He's the No. 1-rated high school basketball player in the country.
He owns a career 114-12 record since becoming the starting point guard at Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest in the eighth grade.
He has won back-to-back Class 3A state championships and led his team to three consecutive state final fours.
And he's only one of three players to be named Gatorade National Player of the Year as a junior -- LeBron James and Greg Oden are the others.
Brandon Knight isn't saying where he might be leaning for college, but some reports say the Gators are the front-runners to get him.
Brandon Knight's basketball accolades can certainly dazzle you.
But it's not the senior’s cross-over dribble, his shooting touch or even his ability to find an open teammate anywhere on the court that makes the kid with the signature long braids and smile special in the eyes of his coach, his parents or anyone close to him.
It's what he has accomplished in the classroom since kindergarten that could make the 6-4, 190-pound chiseled 17-year-old as unique as any athlete in the country.
If Knight aces Art, Modern American History Honors, Advanced Placement Statistics, AP English and AP Environmental Science this year, he will graduate from one of the nation's premier private schools having earned straight A’s on every single one of his report cards since he was 5. His perfect 4.2 GPA, says his coach, without question tops the 31.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists he averaged as a junior.
"I've never been around someone who has the equal determination or attributes on the basketball court as he does in the classroom," said Pine Crest coach David Beckerman, a self-made millionaire who knows a thing or two about success, having founded the famed sports clothing company Starter in 1971.
"Brandon probably could get into every college in the country without bouncing a ball. From an academic side, you can think about all the great universities -- the Harvards, the Stanfords, the Yales. But he has a dream like a lot of kids who play basketball. He'd like to go play in college and then go play in the NBA."
College Choices
What Florida's Billy Donovan, Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, Connecticut's Jim Calhoun, Kentucky's John Calipari, Kansas' Bill Self and the University of Miami's Frank Haith would like is for Knight to include them and their basketball programs on that ride.
Knight, who said he doesn't plan on choosing a college until he is done with all five of his official visits, shared a little of what he likes and doesn't like about each of those schools so far.
Brandon Knight averaged 31.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists in his junior season.
Kansas: "I like the atmosphere, a lot of nice people. Something I don't like? Tough to say that about Kansas. It's tough to say about any school. I probably don't like that it's in the Midwest. [Fans] don't see it as much, so they probably don't get a good perception of it. That's maybe a downfall of it."
Florida: "Something I like is that it's right near home and it's a great place to study and get your school work done also. Something I don't like about it … that's tough for Florida."
Kentucky: "Something I don't like is that they're just trying to rebuild their program. I'm not quite too sure where they could end up going with it. Something I do like is they have a good new coach, a lot of good new recruits and it looks like they're headed in the right direction.
Connecticut: "Something I do like is the support they get from the fans. They're not too crazy. Something I don't like is how cold it gets."
Syracuse: "How cold it gets, that's something I don't like. I'm a Floridian. I just like the fact they have a great coach also with a lot of tradition, a lot of history. I think it's a great school too."
Miami: "I like the fact they're right next to home. Great team. I love Coach Haith. I love him as a person and as a coach. Something I don't like about Miami is that they're not really respected as basketball powerhouse."
Getting much more out of Knight in the way of which college he likes most is hard to do.
"I feel I fit all of them well," Knight said when asked about the system the programs employ and which one he might best fit in. "A lot of them like to use the pick and roll, which is what I like to stress -- except for Coach [Calipari]. He stresses the dribble drive offense. But I think I could fit into each of them well because I can shoot, penetrate at will."
Said Beckerman: "He wants to clearly go to a system and a coaching staff and university that will enhance his game. Whether it be playing in the toughest conference, whether it be playing on television, whether it be playing with a coach that has an increased of level skill -- he wants to go to a system that supports his enhancement to get to the next level."
Harnessing Greatness
In a day and age when everyone is trying to find the next LeBron or Michael Jordan, Beckerman sees greatness in Knight. A trustee of the basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Ohio, and chairman of the marketing committee for it, Beckerman said Knight has the key ingredient James and Jordan did in their rise: their inner drive.
“The thing that makes Brandon so special is that he's strong willed," Beckerman said. "He doesn't waste time. When we're on a bus trip, some of the kids are playing with video games. Brandon is reading a book. We're on an overnight bus ride or flight, he brings his book. It's the same thing in the gym. When we're practicing something in the gym and he's not involved, he takes advantage of it.
"Sometimes I think he's too driven. We should not forget one thing: He's only 16 or 17 years old. He's a man in boys' clothing, but he's still a kid at heart. I always have to remind him he has plenty of time to grow up."
Pine Crest coach David Beckerman says Brandon Knight has the inner drive to be an NBA superstar.
Said Knight: ``I don't really feel comfortable unless I'm trying to get better. Everybody tells me I need to rest a little bit, but I'm really not a person that likes to rest much. I like to get the work in.''
Knight, born in Miami's Liberty City, credits his parents for his worth ethic.
Knight said his mother Turgenia is an author who now writes book reviews for Amazon.com. His father Efrem, a former basketball standout at Miami Northwestern, has worked for almost 30 years as a railroad engineer on the graveyard shift.
"My dad told me when I was young whatever you do, do it 110 percent," Knight said. "The only time I like to relax is when I'm at home."
For all the things he's really good at, Knight can find a few flaws in himself. For instance, he'd like to be more social. He also wants to stop peeling his nails and staying up late at night. There are plenty more things he finds wrong on the basketball court.
``When people said I played great, I look at the things I missed -- a certain shot or pass I should have made.'' Knight said. "If I get a question wrong on a test and knew I should have picked another answer, I get down on myself.
``I think a player should be judged on how much they win," Knight said. "I think that winning three state titles in five years would stack up pretty nicely. A lot of people say I am ready for the NBA right now. I look at it like I'm still a high school player. Before I am ready for that level I have to be able to dominate college first, and I haven't gotten to college yet.''
Beckerman said he has asked Knight to focus on being a more vocal leader this season. With the departure of forward Ed Waite (now at Monmouth) and guard Jeremiah Bell -- two key leaders in the past two state championship teams, Beckerman said the Panthers will distinctly different.
Matt Milk, a 6-foot-9 transfer from Long Island with an offer from FIU, will replace Waite in the middle. Knight's new backcourt mate will be 6-1 guard Traveon Henry. The wings will be 6-4 junior Billy Thompson Jr. and 6-7 junior Tevin Westbrook.
"I think the difference this team versus last year is that practice is far more physical because we have four or five kids over 6-6," Beckerman said. "I think practices have been much better, and I think that will help us in the long run."
That's good because the Panthers will have to be ready for a hard-hitting schedule featuring just seven home games.
Among the road trips: a showdown that will pit Pine Crest and state power Palmetto, led by Michigan-bound guard Tim Hardaway Jr. in the opening round of the Alex Rodriguez tournament at Miami Columbus on Dec. 10; a trip to the Kreul Classic Dec. 18-22; two games at the Flyin' To The Hoop Tournament in Dayton, Ohio, Jan. 16-18; and the regular-season finale at FAU against Winter Park on Feb. 5, a game that will be carried on ESPN2 and will showcase Knight taking on junior Austin Rivers, considered by some the top recruit in his class.
Said Beckerman: "This season is going to be a lot of fun."
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