Tom Knight sounded calm. The world around him was turning upside-down with the arrival of Big East rival Louisville and ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday night on the Notre Dame campus, but he didn’t seem to be buying into the hype.
Tom Knight had to await his turn at Notre Dame, and that included stretches of disappointment when he wasn’t playing. But now, with an injury to a starter, he’s gotten his chance to show what he can do, like he did as a Maine high school player.
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Big game between No. 11 Louisville, coached by Rick Pitino, and No. 25 Notre Dame. Big crowd expected in Purcell Pavilion, big national audience watching the ESPN telecast.
But Knight’s brief answers to a few questions before Thursday’s practice returned to the same mantra: Work hard, play hard and everything should fall into place.
To many people back in Dixfield, he’s still the same small-town boy who graduated from Dirigo High. Still the 6-foot-10 teenager with the easy grin who had to lower his head when he walked into classrooms.
To others, Tom Knight is the 21-year-old man who’s allowed disappointment to shape his young life, understanding he’s better for it. If some wanted to give up on him when he sat on the Notre Dame bench for long stretches, that was their problem. It wasn’t his.
The third-year player has started in five straight games for the first time in his college career. An injury to Scott Martin several weeks ago opened the door. Knight responded immediately with 17 points and hit 8 of 10 shots from the floor while grabbing seven rebounds in a win against South Florida.
A 10-point, four-rebound game followed in another win over Villanova. There was a six-point, seven-rebound performance at DePaul in an overtime win last Saturday.
Then came Tuesday’s loss to Syracuse. Knight was 1 of 8 from the floor in a game where most in the Notre Dame lineup struggled against Syracuse’s zone defense.
In Dixfield and other western Maine communities along the Androscoggin River, like Rumford, Jay and Livermore Falls, Knight’s effort has not gone unnoticed. His family, friends and fans have context. At the start of the season, Knight wasn’t playing at all.
“You die a little each day you’re not playing,” said Karl Knight, Tom’s father and a pretty good player at Bowdoin College in his day. “Notre Dame stacks big men like cordwood. You have to believe it’s all part of the plan.”
In November, Notre Dame went to New York for the four-team Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at the new Barclays Center, home to the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA. The little kid in Tom Knight anticipated playing in the newly built arena.
“He never got off the bench for either game,” said Karl Knight. “It was the low of the lows.”
Back in South Bend, Ind., Knight resumed his practice regimen. He was the unofficial captain of the second team, talking it up in practice, working on his game. There was something contagious about his attitude.
“All I can do is my best and stay positive,” said Tom Knight. “You have to believe in yourself.”
After Notre Dame beat Villanova, Karl Knight learned his son’s name was included in the morning announcements at Dirigo Middle School, congratulating him on his contributions. Like much of small-town Maine, there’s always a need for examples. Too many young Mainers don’t know how to reach for what’s just beyond their grasp.
“I remember how exciting it was when Andy Bedard (from neighboring Rumford) was playing basketball at Boston College and UMaine, and when T.J. Caouette (Winthrop) was playing at Villanova,” said Karl Knight. “(They) played basketball before many of the current (high school) players were born, but they had an impact on motivating some Maine kids to set high goals.”
Tom Knight heard his older brother, Kevin, tell stories about Bedard and Caouette. “I guess my example was Nik Caner-Medley.”
Caner-Medley was the Deering High player recruited by Maryland. Caner-Medley had to tune out the doubters. A front-court player like Knight, Caner-Medley became Maryland’s go-to player in his last two seasons.
Now it’s Knight’s turn to be that example, whether he’s scoring 17 points or 2, whether he’s getting 30 minutes of playing time in a 40-minute game, or none at all.
Maine has too few males at the Division I level. Cheverus grad Indiana Faithfull is a sophomore point guard at Wofford and has started 13 of Wofford’s 24 games.
Yes, that’s pretty much the list.
Gavin Kane was Knight’s coach at Dirigo, and now is the girls’ coach at Spruce Mountain High in Livermore Falls. He’s been to several Notre Dame games and watched more on television.
“Tom offers some great qualities that not all big men have,” said Kane in an email. “He can score both in the low post and from the perimeter. He has a soft jumper and is capable of stepping out to the 3-point line. He helps the Irish offense because he is willing to lay a lot of ball screens on the defense. I get a thrill out of watching Tom defend.”
At Dirigo High, Rebecca Fletcher was Knight’s chemistry teacher and an assistant to Kane. She’s on point, sharing video links of Knight’s highlights at Notre Dame. Never mind that the teacher in her urged Knight to forget about a basketball scholarship and concentrate on his classwork.
Karl Knight’s cell phone rings more often. He gets more messages. The subject, of course, is his son. One call he won’t soon forget. It was from Anthony Solomon, Notre Dame’s assistant coach and the bad cop to head coach Mike Brey’s good cop.
“Coach Solomon was always asking me why Tom wasn’t doing more to improve his game. When I heard his voice two weeks ago, it was, uh-oh, what’s wrong?”
Solomon was brief. He wanted Tom Knight’s father to remember a comment from a couple years ago: Success would come. It only took time.
Steve Solloway — 791-6412
ssolloway@pressherald.com
Twitter: SteveSolloway
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