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Men's Basketball Names Brandin Knight Assistant Coach
June 6, 2008
PITTSBURGH--University of Pittsburgh head men's basketball coach Jamie Dixon announced the promotion of Brandin Knight to assistant coach on Friday evening. A former Pitt star and All-America point guard, Knight has spent the previous two seasons on Pitt's coaching staff, working last year as its Director of Basketball Operations and serving as Program Assistant/Video Coordinator in 2006-07. "Brandin has always been a tremendous asset to our program," Dixon said. "As a player, Brandin proved to be a coach on the floor and he has developed through the years into an outstanding basketball coach. He has been a terrific role model for our players and he was instrumental in turning our program around. He has been approached for numerous assistant coaching positions and has remained loyal to Pitt." "As one of college basketball's elite point guards, Brandin Knight was a vital catalyst in turning Pitt Basketball into the power that it is today," Pitt Athletic Director Steve Pederson said. "He is an incredibly gifted basketball mind who will be a major asset as a teacher of the game, as well as a recruiter. Brandin was born to play point guard and we'll soon see he was born to coach too."
A Pitt point guard from 1999-2003, Knight's leadership was largely responsible for Pitt's basketball renaissance. Knight helped guide Pitt to two consecutive Big East regular season titles (2001-02 and 2002-03), two NCAA "Sweet Sixteen" appearances (2002 and 2003), the program's first-ever Big East Tournament title (2003), three consecutive appearances in the Big East Championship final (2001-03) and an 89-40 (.690) four-year record. A 2003 Wooden All-America team selection, 2002 Associated Press All-America selection and two-time All-Big East honoree, Knight concluded his career with 1,440 points, 785 assists, 492 rebounds and 298 steals. He earned the Big East's co-Most Valuable Player and Most Improved Player awards after leading Pitt to a 28-5 record in 2001-02. Knight holds school records for career assists (785), career assist average (6.2 apg.), career steals (298), season assists (251 in 2001-02) and season minutes played (1,284 in 2001-02). Following his Pitt career, Knight played two seasons with the NBDL's Asheville Altitude. He helped lead the Altitude to back-to-back league titles in both 2003-04 and 2004-05. In 2005, he signed a contract with the NBA's Houston Rockets, but suffered an injury two weeks later. Knight, who graduated with a History degree from Pitt in June, 2005, is a native of East Orange, N.J. His brother Brevin is a member of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers and was a consensus All-America point guard at Stanford (1994-97). His father Melvin is a former Seton Hall assistant basketball coach (1978-82) and player (1968-71) who currently serves as basketball coach and athletic director at Essex County College in New Jersey. Knight replaces Orlando Antigua. PITT TRANSACTIONS Brandin Knight--Named assistant men's basketball coach. --30-- |
 
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