Brandon Knight Scores 17 As Kentucky Wildcats Beat Buccaneers, 88-65

Posted by CoHoops Josh Dhani

No John Wall, no problem. The Kentucky Wildcats had nothing to worry about and they didn't even lose a single notch, beating the East Tennessee Buccaneers, 88-65, in the team's season-opener.
While Wall is dishing it out in the NBA with the Washington Wizards, Brandon Knight is the new-coming of Wall for the Wildcats. Knight is a point guard and can make great plays also. John Calipari was quoted saying that Knight is in fact a better shooter than Wall. That's good to hear.

Speaking of Knight, he had 17 points and a handful of great highlights, with a few dunks, too.

Calipari was worrying if prized center Enes Kanter will play or not. But there was no need to worry as the freshman stood up. Terrence Jones had 25 points and twelve rebounds and Doron Lamb had 20 points.

"Our freshmen played well," Calipari said. "They've got to get steadier, got to get rougher and tougher."

The Wildcats shot a solid 50-percent from the three-point line along with only just ten turnovers.

"I think we're the best team that can shoot 3s, that's what coach said, in the country," Lamb said.

Isiah Brown led the Buccaneers with 25 points, but it wasn't enough as UK had too much talent.

New news came out of Kanter, however. According to the Associated Press:

The school is appealing an NCAA ruling Thursday declaring Kanter permanently ineligible because he received more than the necessary benefits while playing for a club in Turkey two years ago. Kanter can practice with the Wildcats while the case is on appeal and watched the game from the bench in a white sweatsuit.

That's a big hole in the Kentucky's frontcourt, but I personally think they can get past it. Calipari's respects the decision but hopefully he hopes it can be overturned sometime soon.

"[Maybe] people will look at this in a common sense way and say the kid deserves better than this," Calipari said.

It was a great game by Kentucky. Last season, Kentucky could never really get those three-pointers in. Now they can. It's about time.

"Last year ... we didn't make any shots and I kept telling them 'we're good shooters, we're good shooters," Calipari said. "This team, they make shots."

The Wildcats will face the Portland Pilots next in an away game next Friday.

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College Basketball Well Represented at the 2010 ESPY's

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

Earlier this summer it almost seemed like College Basketball didn't even exist. With the conference expansions, the College Basketball powerhouse Kansas was being left out of the picture.

There was only one thing that mattered when you thought of conference expansions; and that was college football.

That all seemed like a slap in the face to the sport itself.

However, at the 2010 ESPY's College Basketball was well represented.

First off, the Gatorade Player of the Year Brandon Knight was in attendance to show off his award.

In his senior season, Knight dazzled scouts with his video game numbers while still maintaining a great GPA. He comes to mind we you talk about a student-athlete.

Brandon Knight will be taking his services to the Kentucky Wildcats, where he will be able to compete for a National Championship.

Last year's freshmen sensation John Wall won 'Best Male College Athlete.' Something was telling me that Evan Turner wasn't going to edge him out this time. 

Wall had a phenomenal season. He accumulated 16.6 points, 6.5 assists and 4.3 rebounds.

He led the Kentucky Wildcats to an Elite Eight berth before losing to West Virginia. He later went on to be selected No. 1 overall in the 2010 NBA draft.

He is now playing for the Washington Wizards and is the face of their franchise.

The Northern Iowa Panthers received the 'Best Upset' award for their performance against the Kansas Jayhawks. They single-handily took out the number one overall team with hustle, heart and determination.

Ali Farokhmanesh hit one of the biggest shots in the history of the tournament. 

The Panther continued in the tournament after they defeated Kansas. They were later defeated by Michigan State, but nobody will ever get over the performance the Panthers displayed on March 20, 2010.

(Did I miss an award? Tell me below or email me at CollegiateHoops@gmail.com)

College Basketball: Can Brandon Knight Follow in the Footsteps of Other Calipari Greats?

John Calipari has had his fair share of superstar guards. Two years ago, he had Derrick Rose; we all know how that turned out. Last year he had Tyreke Evans, and this year, he worked with John Wall.

All three of these guards are on to their NBA future, and will be, or were selected, in the lottery of the NBA draft.

What makes these guards so interesting is that each of them came in back-to-back years. It almost seems like the new trend. Coach Calipari attracts the top point guards in the recruiting class and helps them curb flaws to become potential lottery picks.

I believe that theory is the reason why Brandon Knight is under Calipari’s wings. Not only did he like the fact that he could be working with a great coach, but his parents also liked the cycle of guards Calipari has produced.

Can Brandon Knight follow in the same footsteps as other great players coached by Calipari?

Brandon Knight is a lot different from the former Calipari greats. He is equipped with the ability to knock down jumpers consistently. This is something that most of the guards still lack and have yet to improve. 

He likes to shoot long-range bombs a lot, but is more comfortable shooting off the dribble, or in mid-range. This is why some scouts would rather see him play at the two because he is something like a combo guard.

He has great ball-handling skills that he uses to get in the paint as he pleases. Many scouts thought that this was going to be a problem transitioning to college because he was much smaller before, but now he has continually added bulk and his frame is looking better than ever.

Standing at 6'4'', he has the size advantage over most point guards in the NBA and college games. With that, he uses his body to advantage. He goes up strong at the rim and finishes off plays consistently.

He also uses his frame defensively to knock point guards out of their sets. He gets down low and prevents dribble penetration as well as creating turnovers with his length.

Many scouts still question his true point guard ability. They believe he is just a scorer in every sense of the word. 

However, I remember watching the Nike Hoops Summit where he put on a show. He played the point most of the time in the scrimmage and showed every doubter what he was able to do.

Knight was more of a leader running the point guard position. He looked more in control than I have ever seen him and he displayed some athleticism that everybody said he lacked.

Now answering the question in the title: Yes, Brandon Knight will follow in the footsteps of other Calipari Alums.

Knight needs to improve his vision and passing techniques and he will no doubt become one of the better players in this upcoming college basketball season


Written by DeAnte Mitchell