by Andrew Hardison
For the past several months—at least since the college basketball fall signing period began—many Kentucky fans have wondered what is going through the head of high-school sensation Brandon Knight, the nation’s #1 recruit according to Rivals.com.
Most of those questions usually come in the form of where will Knight play basketball or where does Kentucky stand in his recruitment?
We all know that Kentucky is at the top of Knight’s list, with UK head coach John Calipari having just made a stop in Dayton, Ohio to take in a game at the ‘Flyin’ to the Hoops’ tournament, which featured Knight and his Pine Crest high-school team.
Knight went on to score 39 points in front of Calipari and assistant Orlando Antigua, who were in attendance to see what the senior was all about. Pine Crest defeated an Ohio team led by former UK recruit Adreian Payne 68-61 when all was said and done. Knight was also selected to this year’s Nike Hoops Summit team which consists of the nation’s best high-school seniors.
The fact that Knight and Kentucky are involved isn’t surprising in the least.
Calipari covets these type of point guards—more of a hybrid guard that molds a point guards instincts with a shooting guards outside/slashing game—and Knight is one of them.
Just take a look at Calipari’s past three lead guards.
He developed former Memphis stars Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans into bona fide NBA superstars who are already performing at an ‘elite’ level. Evans—current Sacramento Kings point guard—has quite an impressive stat line for a rookie (20.8 PTS, 5.0 REB, 5.0 AST) and is among the favorites to win the 2010 NBA Rookie of the Year award.
Rose had an equally impressive rookie season in the NBA, as he was selected #1 in June’s draft by the Chicago Bulls two years ago. Like Evans this season, Rose produced a noteworthy stat line (16.8 PTS, 6.3 AST, 3.9 REB) that helped the Bulls push their way into the playoffs. He dazzled everyone during a heated 7-game series against the Celtics, when Rose went ballistic averaging 19.7 PTS, 6.3 REB, 6.4 AST per game.
With all of the talk of NBA superstars, there is still yet another Calipari point guard that has made national headlines since day 1.
That would be Kentucky’s own John Wall who has also dazzled spectators around the nation, with performances against Miami (OH), UNC, and UConn building upon his already short legacy at UK. Wall has taken the ‘bull by the horns’ type approach to his freshmen season leading the Wildcats to an (18-0) while averaging a team high 17.1 points and 6.9 assists per game. He’s without a doubt the #1 NBA Draft pick of this June’s NBA Draft and will go down in history as one of college basketball’s most electrifying point guards.
What is so impressive about all of this is the way Calipari has developed these prospects into full-blown NBA talent and given each of these three individuals an opportunity to succeed at the next level.
So much so, that Calipari may as well be the best developer of point guards in college basketball right now. With the success of Rose, Evans, and now Wall at Kentucky, Brandon Knight is the next prospect in line to create that kind of national news.
That is why it’s a no brainer.
Knight should pick Kentucky.
When all is said and done, Knight will undoubtedly be the best point guard in the nation under the tutelage of Calipari all while improving his chances of excelling at the next level: the NBA. Kentucky would once again have the pleasure of seeing one of college’s most impressive athletes, all of it coming right on their own home floor.
We may have to wait until the spring signing period, but all I know is that Knight would look tremendous playing in Kentucky blue.
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