023-24.

McKneely describes his jump shot as his “most valuable weapon,” adding that he’s in the gym on his days off to keep perfecting his technique. He won the team’s 3-point shooting contest during the Pepsi Blue-White Scrimmages a few weeks back, and will be expected to pour in some long balls once again this season.

McKneely said it “means the world” to have Beekman, the Preseason All-ACC first-team point guard, back to run the show, and even with all the losses from last year, he feels this is a deeper team with more offensive options, adding, “I think we’ll be able to get up and down the court a little bit more this year as well.”

In terms of having so many new faces, many of whom are still getting down all the ins and outs of the Pack Line, McKneely believes that once it all comes together, Cavalier fans could be raving about the defense by season’s end.

“I think it’s coming. It’s definitely coming,” he said of the work in progress. “I think we have a chance to be a really good defensive team. We have times where we’re not at the best, but when we’re at our best, I think we’re really good. So as long as we can just all lock in and just take one possession at a time and just really focus on the defense, I think we can be a really scary defensive team.”

The Wahoos may not be ranked or considered one of the favorites to win the ACC, as they were picked to finish fourth behind Duke, Miami and North Carolina, and that’s just fine with McKneely and his teammates. He says they have taken note of it and will use it as the season rolls on.

“Yeah, it definitely does,” McKneely said, when asked if the preseason projections give them extra  motivation, “but we also really don’t look into it too much. We’re not too worried about that. Definitely a little bit inside, but we kind of like that. We kind of like to have like the bottom-dweller kind of thing, like the underdog role a little bit. So I think it’ll fuel us a little bit, and hopefully we can come out on top.”