She's a Dragon
McKnight plays key role for 13-2 Lady Warriors
On the basketball court, there are normally guards, forwards and centers. And then there's West Side Christian's Camille McKnight.
She's a dragon. Seriously, the 5-foot-9 sophomore soars through the air and breathes fire on the opposition.
Well, maybe the fire thing is a bit of a stretch. But she really is a dragon. McKnight explained when asked what position she plays on the court for the Lady Warriors.
“I guess a guard,” she began. “We don't really have positions. We do this thing so we have these spots. There's a rabbit, a racker, a dragon and two locks. The locks are going to run the corners. The racker dribbles up the court. The dragon, which is me, I kind of like, stay behind and just find open spaces and the rabbit is like the post player.
“Sometimes he moves me to the racker, which is the point guard spot.”
Only from the mad scientist mind of West Side basketball coach Randall Miller.
But the term, “dragon” does seem to fit McKnight, who has a 6-foot wingspan. At times during a game, she's liable to play any of her coach's, different, positions.
“The way we play, we don't have very many set plays anymore,” said McKnight. “So we pass and cut and read our player. It's a lot more freedom when we're playing. It's a lot more fun.”
McKnight scored 19 of her team's 36 points in Friday's three-point loss to Providence Classical in the finals of the Winter Warrior Tip-Off. She also defended the Lady Knights' top offensive player, holding her to two points.
On most nights, the defensive end is where the dragon's fire burns hottest.
“She has, for a couple years now, anytime there's a match-up, whether it's inside, outside, point guard, wing scorer or an interior player, we have locked Camille up on that player. She doesn't let them have many opportunities at all that aren't guarded,” said Miller. “Sometimes when you do those things, you might have a player get lost one time or miss an assignment or accidentally help too much or something. She mentally locks in on her job. I can't remember the last breakdown as far as her job on defense. She's intense every time and it's tough to play against.”
McKnight said she prefers the defensive end of the floor. It suits her personality.
“I'm aggressive. I'm very aggressive. I don't know, it's just fun to me. I'm really hard-headed so when somebody has the ball, I just want to take it,” she explained.
“I'm just better at it. My
defense is a gateway into my offense. My offense is running in transition and trying to drive and everything. So steals is a gateway into my offense. I think that's why I like it. It helps on both sides rather than just one.”
The Lady Warriors are 13-2 on the season and have other players who can score, including Jenna McNabb in the paint along with Carley Bain, Carson Bain and Victoria Colley leading the 3-point shooters.
Defensively, McKnight brings a unique skill to her squad.
“We have used her in the past anytime we'd go triangle-and-two or boxand-one, which we did that quite a bit last year. We would just put her on the other team's best player and say, hey, deny her. And when she catches it, force her hard to her weak hand. She has taken some really elite scorers in our league and, at times, erased them. It's really a weapon, honestly.”
McKnight has specialized in steals this season, both on the ball with quick-handed pick-pockets or by jumping into the passing lanes.
“Really, I just watch their shoulders to see where they're going and then you can bait them into it. Also, if you just learn their plays while they're playing,” she explained. “The other day we were playing somebody and you would think they would pass it to the girl just standing there but that girl is going to cut down and the girl coming up is going to receive the pass. Well I just stuck with the girl coming up and they wouldn't even look and would just, basically, pass me the ball. So, just paying attention and being aware of what's going on.”
McKnight, a two-sport athlete, has years of high school basketball ahead of her but said she'd like to play collegiate sports in the future.
“I would say I'm better at volleyball. I'm more confident in volleyball but I do get asked if I want to try to play college basketball,” said McKnight, who added she enjoys basketball more.
“I've thought about trying for a volleyball scholarship because I feel I'm better at that. But there's also the height thing. I would much rather have a basketball scholarship.”
McKnight wept openly after the Lady Warriors lost on Friday. At halftime of the boys' game, she was dancing on the court with other students to the song, Footloose.
Her personality - bubbly, happy, intense? All of the above?
“I'm really loud and talkative. I'm free-going, willy-nilly,” said McKnight. “I'm always smiling on and off the court. But, really, I just love basketball. I love playing. Playing is fun.”
McKnight went to Smackover from preschool through fifth grade and went to Parkers Chapel in the sixth grade. She's been at West Side Christian since the seventh grade. She said she's home.
“Number one, a Christian education,” she answered when asked what makes West Side so special. “Number two, I love Coach Miller. He's the best coach ever. I will never be satisfied with anybody else.”
Well, he did create and then unleash the dragon.
“There's just no let-up. She practices exactly the way she plays. She's intense. She's not taking plays off, mentally or physically. She's just intense all the time,” said Miller. “That's big when you're trying to set a defensive tone. She's going to defend in practice exactly the way she's defending the other team's best player. So whoever she's guarding in practice, they've got to get better because they're going against a premier defender.”