Maine Sensation Headed to Big East
Thomas Knight was ready to commit right after he got out of school on Wednesday afternoon, he just had one problem…he wasn’t able to get Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey on the phone. Brey had just gone into practice, and it wasn’t until around 11pm last night that Knight finally got the chance to tell his future coach that he wanted to join the Fighting Irish.
Knight’s commitment doesn’t come as much of a surprise considering how well his official visit went last weekend. Knight, his father, and his high school coach at Dirigo High School all made the trip to South Bend to see the campus, meet the team, watch an exhibition game, and then see the football team in action against the University of Pittsburgh.
“The campus was unreal, and just the feeling and everything,” Knight told scout.com after being hosted by fellow New England product Tim Abromaitis.
Although Knight had seen his recruiting stock consistently elevate since the spring, it was at the end of the summer at AAU Nationals when his interest went to another level with schools like Notre Dame, Rutgers, and Notre Dame all showing interest at one point or another.
Ultimately, Knight trimmed his list to five schools and took official visits to all five –
Davidson, Maine, Northeastern, Rutgers, and finally Notre Dame last weekend.
In addition to the feel of the campus and the high quality of the academic programs, Knight was also impressed by Coach Brey and the team’s system of play.
“I liked his [Brey’s] coaching style and how he treats the team, how the team meshes together on and off the court,” Knight told scout.com. “He told me that I would be a good fit with the guys and that their system would be the perfect fit for me.”
Some have even gone as far as to say that Knight’s game is reminiscent of current Notre Dame star Luke Harangody, last season’s Big East Player of the Year.
Whether or not Knight can fill Harangody’s shoes remains to be seen, but what is for sure is that Notre Dame has picked up an extremely hard working and intelligent player who will be able to both score and rebound inside while also stretch opposing defenses with his perimeter skill set.
And the state of Maine couldn’t be prouder…
Thomas Knight
Tim Abromaitis