Top transfer target Issac McBride takes official recruiting visit to Wichita State
Wichita State is zeroing in on an elite scorer in the NCAA transfer portal with ties to men’s basketball head coach Paul Mills.
Issac McBride, who averaged 19.8 points per game this past season at Oral Roberts, is wrapping up his official visit to Wichita State on Saturday. It is believed to be his first official visit since entering the transfer portal on Tuesday.
McBride spent time at the WSU baseball game at Eck Stadium on Friday afternoon, then listened to a recruiting pitch to reunite with Mills and current WSU assistant Kenton Paulino, who both coached McBride for two seasons at Oral Roberts from 2021-23.
McBride, a 6-foot-1 lead ball-handler, averaged 11.8 points and 2.6 assists per game for Mills’ final team at Oral Roberts, which went a perfect 18-0 in league play and won the Summit League tournament championship.
Following the departure of Mills and star players in Max Abmas (Texas) and Connor Vanover (Missouri), McBride became the focal point of the offense for the Golden Eagles, who labored through a 12-19 season. He made 44.8% of his shots from the field, 39.4% of his 3-pointers on more than five attempts per game and shot 89% from the foul line.
This past season showed he was capable of shouldering a large offensive load (26.6 usage rate) while remaining efficient (114.0 offensive rating). That’s the exact kind of score-first lead guard who has thrived under Mills’ system in the past.
Synergy logs show McBride did a lot of his damage in the pick-and-roll game, where he ranked in the 80th percentile nationally in scoring efficiency on high volume. He was a three-level scorer for Oral Roberts, capable of punishing defenders who ducked under screens, reading drop coverage and pulling up for mid-range jumpers or beating both his defender and the big to the rim and finishing over contests.
While scoring is the primary focus for McBride, he was decisive and accurate in his decision-making when making passes to others. He finished with 97 assists and just 53 turnovers for a minuscule 10.7% turnover rate, an impressive mark for someone who had the ball in his hands as much as him. For reference, WSU’s three leaders in assists all had turnover rates north of 20%.
For a team that struggled with ball handling, outside shooting and efficient scoring, McBride appears to be the perfect fit for what WSU needs. And with the built-in connection with Mills and Paulino, there’s a chemistry that could convince McBride to spend his last season of college basketball playing for the Shockers.
He has yet to publicize a list of potential suitors since entering the transfer portal on Tuesday, but it is believed that McBride has been attracting interest from high-major programs.
A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, McBride was named the 2019 Arkansas Gatorade Player of the Year and led his high school to three straight state championships. He originally signed with Kansas out of high school, but transferred before playing a game and played his freshman year at Vanderbilt. He then transferred to Oral Roberts, where he has spent the last three seasons.
WSU currently has four scholarships to offer in its 2024 recruiting class, which has a pair of incoming freshmen in Texas guard Zion Pipkin and Wichita wing TJ Williams, the 2024 Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year.
It’s still early in the transfer portal season, but currently WSU has returning rotation players in Quincy Ballard, Harlond Beverly, Xavier Bell, Ronnie DeGray III and Bijan Cortes still on the roster. Meanwhile, Rogers, Kenny Pohto, Isaac Abidde and Jalen Ricks are currently exploring other options in the transfer portal.
