Brandon Knight: Third time is the Charm
Do not vote for me once, shame on me. Do not vote for me twice, shame on you. Do not vote for me a third time… there is a flaw in the system.
Being wrapped up in an undefeated season sometimes it is hard to take a step outside of the college basketball world and smell the NBA roses. Brandon Knight, former great at Kentucky had a slow start coming into the league but has found his footing and it is paying off.
Knight is averaging 17.7 points per game, dishing out 5.4 assists, and most importantly, he is winning games for his team. When 2nd overall pick Jabari Parker fell to an ACL tear early in the season, it seemed as if tanking would be the only option for the Bucks… Brandon Knight had other plans. Currently the Milwaukee Bucks are sitting at 6th in the eastern conference with a 29-23 record, that is already 14 more wins than the Bucks had all of last season! The NBA has taken notice of the up and coming star… possibly all star.
When the all star rosters were announced however, his name was not on the list. In the guard positions you have former Wildcat John Wall, former Wildcat brother Jeff Teague, Kyrie Irving, Kyle Lowry, and future Hall of Famer Dwayne Wade.
With Dwayne Wade nursing a hamstring injury, he decided that he would bypass this years events and let somebody fill his spot. The Marquette guard who knocked Kentucky out of the NCAA tournament back in his college days tried to make up for it with some support for Brandon Knight.
"“If I had a say, Brandon Knight,” Wade said of his recommendation for a replacement. “I think it would be fitting for a Miami guy to take an honorary Miami guy’s spot. I think he’s done a great job of leading that team that a lot of people didn’t give a chance, to being a very good team that’s respected.”"
With words of wisdom from one of the better shooting guards to ever play the game, the decision was all left upon Commissioner Adam Silver’s shoulders. I will go on the record to say that since his take over, the NBA has been flowing in a great direction and his ideas in place are innovating and exciting. Unfortunately, Adam Silver let the Big Blue Nation down and chose Kyle Korver over Brandon Knight. In his defense, Kyle Korver is shooting 52.8 percent on the best team in the East.
"With Wade stepping aside, it opened a spot in the East that was filled by commissioner Adam Silver. Korver is averaging 12.9 points per game and shooting 52.8 percent from 3-point range for the Hawks (43-10), who have the NBA’s best record and are sending three All-Stars to New York, in addition to coach Mike Budenholzer."
The odds might not be in Brandon Knight’s favor this year… or maybe they will be, there is still hope. Hometown player Carmelo Anthony currently has tendon damage in his knee and may sit out of this weekend’s festivities. The only thing keeping him in so far is that he is just that, the hometown player. Fans from New York have had to struggle with watching the worst team in basketball all season, all they want is to see their favorite player play in the all star game.
I guess you could classify it as living on a prayer, but there is still hope for Brandon Knight to become the 4th Kentucky player named to the all star game roster. Knight looks to join John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Anthony Davis if he is able to play. These highlights of the evolution of number 11 have convinced me, now on to the waiting game.