Player Profile: 6'7 '19 Justin McKoy (Panther Creek/Team Loaded)
The development process heavily differs from one player to the next, which is what makes Justin
McKoy's recent uptick in play so interesting. The skilled, 6-foot-7 forward has always possessed
natural basketball ability, but his work ethic and slight body transformation have taken him to
another level as a prospect. Over the last year, McKoy battled back from an injury and went from
a strong-bodied stretch four to a lean, versatile forward while carving out a prominent role with
Team Loaded. This isn't surprising though, given how well he's handled the pressure as the guy
with Panther Creek for multiple years. So how did this correlate to his recruitment' Well, he held
four offers: College of Charleston, Hampton, FIU, and Campbell before suiting up for the April
evaluation period. Throughout his summer campaign, McKoy collected offers from Kansas
State, UNCG, McNeese State, Penn State, Middle Tennessee, Hofstra, Lehigh, Murray State, and
Louisiana Tech. Each offer was well-deserved, given how much success he's seen over the last
few months.
In terms of on-court ability, McKoy is quite intriguing and could fill a variety of different roles at
the college level. Though slimmer, he still possesses a nice amount of strength, but now has the
necessary quickness to frequently take opponents off the dribble. McKoy has built his foundation
as a faceup/stretch forward, but can also do damage on the low block. He truly fits the mold of a
three-level scorer, which is likely his best attribute. However, McKoy has done a terrific job of
building other areas of his game. His strides as a passer and playmaker have been noticeable, and
he emerged as one of the most unselfish guys on Team Loaded. He isn't going to force the action
on offense and displays a great feel for the game. McKoy's overall patience and IQ make him a
significant threat with or without the ball. Multi-tool players are becoming an increasingly
popular commodity in today's basketball, and that's where McKoy comes into play, especially
given his size. Prospects that can generate their own offense and stretch defenses without the ball
are very useful nowadays. Add in McKoy's size, and opponents are going to continue to struggle
with his offensive arsenal.
The forward prospect has secured a flurry of quality scholarship offers already, but programs are
likely to ramp up their pursuit over the next year, especially if he maintains this high level of
play. McKoy is going to have an interesting recruitment process going forward, seeing as how he
could still play in numerous different settings in the collegiate ranks. People will be looking to
place a label on his level, but he really would be a seamless fit in most programs. There should
be a lot of excitement surrounding McKoy's senior season at Panther Creek, as it could be his
breakout year.