Knox Smith perfect fit for unselfish Vikings

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/01/2024 (603 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If there’s one thing Knox Smith likes more than scoring 30 points, it’s setting up a teammate for 35.

The freshman guard has all the tools — and genes — to make it happen, and his Vincent Massey Vikings teammates are the same way.

They attack and defend as a unit, moving the ball around as well as any junior varsity boys’ basketball team in the province.

The Vikings rode a massive third quarter to rout the Crocus Plainsmen 99-34 in Brandon High School Basketball League action at Crocus on Wednesday.

“It’s mostly our coach (Tully Gawazuk). He tells us what to do, tells us to move the ball, don’t be selfish,” Smith said.

“I like looking for teammates, trying to get assists. I’m not too selfish, sometimes I am, but I usually look for my teammates.”

Smith is mature beyond his 14 years for a few reasons. His dad, Tyrone, played for the Brandon University Bobcats in the early 2000s and was an all-Canadian. Back then, Tyrone reached out to O’Neil Gordon from his hometown of Toronto, and convinced him to join the Bobcats for the 2001-02 season.

They won a Canada West title together, then Gordon played three more seasons and currently is an assistant coach with the Bobcats.

Gordon trained Knox all summer leading up to his first year of high school.

“It’s really cool. It’s chemistry, it’s like family because he’s my uncle pretty much,” Smith said, adding Gordon helped him in every area of his game, but especially passing.

“Look for cuts. There’s always going to be someone open. Swing the rock a lot. Up top, I’m always looking for the wings. I like to pass more than I like to shoot.

“Knowing that I got basketball in my blood helps a lot, knowing (my dad) was a pretty good player on the Bobcats.”

Smith grew up playing everything his mom, Jody, signed him up for, from baseball and hockey to football.

“Once I started playing basketball, that’s when I fell in love with the game and I play every day,” he said.

Since making the JV team as a freshman, Smith has two goals: Play varsity as a sophomore and play post-secondary, potentially at BU. He knows he needs to improve as a scorer, both shooting on the perimeter and getting to the rim.

But he’s willing to work hard and has all the sources of motivation he needs.

“My mom,” Smith said. “I want to make her proud, and my family. I also just like winning. Winning’s fun.”

Gawazuk is impressed with the five-foot-10 guard’s game, especially in his ability to understand the systems he puts in place.

“He’s a very smart kid. He definitely gets it, it’s in his genes. When he’s on the floor, he really understands lots of what we’re talking about, a lot of the little things,” Gawazuk said.

“Something we’re working on with these guys is it’s not about natural talent or jumping, it’s positioning, where to stand, which way to cut off, where to turn. He’s one of those kids that gets it every single time.”

Smith is quick to credit the guys around him for helping his pass-first game flourish. His back-court running mate Griffin Zilkey helps him see the floor and he has plenty of options to pass to with a few go-to-guys.

“Callum Brosseau, I always pass to him because I know he’s big, he can shoot, he can do it all,” Smith said of his teammate who dropped a cool 35 on Wednesday.

“Markus Stevenson, he’s one of our team’s best shooters so I always look for him.”

Massey had a tight exhibition game with the Oak Park Raiders last weekend, keeping the No. 6 team in AAAA within single digits.

Next weekend, they’ll play in Oak Park’s tournament, with three top-10 teams, to see where they stack up.

In whatever challenge they face, Gawazuk knows the guys will take it on together.

“Everybody is getting involved. The biggest thing for us is we have a commitment to try to go to provincials and show, that’s our biggest thing,” Gawazuk said.

“We knew we had a talented group coming in this year, a lot of big kids, a good mix of Grade 9s and 10s and everyone’s bought into our team mentality.

“We have Callum that scores 35 tonight and doesn’t play in the fourth quarter, then tomorrow it might be someone else.”

The Massey-Crocus varsity boys’ game was still in progress at press time.

Hoop notes: On Tuesday, Hannah McGregor scored 18 points to lead the Vikings JV girls to a 45-26 win over the Plainsmen. Iliana Courchene had five points for Crocus.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com

» Instagram: @thomasfriesen5