New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Yale freshman Knowling waits for his college career to begin
Matt Knowling played his last basketball game on March 5. That’s nine months ago on the Gregorian calendar. That’s nine centuries ago in eager young athlete years.
“Yeah, I know it,” the 2020 GameTimeCT Player of the Year out of East Catholic in Manchester said softly. “I know it.”
Knowling is immersed this week in what it is known as the Reading Period at Yale, a week to prepare for final examinations. He is thinking about majoring in statistics. In his first semester, Knowling is taking a Spanish class, a writing seminar, introduction to philosophy and calculus.
You don’t have to get a passing grade in calculus to figure out how much it hurts not to play the game you love. While the other Division I college basketball conferences push on in a wildly unpredictable, change-by-the hour, blindfolded chase of the NCAA Tournament, the Ivy League said no to winter sports in November. No one is calling the Ivy League stupid these days. And no one is saying it’s easy on Yale basketball, which was positioned to three-peat as league champions.
“I don’t want to say it’s different because I’m a freshman, but I definitely feel for our upperclassmen,” the 6-foot-5 Knowling said. “Coming in, expecting to play, looking forward to another strong year in the Ivy League.
“At the end of the day, I respect and understand why the Ivy League canceled the season. Seeing all the cases pop up and all the games get canceled. It’s tough. We definitely want to play. We also definitely understand.”
So Knowling watches his former East Catholic teammates play on television. Junior Mike McGuirl at Kansas State, sophomore Jaylin Hunter at Old Dominion. Who would have guessed Andrew Hurley, a
freshman walk-on at UConn, would appear in a Division I game before Knowling? Dan’s son got in for two minutes in the opening win over Central Connecticut State.
“Drew and I are pretty close friends,” Knowling said. “We talk pretty much on a daily basis. He is getting a great experience there. UConn is a great spot, to play under his dad and be around great players. I’m happy for him.
“I watched the whole game (against Central). I had Mom watching with me. I was really excited.”
Windsor edged East Catholic in late January in one of those unforgettable No. 1-vs.-No. 2 gym-packed games that make for high school basketball legend. East Catholic itched for a rematch after its only loss of the season. It didn’t come. Windsor lost to Northwest Catholic in the CCC semis and, in his last high school game, Knowling would grab his left leg and drop to the floor at Bulkeley High with four minutes left in the third quarter. He limped off with a hyper-extended knee. A one-point lead suddenly turned into a four-point deficit. A minute later, Knowling re-entered the game.
“I just remember being down at halftime, walking into the locker room after probably our worst half of basketball all year,” Knowling said. “We came out a completely different team in the second half. I was really proud of everyone.”
Knowling was being modest. He rattled off 17 of his 26 points in the final 11 minutes after re-entering. East Catholic won. And then COVID hit. There would be no rematch in the state tournament with Windsor, either. No AAU ball, no summer games beyond pickup. Nine months. Nine centuries.
“Yes, it’s tough,” Knowling. “But I’ve got to look at it as more time to get ready for next year.”
When he was on campus, the team would lift three to four times a week. Most of the semester, Yale was in Phase 1 of its reactivation, which meant one hour of conditioning a week. Two days of 30 minutes of going down to the gym and doing drills.
“That was about it,” Knowling said. “Early on, there were a lot of rumors about the Ivy League, because they had canceled fall sports. Coach ( James Jones) wanted us to always be ready. His big thing was ‘Don’t get distracted.’ It would be easy not to go as hard as you should. He told us to stay focused and keep hopeful.”
Yale reverted to Phase 0 after the COVID outbreak on the hockey team. The winter season was gone. Even while at campus, all his classes were online. Knowling has returned home to Ellington. He is lifting six times a week and conditioning every day. It’s not easy to get up shots. He tries to find trainers with access to gyms. It’s a process.
Even without a season, weekly or bi-weekly Zoom calls continue. Recently, they have been focused on racial injustice.
“We’re trying to do things outside of basketball as well to grow closer as a team and have an impact on the community,” Knowling said. “We have to use our platform as a Yale University basketball team to show what our beliefs are and what is right. Our country has a lot to work on.”
While the NCAA is granting an extra year of basketball eligibility from COVID, the Ivy League maintains that all four years of competing must be within eight semesters. So a player must become a graduate transfer or take time off from school to retain eligibility. Paul Atkinson, who won 2020 co-Ivy League Player of the Year as a junior, was looking at playing at Yale as a senior before the COVID cancellation as a senior, so he becomes a graduate transfer for the 2021-22 season. These are the challenges Jones and Ivy League coaches face.
“The coaching staff has done a great job of keeping us close,” Knowling said. “It’s easy in times like this to get away from each other and do your own thing. Even us freshmen, they’re keeping us talking as a whole team. We’ve been close. I think we’re all ready for next year.”
Until then, he watches his East Catholic buds. Although Kansas State suffered the indignity Tuesday of a 13-point home loss to previously winless Division II Fort Hays State, McGuirl is leading the Big 12 team at 15.2 points a game. Graduate transfer Mark Carbone, who had played at New Hampshire, is scoring 10 points a game for Cal Baptist. Hunter — whose dad, Kenya, was a UConn assistant until he left for Indiana — is averaging 6.3 for ODU. He preceded Knowling as GameTimeCT Player of Year. Joey Reilly, nephew of East Catholic coach Luke Reilly, is a guard at Holy Cross, which doesn’t start its all-Patriot League schedule until after Jan. 1.
“It’s cool to see your close friends playing on TV,” Knowling said. “Jaylin and I are really close. Mike’s from Ellington, too, and has been a big mentor for me. Learning about adjusting to practices, adjusting to games, which I haven’t been a part of yet, adjusting to college overall. He helped me to make as smooth a transition as possible. He has stressed mental toughness, know who you are as a player and what you are capable of on and off the court.
“Mark Carbone didn’t really have anyone before him, so he went in kind of blind. He didn’t have the benefit of guys like I have with Mark, Mike, Matt Veretto for a year (at Delaware) and Joey. I’ve been fortunate to have the help from guys who have already been in my shoes.”
And with any luck, he’ll be able to wear out those basketball shoes sometime in the next century.