Pat Knight didn’t just return home on Friday night when he brought Marian to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
The former IU basketball player and assistant coach got a chance to see up close and personal some of the players he was scouting a year ago.
Knight ended a ten-year run as a scout for the Indiana Pacers to take the head coaching job at Marian. And his responsibility as a Pacers scout was evaluating prospects in the western part of the United States.
Three players he watched as NBA prospects a year ago — Oumar Ballo, Myles Rice and Kanaan Carlyle — he coached against Friday in Bloomington.
Once his coaching duties were complete on Friday, Knight could open up about the three Pac-12 transfers, and what they’ll bring to his alma mater this season. And one thing that stood out to Knight as a scout when it comes to those three, Indiana is getting much more than just basketball talent.
“I know the transfers because I scouted them the last couple years out West,” Knight said Friday evening in Bloomington. “The one thing you learn scouting, it’s not just the talent, and these kids, I know for a fact their intel is off the charts, not just basketball but as human beings. I think that’s very important when you have talent and you got good people off the court, the work ethic.”
Indiana targeted Rice and Carlyle in the transfer portal after suffering through inadequate backcourt play a season ago. There’s no question the addition of those two players, along with the returners from a season ago give the Hoosiers a completely new outlook at the guard position.
Knight provided his perspective on the dynamic duo, both from a scout’s standpoint, and as someone who just coached against them.
“Rice is very smart,” Knight said. “Very good mid-range game, great with the ball, sees the floor, gets it up the floor, either off the dribble or the pass. Unselfish, work ethic off the charts and high IQ. I mean, what the kid battled health-wise the year before, I mean, the kid’s a warrior.”
“Carlyle, we always talk about in the pros, when I was with the Pacers with free agents or trades, like a change in environment. And I think that the change in environment is gonna be great for Carlyle. I mean, you’re talking about a kid that’s a McDonald’s All-American, great athlete, can really shoot the ball. And I think he just fits in better here with Woody. And his intel, honestly, was unbelievable. Great kid, good student and good work ethic.”
After coaching against the program he grew up a part of, Knight believes Indiana has all the pieces to put together a strong year in Mike Woodson’s fourth season.
And that’s as much about the character of the players as it is the talent Woodson has assembled in Bloomington.
“I think this team is going to be very good, not just because of their talent, but because they have the right mindset,” Knight said. “Woody coaches them hard, and these kids take hard coaching, and they came from good programs here. They got shooting. They got guys that can drive. They got mid-range, and then they got size inside. They have everything they need from the standpoint of having a good year.”
For complete coverage of IU basketball, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- You can follow us on Twitter: @daily_hoosier
- Find us on Facebook and Instagram
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
