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Isaac McKneely Transfer Sweepstakes: Two Rival ACC Programs in the Running

Matt Newton

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Not only is Virginia possibly losing its leading scorer and one of the greatest three-point shooters in its program's history to the transfer portal, but he could also potentially rub salt in the wound by heading to a rival school in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Isaac McKneely, who entered the transfer portal with one year of eligibility after leading the ACC in three-point shooting this season at 42.1%, is rumored to be considering a transfer to either Louisville or North Carolina, while still maintaining the possibility of returning to UVA for his final year of college basketball. Multiple sources have confirmed that the coaching staffs at UNC and Louisville been in contact with McKneely, and an On3+ exclusive report from Joe Tipton on Wednesday afternoon suggested that Louisville, North Carolina, and Virginia are the three leading destinations for McKneely in the transfer portal.

McKneely entered the transfer portal on Monday with a "Do Not Contact" tag. While some consider that to mean that the transferring player already knows where he is going, it could also just mean that a player like McKneely, who knows he is going to draw interest from most major conference programs, would rather take the lead in making contact with the schools he would be interested in transferring to instead of having dozens of coaches blowing up his phone.

McKneely also explicitly stated that he is still considering returning to Virginia for his senior year. There is almost no doubt that new head coach Ryan Odom would gladly welcome back one of the best shooters in the country and be willing to offer McKneely a healthy share of UVA's NIL offering to see that happen. For McKneely, the appeal of finishing his college career and completing his degree at the University of Virginia will be strong, but it could be overridden by the offers made by two programs that are currently better positioned in the college basketball landscape than Virginia, as Odom begins his rebuild.

While UVA has enjoyed a period of dominance over Louisville since the Cardinals joined the ACC more than a decade ago, that came to a crashing halt this season as Pat Kelsey's Cards swept the Cavaliers in convincing fashion on the way to a second-place finish in the ACC standings and a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament. North Carolina, while overall having a disappointing season, also defeated Virginia head-to-head this season and snuck into the NCAA Tournament as one of the last teams in and the Tar Heels have generally gotten the better of the Cavaliers since McKneely arrived at UVA (3-2).

Virginia Basketball: Transfer Portal Contact Live Tracker

We can only guess at how McKneely is weighing the various factors in play in this decision. How much will North Carolina and Louisville offer him in NIL and how does that compare to what UVA can offer? How much value does he place on finishing his degree at Virginia? What about the differences in style of play and coaching philosophies of Hubert Davis, Pat Kelsey, and Ryan Odom? Could Odom help Virginia's case by bringing back a few more of McKneely's UVA teammates from the portal or by retaining a couple of coaches like Kyle Guy or Isaiah Wilkins? Again, we can only speculate.

Virginia has seven players in the transfer portal so far (as of March 26). While that group includes a couple of players with great long-term potential like Anthony Robinson and Jacob Cofie, talents the Cavaliers would love to get back, the player whose return would have by far the greatest impact on Virginia's prospects next season is Isaac McKneely. We'll see how it plays out.

Stay up to date on all the latest Virginia basketball transfer portal activity, including outbound transfers from the current roster and UVA's effort to pursue players in the portal, here:  Virginia Basketball Transfer Portal: Latest News and Updates

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.