McKie seemed to be playing with a heightened sense of aggression and confidence from the point of attack offensively. It seemed like whenever the offense broke down or McKie got the ball off a quick swing, he was using his burst get to his spot off the dribble before rising up and netting pull-up jumpers. Justin’s brother, Julian, missed the majority of the game that I watched against Malvern, so Justin’s production meant that much more keeping his team in striking distance. He had good control of initiating sets in a half court setting while keeping pressure on the defense at all time as a guy who can put the ball in the bucket on command throughout Friday evening.

Blossoming quickly in real time, McKie is still developing his overall consistency but is putting some really intriguing pieces together as shown in a handful of explosive performances throughout the summer. A budding on-ball presence with a quickly developing frame, he grew into a key piece for Team Final ‘s undefeated Peach Jam title team, saving his best for when it mattered most with a clutch final game and quarter to seal the championship. He takes on more of a playmaking role on the high school side while showing enticing flashes in pick-and-roll play. With bloodlines strongly in his favor, the upside is there for McKie to continue to rise as he gets more comfortable in his body moving forward.

McKie jumps into the top 30 in this update but gets mentioned in this list more for the possibility that he continues to climb from here. The emerging guard has jumped from the JV team to a starting point guard role for an above-.500 Catholic League team. He’s a dynamic 3-point shooter with deep range and a quick release while growing into both a ballhandling role and his rapidly-growing frame. McKie has tacked on at least a couple inches in the past year and is still in the infantile stages of adding weight or functional strength. With how quickly he’s starting to develop, and bloodlines heavily in his favor, the upside could ultimately land him much higher than here if he continues to mature in both his game and body.