Checking In On Virginia Basketball’s Class Of 2022

By: Chris Horne |

ESPN.com and 247Sports released their latest basketball recruiting rankings. Where do Virginia basketball recruits Leon Bond, Ryan Dunn, Isaac McKneely and Isaac Traudt stand according to these two national outlets?

Traudt (46), McKneely (68) and Bond (69) are ranked among the top 100 seniors in the nation by ESPN.com. Traudt, a 6’9” forward out of Grand Island (NE), is rated by ESPN as the no. 5 power forward in the nation in his class. McKneely, the star shooting guard out of Poca High School in West Virginia, is rated the no. 11 senior shooting guard, while Wauwatosa East (WI) star Leon Bond is rated the no. 17 small forward.

Dunn, who is in a postgraduate year at Perkiomen (Pennsburg, PA), did not make the ESPN Top 100 but is rated a 4-star prospect and the no. 31 small forward.

247Sports includes all four Virginia signees in the nation’s top 110 seniors. McKneely leads the way at no. 49, followed by Bond (51), Traudt (58) and Dunn (110).

Checking In On UVA’s Recruits

LEON BOND

Fresh Coast Hoops 2.0 posted highlights of Leon Bond’s 24-point performance in Wauwatosa East’s 72-42 win over Milwaukee’s King High School in the MLK Dream Classic on January 17. Bond, who measures in at 6’5”, 200 pounds, is #30 in red.

The defending state champions subsequently dropped a 71-47 decision to Brookfield East to fall to 6-4. Wissports.net has statistics from five games this season. In those five, Bond averaged 20.5 points (69.4% FG, 64.5% FT, 37.5% 3PFG on eight tries), 4.2 rebounds, 3.8 turnovers, 2.4 steals and 2.0 assists per game.

RYAN DUNN

6’7” wing Ryan Dunn has helped Perkiomen to a 12-4 mark in the 2021-22 season. Complete game stats for Perkiomen’s national team – Dunn plays for the national team, but Perkiomen has a varsity squad too – could not be found; however, there are mentions of the future Hoo among six early season recaps on the Perkiomen website.

In a 79-43 season opening win over Redemption Christian, Dunn scored 11 points. He had 15 points in a 71-67 loss to Phelps School and 19 points in a 78-70 win over Olympus Prep Academy. The New York Jayhawks, the AAU team Dunn played for, posted this recent clip of the New York native.

ISAAC MCKNEELY

The Poca Dots reached the state championship last season only to fall short in the state title game. Poca is considered a serious contender for a state championship again this season.

After a 1-1 start, Poca has reeled off eight straight wins. The 6’3” McKneely poured in 33 points, 20 points and 18 points in Poca’s last three wins. The Dots defeated Graham (Bluefield, VA) on Friday (Jan. 21) night in the first of two games they are scheduled to play in the FCA Prep Showcase in Bristol, Virginia. McKneely added six rebounds and three assists in the win.

In what should be a good matchup, Poca takes on East Rockingham (11-3) on Saturday (Jan. 22) at 2:30 p.m.

Off the court, McKneely and other Poca players made their way to Charlottesville to see Virginia take on Wake Forest. The Hoos came up short, but the Dots had a great time and McKneely was a popular figure in John Paul Jones Arena.

ISAAC TRAUDT

Isaac Traudt and his Grand Island (NE) teammates avenged a tough two-point loss at North Star on Tuesday (Jan. 18) with a 74-51 victory Friday night (Jan. 21) over Columbus, improving to 4-8. Heading into the Columbus game, Traudt was averaging 23.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per contest.

Earlier in the season, Traudt shined in the Norm Stewart Classic at the University of Missouri, pouring in 24 points and pulling down eight boards in a loss to Vashon (St. Louis, MO) (12-1) and scoring 30 points in a win over Blue Valley (KS) (4-4). The 30-point performance made Traudt his school’s all-time leading scorer.

McDonald’s All-American Nominees

Bond, McKneely and Traudt were nominated for the 2022 McDonald’s All-American Game. Almost 800 boys and girls received nominations for this year’s event. Traudt was one of two players nominated from Nebraska. McKneely was one of three nominated from West Virginia, and Bond was one of four from Wisconsin.

According to the McDonald’s All-American official site, the 24 boys and 24 girls selected for the game will be announced on Tuesday, January 25 on ESPN’s NBA Today between 3 and 4 p.m. EST.