Louisville's Isaac McKneely 'Looking to Prove' He's More Than Just a Three-Point Shooter

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Ahead of the upcoming men's college basketball season, one of the most prevalent narratives surrounding Louisville is just how deadly they can be on the offensive end of the court. In fact, according to KenPom, the Cardinals have the fifth-highest preseason offensive efficiency in the sport, with only Purdue, UConn, Florida and BYU higher.

The biggest reason that Louisville is expected to have such a prolific offense is because of the amount of high-level three point shooters they have on their roster. Among all the shooting assets the Cards have, Isaac McKneely is arguably the best option they have

But for as good as he is from beyond the arc, the transfer guard from Virginia is aiming to show fans this upcoming season that he is more than just a catch-and-shoot three-point specialist.

"I'm looking to prove that I can do more this year," he said during the program's annual media day. "(Pat Kelsey) told me in the transfer portal, 'he's gonna unleash me,' is what he said. I'm obviously going to continue to do what I do, and shoot threes and make them at a high clip, hopefully. But I'm looking to do more as far as off the dribble, play making, touching the paint, stuff like that. Just unleashing my whole game."

To be fair, it's easy for most people to paint McKneely in this light. Last season, his 42.1 three-point shooting percentage led the ACC, while his 101 made and 240 attempted threes trailed only Louisville's own Reyne Smith for best in the league. Even the college basketball analytics site EvanMiya is projecting McKneely to be the nation's top three-point shooter for the upcoming 2025-26 season.

That being said, McKneely is not, as Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey's late mentor Skip Prosser used to say, a "suburban jump shooter." He has shown flashes of above average ability to drive to the rim and finish with both hands, and can be a playmakers by making good bounce passes to the post and dump offs on the drive. While he's known more so for his offensive capabilities, he was able to hold his own on defense last season for the most part.

"I can handle the ball a little bit, run the floor, get transition threes," McKneely said. "I think I'm a good passer as well, getting downhill, touching the paint, making the right play. I can add a level of defense as well. That's not necessarily what I'm known for, but playing for Tony Bennett for a few years, you get pretty good at defense."

So far in McKneely's time on campus practicing with the rest of his team, he has been able to elevate every single aspect of his game - not just the three-point shooting - thanks to how deep and talented the Cardinals are.

"Practice is very competitive," he said. "(Kelsey) tries to incorporate different lineups when we go five-on-five, incorporate different teams. He gets us to challenge one another. We're all fighting for playing time, so it's very, very, very competitive. It's only gonna make us better going against each other every single day. When you're playing against as good offense and defense as we have, it's only gonna make you better."

Even Kelsey himself believes that McKneely does not fit the mold of the aforementioned "suburban jump shooter."

"He does not belong in that stereotype in any way, shape or form," Kelsey said odf McKneely earlier this week during media day. "He's a baller, he's a player. He's an all around player, good passer, good playmaker. Extremely athletic. I hate when people say 'sneaky athletic.' He's not. He's athletic. He'll go up and like windmill on you, man. He looks like he's having a ball out there (playing in the system)."

Last season at Virginia, McKneely averaged 14.4 points, 2.9 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 32 starts, while also shooting 43.9 percent from the field. Additionally, not only did he average just 1.5 turnovers per game, his turnover rate of 12.9 was the 19th-lowest of the 81 D1 players to play at least 86 percent of their team's minutes.

A former four-star prospect coming out of college, the Poca, W. Va. native played in every game for UVA as a true freshman, then became a regular starter as a sophomore. During his three seasons in Charlottesville, McKneely totaled 1,089 points, 259 rebounds and 169 assists.

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