WKU Recruiting: Shelbyville’s Dayvion McKnight Becomes First Member of 2020 recruiting class
As the summer recruiting period has come and gone, we were waiting for WKU basketball to get their first member of the 2020 recruiting…
As the summer recruiting period has come and gone, we were waiting for WKU basketball to get their first member of the 2020 recruiting class. On Thursday afternoon, Rick Stansbury closed the deal as top prospect Dayvion McKnight pledged to join the Hilltopper program
McKnight is a 6'2 180-pound guard from Shelbyville, Kentucky (the same hometown as former Hilltopper great A.J. Slaughter. He somehow is still unrated by Rivals and 247 Sports but has started to gain notoriety on the recruiting trail getting recent offers from Northwestern, St Louis, Murray State, South Florida and many others.
McKnight has been Rick Stansbury’s top target since being offered in October of 2018. He has been consistently watched by Stansbury and staff at AAU events and other showcases. He projects to be a point guard but might be a combo guard at the college level. At Collins High School, he averaged 17 points, 10.3 rebounds on 50% shooting during his junior season. He shot 33.3% from three-point range and shot an impressive 79% from the free-throw line during his junior year. According to Pure Prospects, if he can develop his outside shot, the high major offers will flood in.
Here is a highlight of one of his 2019 games
McKnight recruitment reminds me a lot of Taveion Hollinsworth & Dontae Allen’s recruitments. In all cases, Stansbury has identified an up and coming prospect from the Bluegrass State before they blew up. In Hollingsworth’s case, he reeled him in despite interest from P5 schools (he couldn’t convince Allen to join the fray before he ended up going to Kentucky). Look for McKnight to become one of the frontrunners for Mr. Kentucky Basketball in 2020.
McKnight is the first commitment for the 2020 class. The class could have as many as five or six spots available. He’ll instantly be able to contribute and step in for upcoming departures including Camron Justice and Kenny Cooper (if he plays this season). He will become a valuable member of a backcourt that should include Jordan Rawls, Taveion Hollingsworth and Jeremiah Gambrell in 2020–21 season. It will be fascinating to see who is next to join the fray.