University of Kansas Coach Bill Self visited in-home with the top-rated point guard and 4th rated player overall in the ESPNU 100 basketball recruitment ranking for the class of 2010, Brandon Knight. The 6’3” guard from Ft. Lauderdale was unavailable for comment about how the visit went, but his mother Turgenia Knight spoke about the weekend meeting with www.theshiver.com on Sunday evening.
“The visit (from Coach Self) went very well,” said Turgenia Knight. “Brandon finally got a chance to sit down one-on-one with (Self) and discuss style of play and how he coaches and how his game would fit (at Kansas).”
“Brandon has always had high thoughts of KU and the basketball program, but now he has a better feel for Coach Self and what Kansas is about,” Knight added.
According to Knight, her son has not had the chance to focus on too many meetings with elite level coaches like Self. However, she noted that he is taking the process one step at a time and is trying to do it the right way and that he is being very diligent. He still has one-on-one visits scheduled with Syracuse and Duke before he starts the next step in his process–official campus visits.
As for Knight’s scheduled official visit to Kansas on “Late Night in the Phog” on October 16th?
“Brandon had to cancel his visit to Kansas on ‘Late Night’ because he wants to go to his homecoming dance at (Pine Crest high School),” said Turgenia Knight. “He is going to reschedule a visit at Kansas for another time, but they have not set a new time yet.”
There had been a rumor floating around that Knight had given the University of Miami a verbal, but there is nothing to that rumor according to his mother.
“Brandon has not given a verbal to anybody. His recruitment is still open, and is still open to (Kansas),” she said. “It is a step by step process. Next step is to get on campuses and see what the schools are actually like,” Knight added.
Along with Kansas, Knight currently list Kentucky, Miami, UCONN, Florida, Duke, and Syracuse among others.
Take a look at the May, 2009 evaluation of Knight from ESPN Scout’s, Inc.
May, 2009: Knight continues to separate himself in the class of 2010. As he prepares for his season this point guard is a difference maker with his game and presence. He is at his best in the open court advancing the ball down the middle of the floor with speed and vision. He rebounds down from the defensive boards and runs with the ball attacking the basket, looking to score from his penetration or making the assist to an open teammates. He has added the throw-ahead pass to his game where he takes the outlet looks down the floor first with vision and throws a pass to the open man this is the way great point guards handle the break. In the half court he can go by his defender at will with an explosive quick first step but recently he has shown a change of speed with the ball as he attacks his defender using a nice hesitation crossover then blow by the defense. Once he gets in the lane he possesses a strong pull-up jumper in the middle game or displays good body control and finishes through contact with his stronger body frame. His long range jumper is improving as he demonstrated the ability to hit the 3 pt shot off the catch or dribble although he still is not considered a shooter he does now make shots more that ever. He once went to the rim every time he touched the ball now he reads the defense and takes the appropriate shot. He should work on his weak hand (left hand dribble moves) so the defense does not sit on his right hand to stop him. Defensively he works at getting back in transition to stop the ball while his on ball pressure is excellent. Knight’s floor leadership and basketball IQ are evolving along with his poise as he now becomes the target each and every game to for opponents to stop. He excels in the transition game and is becoming adept at running a team he is a special player.
