Knight's impressive performances raise the bar

Knight's impressive performances raise the bar

By LARRY VAUGHT
larry@amnews.com
August 17, 2010

WINDSOR, Ontario — Maybe the way Brandon Knight played during Kentucky’s three exhibition games was the worst thing that could have happened to the talented freshman point guard.

Remember, he is following John Wall, the No. 1 pick in the June NBA draft.

So what did Knight do? He added to his own hype and only increased expectations that he can lead the Wildcats high into the national rankings and deep into the NCAA tournament, just as Wall did in his one and only year at Kentucky.

He had 31 points in UK’s first win. He came back with 17 points and 12 assists in the second win. And he had 27 points, nine assists, five rebounds and three steals while making only two turnovers Tuesday in Kentucky’s 104-75 victory over Windsor in the last game of the exhibition trip.

All he did was average 25 points and 8.3 assists per game. He made 26 of 56 shots from the field and 20 of 22 free throws to show that having the ball in his hands late in close games will be no problem.

Much like Wall, he’s scary quick. He can explode to the ball offensively or defensively with a lightning-quick first step. He can hit a 3-pointer or drive inside and put up a variety of shots.

And like Wall, he seems to have the perfect demeanor to be a great player and floor leader. He may think score first, pass second a little bit more than Wall did, but he didn’t have two of his best weapons — Enes Kanter and Terrence Jones — to throw the ball to in these games. There was no Patrick Patterson, DeMarcus Cousins or Eric Bledsoe to consistently turn passes into scores as they did for Wall last year.

Is he is as quick as Wall? Kentucky coach John Calipari said Wall and Eric Bledsoe called him after Monday’s game.

“That’s all John Wall does is watch basketball and Kentucky,” Calipari said. “He said, ‘Tell Brandon he is playing good.’ He also said to tell him he is fast, but not as fast as him. That was him saying that, not me.”

Windsor’s Justin Wiltshire says he’s played against numerous American guards, but none as fast as Wall.

“You can’t guard him one on one,” added Windsor forward Andre Smyth, who got a bloody nose when Knight accidentally hit him as he was driving. “There have to be guys on both sides helping out so you can force him to pick the ball up or he goes right by you.”

However, Knight showed time after time that he understands how to play — and that taking a hit is part of the game.

Once in the first half Tuesday he was knocked down as he went for a steal. He got up, smiled and was ready for more. Later in the first half he was chasing a loose ball when he was pushed from behind and crashed through a barrier into the front row of the end zone seats.

Calipari may have quit breathing until he could finally see Knight get back to his feet. However, all Knight did was get up and walk calmly to the free-throw line with no show of emotion or frustration.

The only time Knight seemed to even come close to showing any frustration was when he was fouled hard on a dunk.

“On his dunk he got a little riled up. I tried to break it up. I didn’t want him in any altercation,” Kentucky guard DeAndre Liggins said. “I look up to him. He works very hard on and off the court. He is good teammate to be around. He is always working on his game to try and get better.”

Knight didn’t change his style of play as the Kentucky lead grew to 30 points late in the game. He ran the court to get open to hit a 3-pointer, then hit a runner in the lane. The next time, he penetrated and threw a perfect touch pass to center Josh Harrellson.

You just can’t coach having a player going all out in an exhibition game in Canada on a Tuesday morning in front of less than 2,000 fans.

“Brandon Knight is tremendous player. He is very smart. Coach Cal says this might be one of smartest teams he has ever coached. Brandon Knight brings different level IQ to game. He sees about everything even if you don’t,” Kentucky senior Josh Harrellson said.

Calipari says the main thing now is for Knight to continue to recognize defenses and what to do in specific situations.

“There are things he has to learn. Every time he drives for a layup, he has to think dunk first and then lay it off the glass,” Calipari said. “He has to get that mentality, but he has never played that way. He can go dunk, but he has not played that way. But he gets five people involved, and he really did good.”