Virginia Basketball Recruiting Notes: Isaac Squared = Gatorade Squared

The Virginia basketball program signed a strong four-member recruiting class in 2022, which currently rates 9th nationally and 2nd in the ACC in the 247Sports team rankings. Now a pair of those signees have added new awards to their resumes.

Isaac McKneely and Isaac Traudt each received the Gatorade Player of the Year Award for their state. McKneely repeated as the West Virginia pick, while Traudt received the honor in Nebraska. The duo became known as Isaac Squared during the recruiting process because both showed interest in and eventually signed with the Hoos. They can now claim Isaac Squared = Gatorade Squared.

McKneely averaged 20.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists this season entering the state playoffs in West Virginia. Poca High School currently owns a 24-1 record as it heads to the West Virginia AA State Semifinals. The 6’4”, 180-pound guard has maintained a 4.24 GPA as well which factors into the Gatorade award.

Traudt averaged 23.6 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists for Grand Island Senior High School. He has maintained a 4.10 GPA.

Leon Bond and Ryan Dunn round out the four signees for the Hoos. The quartet is expected to enroll this summer.

Still Playing

As noted above, McKneely and Poca remain alive in the West Virginia playoffs. The Dots picked up a lopsided 43-19 win against Magnolia in the state quarterfinals. That set a single-game tournament mark for fewest points scored in a contest. McKneely posted 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals in the victory.

One play from the quarterfinal win certainly lit up social media. Check out McKneely on the drive and finish.

Poca faces Ravenwood on Friday at 1 p.m. at the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center. That game features two coaches with 700+ wins.

Title Run

McKneely and the Dots are chasing a state title, which is something another recruit on the Virginia recruiting radar already picked up this season in Georgia. London Johnson, a 6’4” point guard, helped lead Norcross High School to the Georgia Class AAAAAAA State Championship this past Saturday. The Blue Devils defeated Berkmar 58-45 in the title game.

Johnson played a big role in the win. He poured in 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 steals. Norcross had lost to Berkmar three previous times this season, but got the victory in the championship game. Johnson made a critical play in the third quarter as he made a 3-pointer while getting fouled and added the free throw for a 4-point possession that lifted his team to the lead at 34-31. The Blue Devils didn’t trail after that.

The Cavaliers have a “warm” interest rating on 247Sports currently and there have been some murmurs during the winter about a reclassification possibility into the class of 2022. Still, Johnson has not announced a decision or a class move. Other programs recruiting the guard include Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, and North Carolina.

2 Responses You are logged in as Test

  1. Has any team other than Len Bias’s MD squad ever capitalized less on winning a
    major national championship than UVA’s basketball team? I realize that covid, NIL issues, transfer and graduate players factor in, but still. . .

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