High School: Pine Crest Hometown: Coral Springs, FL
adidas Nations Experience: 2010/11 High School Prospects August 20, 2008 Although we prefer not to evaluate high school players multiple times over a very short span, it’s been very tough to ignore Brandon Knight (#5 Scout, #8 Rivals, #1 ESPN) every time we’ve watched him play. Knight was the primary ball-handler for the 2010 team, and he definitely caught the eyes of the NBA scouts we talked to early on with his outstanding play, although he came down to earth later in the week and showed many of his flaws.
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When Knight is at his best, he is making shots from the perimeter, showing outstanding court vision, breaking down defenders from the perimeter, finishing exceptionally well at the rim, and generally making the game look very easy for both himself and his teammates. He has a knack for making simple plays and an outstanding sense for finding teammates cutting to the rim, but also has the advantage of being an extremely big point guard at 6-3 with the athleticism to blow by his man, dunk everything inside the paint and come up with quite a few blocks, steals and rebounds on the other side of the court.
About eight months removed from surgery to remove a cyst on his spine that sidelined him for two months, Knight looks a lot more athletic now than the first time we evaluated him. While not a freak like Derrick Rose, that part of his game is never going to be what holds him back from developing into a top prospect.
The weaknesses that Knight showed revolve around many of the same problems that young point guards this age suffer from—playing too fast and out of control, turning the ball over, showing poor shot-selection, and being inconsistent from game to game and possession to possession. He competes on the defensive end, but has a tendency to gamble too much for steals rather than playing fundamental sound. Also he clearly needs to work on his left hand, as he strongly favors driving to his right, which is fine at this level and in AAU-type settings where there is no advanced scouting.
Watching Knight play for his high school team, you get a different feel for the type of player he is, much more poised and under control, less concerned with scoring and not prone to taking those terrible off-balance 3-pointers early in possessions that we saw all summer. When he goes back to playing real basketball in a more structured environment, the hope is that he’ll be able to shake free of these poor fundamentals of summer basketball. Considering the feel for the game he displays at his incredibly young, that likely won’t be too much of an issue. [Read Full Article] adidas Nations Experience 2008: NCAA Counselors,High School Interviews August 12, 2008
Initial Scouting Reports, High School Classes of 2010 and 2011 August 1, 2008 We’ve spoken at length about Knight previously this year, as even though he was just a sophomore he’s received a great deal of attention very early on in his career so far. Knight looked a little bit better in his regular high school setting than he did here in AAU, as the frenetic pace his team likes to play at seems to take away somewhat from what his biggest strength is—the terrific poise and composure he shows for such a young point guard. Knight is still the same extremely unselfish playmaker we saw back in July, but he seems to be shooting the ball far too much from behind the arc. He’s not the most consistent shooter by any stretch of the imagination, especially off the dribble, as his shooting mechanics are not the best and he definitely didn’t show much hesitation hoisting up questionable shots.
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Knight is still an extremely intriguing young player, though, as he has great size for a point guard, an excellent feel for the game, a nice first step beating opponents off the dribble, and the ability to change directions smoothly and take the ball extremely aggressively to the rack. Knight can really defend when he wants to, but he seems to gamble a little too much for steals, which might be his team’s game-plan.
It’s hard to argue with the results…as Team Breakdown won their bracket in the Reebok tournament, and won the AAU Nationals in Orlando both this year and last. [Read Full Article] South Florida Showdown: Kenny Boynton vs. Brandon Knight January 29, 2008 Brandon Knight (#3 Scout, #2 Rivals), only a high school sophomore, is already an incredibly complete player for his age. He was forced to sit out for a few months until just three weeks ago after undergoing back surgery, but looked to be in pretty good shape on Friday.
Knight has excellent size for the point guard position, and a frame that should fill out in time. The first thing that stands out about him is the terrific feel for the game he displays on the basketball court. The sophomore plays under control for the most part, looking extremely mature for a player his age, and rarely forcing the issue offensively. He understands the game, reads the floor well, and looks to get all his teammates involved, handling the ball extremely well, and creating shots intelligently for both himself and others thanks to his excellent court vision. His demeanor on the floor is terrific—unselfish, poised, and active—everything we can see and have heard speaks volumes about his character, which is incredibly important for a highly regarded player this young, trying to stay on top.
Offensively, Knight can get to the basket with either hand, showing great timing and a knack for getting his shot off in a variety of ways, particularly with a pretty right-handed floater. He has 3-point range on his shot, but still needs to get more consistent with this part of his game over the next few years. He looked solid in warm-ups, but could still stand to improve his range and get better shooting the ball off the dribble. He’s extremely intelligent in transition, maybe unselfish to a fault at times. Getting stronger will help him finishing around the rim against stronger competition. He didn’t show much of a mid-range game in this particular outing either.
Defensively, Knight is extremely impressive, getting right in his man’s face, and putting terrific pressure on the ball. He has excellent hands in the passing lanes, and is very active looking to make things happen. On one particular possession he went out and grabbed three separate offensive rebounds, until he finally managed to put the ball in the basket.
Although it might be a little early to judge (particularly considering that he just returned to the court after back surgery), at this stage it doesn’t appear that Knight is the most explosive athlete you’ll find. His first step is good, but not incredible, and his vertical leap is just solid. Watching him play, you don’t get the feeling that he has unlimited upside.
Knight appears to be on the right track to developing into a terrific basketball player. His experience and all-around skill-level still need plenty of work, but he’s a pretty impressive prospect considering his age. He would be wise to continue and develop his point guard skills, as he might be tempted to dominate high school games with his scoring against weaker competition over the next few years, but in the long run it’ll surely pay off for him to be a pass-first playmaker who can also score when needed. [Read Full Article]
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