Karter Knox with his family after committing to UK Saturday.
Kentucky’s newest basketball commit, Karter Knox, knows plenty about the basketball program because his brother, Kevin Knox, played at UK one season for coach John Calipari before becoming the ninth pick in the 2018 draft by the New York Knicks.
“He is definitely a different player than Kevin,” said Kevin Knox Sr. on WLAP Sunday Morning Sports Talk.
The 6-7, 227-pound Karter Knox also has a sense of humor that recently got the best of his father, a former NFL football player.
“He told me, ‘Daddy, I had to go to the hospital and get X-rays,’” Kevin Sr. said. “Nobody called me. I was mad and was fixing to call Overtime Elite (where his son plays). Then he said it was nothing serious but they did find something.”
And what did the X-rays find?
“I have that dog in me, Daddy,” Karter Knox told his father.
Kevin Sr. is extremely personable and loved to joke with UK football associate coach Vince Marrow, a former NFL teammate, and former Calipari assistant Kenny Payne when his oldest son played at Kentucky. However, he was not ready for that from his youngest son.
“To all of the Big Blue Nation, I am not saying Kevin was not a dog because he is but Karter is a guy who wears his emotions on his sleeves. He is definitely a competitor,” Kevin Sr. said.
Karter Knox began his high school career at Tampa Catholic in Tampa, Fla.. He averaged 17.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game as a freshman and then averaged 20.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game his sophomore season. He was the Florida Class 3A Player of the Year as a junior when he averaged 19.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.
He transferred to Overtime Elite for his senior season and played for RWE. He’s averaging 23.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game and one of his teammates is UK signee Somto Cyril, a top 50 player nationally.
Karter Knox is a consensus top 20 player and a McDonald’s All-American. He committed to UK Saturday night over Louisville, South Florida (where his brother plays) and returning to Overtime Elite. However, he had multiple offers including Auburn, Arkansas, Arizona, Arizona State, Florida State, Illinois and the G League.
“We were just ready (to make the commitment). It was just that time. We had basically heard all the recruiting pitches and that was all we needed,” Kevin Sr. said. “He told me, ‘Daddy, I am ready to commit.’ There’s nothing else we needed to hear.”
However, Kentucky fans might like hearing how he described his youngest son as a player in a way UK fans should appreciate.
“I was just telling my wife that if you had to clone him he would have the body of Adou (Thiero) but with the playmaking ability of Rob (Dillingham) with the clutchness of Antonio (Reeves) and he can shoot just a tad under Reed Sheppard,” Kevin Sr. said. “If you do and watch him play you will see he plays like Rob. He does shoot and make clutch plays. You just don’t see people that size do that at 18 years old.”
