Could Isaac McKneely Be an Undrafted Free Agent Target for the Hornets?

Taking a look at the sharpshooter from Louisville.

Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

After discussing big Charlotte Hornets' workoutees Tre Carroll and Keba Keita, today we're switching to the backcourt, to Isaac McKneely to be exact.

The 22-year-old senior out of Louisville is a premier marksman, but can he provide anything else? Let's find out!

McKneely was a standout in West Virginia before he ever set foot on a college court. He was named the best high school player in the state twice (2021,2022), and led his Poca High Dots to a state championship in 2022.

A consensus four-star recruit, McKneely committed to Virginia. There, he would go from spot minutes off the bench in year one to a bona fide starter in years two and three.

With one year of eligibility left, a change of scenery was due. Louisville came knocking and presented the opportunity to start on a team with big aspirations.

Those never really came to be as injuries to the Cardinals' star player derailed their season a bit. Nevertheless, it was another solid year for McKneely, who absorbed the step up in competition well.

Stats

Season	Team	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	3P%	FT%
22-23	Virginia	21.5	6.7	2.2	0.7	42.3	39.2	70.8
23-24	Virginia	32.5	12.3	3.0	2.6	40.9	44.5	84.7
24-25	Virginia	34.4	14.4	2.7	1.9	43.9	42.1	81.4
25-26	Louisville	28.9	10.9	3.0	1.4	41.6	39.5	86.0

Strengths

As established throughout this article, McKneely can make threes like few others can. He doesn't create his own shots; 95% of his three-pointers at Louisville were assisted.

But his gravity as a shooter coming off screens commands a lot of attention. The feeling for when to let the ball fly and when to let his defender fly by with a pump fake is fantastic.

In general, when McKneely gets to work with a screen, you can expect him to not only be fundamentally sound while using it but also make good decisions once he's received the ball.

For example, In the clip below, you can see him being guarded by Duke guard Cayden Boozer, one of college basketball's smarter defensive guards.

McKneely initially motions to hard-curl around the screen and takes a step into the midrange. Once he realised he had gained a step on Boozer, he adjusted and took advantage.

Instead of committing to the drive towards a midrange turnaround jumper, he lets Boozer take one step in his direction, then pivots to move contrary to him.

Boozer does a solid job recovering and actually manages to put up a contest. But McKneely's ability to quickly set his feet and get into his shooting motion despite the preceding changes of direction enables him to get the shot up and in.

Room for Improvement

As a 6'4 guard who exerts tons of energy on offense, sprinting around screens and being bumped, life on the defensive end isn't easy. But McKneely is a competitor, and that helps. He visibly communicates a lot and has a solid enough feel for how the opponent's possession will progress, allowing him to be in the right spot regularly.

With his build, McKneely will always be someone teams try to involve in action, no matter his effort, but with solid defensive personnel around him, he can be passable. For example, according to Barttorvik.com, he did have the second-lowest defensive BPM for Louisville, but it was still at a non-destructive 1.1.

McKneely's biggest fault is probably that he doesn't possess any valuable ancillary skills. He doesn't rebound the ball well, adds no playmaking or initiative qualities offensively, and over the course of his college career, he has only converted 48.8 percent of his shots at the rim.

When trying to think of 6'4-ish players who are NBA mainstays, whose primary quality is their off-ball movement and catch-and-shoot ability, Sam Merrill from the Cleveland Cavaliers comes to mind.

But while Merrill's shooting is his calling card, he is actually valuable in many other ways. His turnovers are pretty low; he's a solid finisher on limited attempts at the rim, draws offensive fouls, and is a really good passer when he's created an advantage coming off a screen.

Comparing McKneely's senior year to that of Merrill, the latters well-roundedness stands out:

Barttorvik.com

Fit with the Hornets

It's difficult to see how McKneeley can stick around the NBA. The most realistic pathway would be through showing out in the Summer League, like fellow shooters AJ Green and Cormac Ryan did for the Milwaukee Bucks, earning them NBA minutes.

With the Hornets being a team that already has shooters en masse, it's even harder to envision McKneely playing a role on their NBA roster anytime soon. But he would be a viable option for the Greensboro Swarm, where the Hornets could see if he can contribute beyond his shooting, and if he does, he'd fit into the fast-paced and three-point-reliant offense of Charles Lee.

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