By SAM LANCE
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — Class of 2025 top-175 prospect Keith McKnight will take an official visit to Florida Gulf Coast sometime in September or early October, he told ZAGSBLOG.
McKnight — the 6-foot-5, 180-pound wing from Hudson Catholic (NJ) and the PSA Cardinals Nike EYBL AAU program — is also hearing from Fairfield, Fordham, NJIT, Old Dominion, Towson and VCU. He has reported offers from the likes of Charleston, Iona, Fairfield, Manhattan, NJIT, Robert Morris and St. Bonaventure.
He broke down some of his options to ZAGSBLOG:
Fairfield: “I’ve visited Fairfield. I’ve been speaking with Fairfield, built a nice relationship with them. They have a really nice campus. I really enjoyed that visit. I spoke to coach Taj Benning. I used to watch them when I was younger, used to watch coach Benning at Bergen Catholic. I used to study his game because he was like me. Hustle player. He would get to the basket. Wing. Slasher. So yeah he was pretty good and I have a good relationship with him.”
FGCU: “I’ve been talking to coach [Andrew] Francis. He’s really cool. He talks to me, breaking down my game and film. He’s really a leader for real. So I really look up to him and I’m looking forward to visiting that school.”
Fordham: “I really spoke to Fordham my early seasons of high school, so like my freshman year. I spoke to them out of my first year in EYBL. And yeah I’ve built a relationship and recently they have offered me. One of my fellow teammates, he used to go to Bergen Catholic, Will Richardson. He’s one of my big bros for real. I used to be in the gym with him and all of that.”
NJIT: “I recently visited them a few months ago. I spoke to coach Grant [Billmeier] from out of there. I’ve built a nice relationship. Saw a workout. [The campus] is all closed in, so it’s small. Everything is easy to get to. Food is close by. So you really don’t have to leave campus to get food. The coaches are really cool. The players are good.”
Old Dominion: “I’ve been speaking to the coach [Mike Jones]. He’s built a good relationship with me. I’ve seen him at some of my live periods. He’s really cool. He knows my high school coach. Him and my high school coach have a good relationship and they’ve sent a few players down there. So he liked my game and he’s been speaking to me.”
Towson: “I’ve been talking to coach [Parfait] Bitee. One of my previous teammates from my other school, Teaneck High School, [Tyler Tejada] went there. And they saw my game because I was showcasing my guard skills over there. They liked me from there.”
VCU: “I don’t know much about them. That’s like a new relationship I’m building right now. So I’m going to do all the research I can.”
At Peach Jam, McKnight averaged 8.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. His best game came against the Indy Heat, where he scored 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting. McKnight also had an impressive game vs. one of the best teams on the circuit, the Oakland Soldiers, nearing a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds.
“I’m an athletic wing,” McKnight said of his game. “Hustle player. Get to the basket, slasher. I can shoot the open three. I’m willing to do the things people aren’t willing to do. So I’m diving on the floor. I’m boxing out the bigger person. I’m rebounding. I’m hustling up the floor. So I’m just a utility player.”
McKnight said he has really been working on his guard skills this summer to grow his game. At the next level, he projects to play on the wing and will need to be versatile.
“I’ve been working on my jump shot, getting to the paint, playing off two feet, finishing,” McKnight said. “I’ve been talking to some coaches and they’ve really been telling me to just develop my jump shot. So I really wanted to showcase my jump shot. I’ve been shooting more shots. Corner three. Top of the key. Whenever I’m open I’m just letting it fly.”
McKnight is ranked the No. 167 overall prospect in the 2025 class by 247Sports and the No. 3 player in the state of New Jersey. His favorite NBA player is Anthony Edwards.
“Keith is a hard working kid who’s just scratching the surface,” PSA head coach Casey Williams said. “Once it all comes together, the ceiling is pretty high.”
An interesting fact about McKnight is he likes to make music with his friends. His buddies call him “Chief Keith.”
“We’ll come to each others houses and just try to make a song,” McKnight said. “We aren’t that official yet. We’re getting there though.”
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