UVA Hoops Notebook: Pre-Hokie game appetizer; new commitment shows courage

By Jerry Ratcliffe

How great a kid is Isaac McKneely, Virginia’s latest basketball commitment?

When it comes time to announce a college choice and eliminate all the other schools that recruited you, some kids have a really difficult time telling the coaches that it’s over. Some ask their high school or AAU coaches to do the deed, some ask their parents.

McKneely?

He did it all on his own.

“Isaac called at least 16 coaches personally and told them,” said McKneely’s high school coach Allen Osborne. “That takes some courage, but that’s the kind of kid he is.”

McKneely had 24 Division I offers before choosing Virginia. He has been compared by many to former Cavaliers star Joe Harris, who is now one of the NBA’s top 3-point shooters with the Brooklyn Nets.

For an in-depth look at McKneely’s game, how he’ll fit at Virginia, what Osborne thinks of him, and how McKneely and the Cavaliers relationship started, see my story from last night on this site. It will give you a good idea about just how good this 4-star guard really is.

UVA-Virginia Tech appetizer

Virginia Tech coach Mike Young said that a lot of the things he and his staff used to scout Virginia, they can’t use because the way the Cavaliers’ offensive system has shifted over the past week with Sam Hauser, Jay Huff and Kihei Clark taking over.

“Those three are driving people crazy,” Young said Friday night on his radio show. “They’re making shots. They’ve pivoted and now they’re about as solid as all get out. They have really hit their stride.”

No. 8 Virginia (11-2, 7-0 ACC) is on a seven-game winning streak and have dispatched Georgia Tech and Syracuse in the past week leading up to tonight’s 6 o’clock tip at No. 20 Virginia Tech (12-3, 6-2). The game will be televised by the ACC Network.

“(Jay) Huff is bigger and more physical, (Sam) Hauser has come into his own right before our eyes,” Young said. “(Trey) Murphy can really shoot. (Reece) Beekman and (Kihei) Clark are solid, and Clark is just a terrific point guard. All he needs is a blink and he’s by you with his quickness.

“This Virginia team really shares the ball and there’s a number of guys who can ring the bell. They give you a number of problems.”

Virginia owns a four-game winning streak against the Hokies. In the last meeting, Kihei Clark drilled a 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds to play for a 56-53 Wahoos win in Blacksburg last February.

Several ACC coaches have lauded Tech’s defense and commented how it is similar to Virginia’s, which is annually one of the best in the country. UVA’s Tony Bennett agree.

“For sure,” Bennett said. “I think [the Hokies] a hard-nosed, tough team playing good basketball. They play hard.

“I have a lot of respect for what Coach Young has done. He’s done a good job in how they’re defending and how they share the ball.

“Watching them, I’m sure they have variations, but good defense is good defense, man-to-man, in position, playing hard and working hard to make the other team get good shots. They sure have done that.”

Virginia’s Sam Hauser will be facing the Hokies for the first time in his career after transferring to UVA from Marquette.

“I’m definitely excited,” said Hauser. “Practice ramped up this week just because of the whole rivalry. The first one got postponed or canceled or whatever. It’ll be really fun to play them because they’re a really good team.”

Huff has that reason and another special reason to get excited about facing Tech.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Huff said. “There won’t be as many fans there but I know my brother-in-law will be there screaming his head off. It’s still going to be a fun rivalry. In-state rivalries are always fun.”

Huff, who got married over the summer, may not be in agreement with his brother-in-law on the outcome.

“He’s unfortunately a Tech fan,” Huff chuckled. “We don’t hold it against him to much. He goes there, so he has to. But I hope he sees this and recognizes that I’m giving him a hard time.”

Huff would rather give the Hokies a hard time at the expense of his brother-in-law.