Brandon Knight
Knight spent most of his senior season as the consensus No. 1 recruit and was dealing with comparisons to John Wall even before he picked Kentucky in April. He hit the game-winning three-pointer in this year’s McDonald’s All-American Game and is just the third player to win the Gatorade Player of the Year Award twice. Knight chose UK over Kansas, Connecticut and Florida, pointing to John Calipari’s success with point guards Wall, Tyreke Evans and Derrick Rose as a reason for picking the Cats. His dedication in the classroom has many believing he’ll spend more than one season at UK before jumping to the NBA.
Status: UK signee
Position: Point guard
Number: 11
Height: 6-3
Weight: 185
Hometown: Coral Springs, Fla.
High school: Pine Crest
Rivals ranking: No. 6 overall, No. 3 PG
Scout ranking: No. 6 overall, No. 3 PG
ESPN ranking: No. 4 overall, No. 2 PG
MaxPreps ranking: No. 3 overall
Henry Ray Abrams | McDonald’s
| Date | Opp. | Result | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. 1 | Benjamin | W, 59-12 | 25 pts, 3 asts, 4 stls |
| Dec. 3 | Summit Christian | W, 75-62 | 42 pts, 11 rebs, 4 asts |
| Dec. 4 | St. Andrews | W, 80-55 | 33 pts, 12 rebs, 5 asts |
| Dec. 5 | Berkeley Prep | W, 73-40 | 27 pts, 5 asts, 3 stls |
| Dec. 10 | Palmetto | W, 93-66 | 36 pts, 9 rebs, 4 asts |
| Dec. 10 | Monsignor Pace | W, 61-46 | 26 pts, 5 rebs, 3 asts |
| Dec. 12 | University | W, 72-56 | 27 pts, 10 rebs 4 asts |
| Dec. 15 | Coral Springs Charter | W, 64-22 | No Stats |
| Dec. 18 | Coral Springs Christian | W, 81-63 | 30 pts |
| Dec. 19 | Northeast | L, 55-51 | 16 pts |
| Dec. 21 | Quality Education Academy (N.C.) | L, 83-61 | 32 pts |
| Jan. 5 | Pompano Beach | W, 65-23 | No Stats |
| Jan. 9 | Cardinal Gibbons | W, 81-65 | 41 pts, 5 rebs, 3 stls |
| Jan. 12 | Archbishop McCarthy | W, 89-48 | 40 pts |
| Jan. 16 | Princeton (OH) | W, 64-61 | 36 pts |
| Jan. 18 | Jefferson (OH) | W, 68-61 | 39 pts |
| Jan. 20 | North Broward Prep | W, 74-34 | 33 pts |
| Jan. 22 | University | W, 66-49 | 32 pts, 5 asts |
| Jan. 27 | Grandview Prep | W, 90-70 | 49 pts |
| Jan. 29 | American Heritage | W, 80-71 | 35 pts, 8 threes |
| Feb. 2 | Florida Air Academy | L, 63-62 | 42 pts |
| Feb. 5 | Winter Park | L, 87-76 | 48 pts |
| Feb. 12 | Pompano Beach | W, 69-38 | 24 pts, 9 rebs, 5 asts |
| Feb. 13 | American Heritage | W, 72-67 | 35 pts, 10 rebs, 5 asts, 5 stls |
| Feb. 18 | Clewiston | W, 67-37 | 27 pts, 13 rebs, 5 stls |
| Feb. 23 | Glades Central | W, 99-69 | 48 pts, 13 rebs, 6 asts, 6 stls |
| Feb. 27 | University | W, 66-52 | 27 pts |
| March 3 | Williston | W, 77-63 | 25 pts |
| March 4 | Tallahassee Rickards | L, 70-46 | 18 pts |
HIGHLIGHTS
April 9, 2009: Knight becomes just the fourth junior to win the Florida Mr. Basketball award. He averaged 31.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists and shot 81 percent from the free-throw line in leading Pine Crest to its second consecutive state championship.
June 21, 2009: Knight averaged 15.3 points per game at the NBA Players Association Elite 100 High School Basketball Camp in Virginia and was the leading vote-getter among his peers for the camp’s all-star game. The Miami Herald said Knight “dominated” fellow top point guard recruit Kyrie Irving, who has since signed with Duke. Knight also won the camp’s hardest-working player award.
December 2009: Knight is one of 10 high school seniors named to the Naismith Boys’ High School Player of the Year Award watch list honoring the nation’s best high school player. The list will be cut to five in February.
Feb. 11, 2010: Knight is one of 24 high school seniors named a McDonald’s All-American. He will play with several other UK recruits in the nation’s premier high school all-star game March 31 in Columbus.
March 23, 2010: Florida drops its recruitment of Knight, leading most to believe he will end up signing with Kentucky. See story.
March 23, 2010: Knight becomes only the third men’s basketball player to repeat as the national Gatorade Player of the Year, joining LeBron James and Greg Oden. See story.
March 24, 2010: The honors continue for Knight, who is named Florida’s Mr. Basketball for the second consecutive season. See story.
March 31, 2010: Knight scores nine points and hits the game-winning three-pointer in the McDonald’s All-American Game. See story.
April 14 , 2010: Knight signs with Kentucky. See story.
NEWS ARCHIVES
March 7, 2009: Knight scores 27 points and leads Pine Crest to its second straight state championship. See story.
March 31, 2009: Knight is named the Gatorade National Player of the Year, a rare feat for a junior. See story.
Nov. 19, 2009: The Miami Herald profiles Knight before he begins his senior season at Pine Crest. See story.
Feb. 10, 2010: The South Florida Sun-Sentinel has a nice feature story summing up Brandon Knight’s high school career. See story.
April 7, 2010: An in-depth ESPN profile of Knight and his athletic and academic accomplishments. See story.
QUOTES
John Calipari on Knight: “When you hear the name Brandon Knight, you think about a warrior on and off the court. This young man is as driven as any other player that I’ve ever coached. The possibility of having a year of credits before he enters college is unbelievable.”
Basketball analyst Tom Konchalski on Knight: “The bottom line is, he’s a 4.0 student, and that’s going to translate over to the court. He’ll do what John Calipari asks him to do.”
Knight on Knight: “There’s always going to be comparisons no matter where you go. I don’t look at it as pressure. I’m just going to go there and try to fulfill my potential the best I can.”
