Adam McKnight has obliged his doctors by following their orders after suffering a concussion the first week of this month.
“They said to keep playing like I've been playing,” the Nixa freshman forward said, recalling the advice he received after he followed concussion protocol and was cleared to return to action.
McKnight happily played with the same ferocity Thursday that he has all season, aggressively going after every rebound within his reach in the Eagles' 63-35 NIT first-round victory versus Cape Notre Dame.
McKnight recorded a double-double, collecting 10 points and 12 rebounds. He played just 16 minutes, as the game quickly turned into a blowout. For the first quarter, McKnight was on an incredible rebound-a-minute pace. He had eight rebounds, including five offensive boards, over the first eight minutes.
“(Rebounds) were coming a lot easier for me this game. I noticed that in the first quarter and I kept trying to get more,” McKnight said.
“I told one of our coaches, 'I feel like that kid has 10-12 rebounds and the game just started,’” coach Brock Blansit said. “He plays so hard. His motor is at 100 percent all the time. What you see in games is exactly what we see every day in practice.”
McKnight’s concussion occurred while he was going after a rebound in Nixa’s loss to Columbia Hickman on Jan. 6.
“I don't remember much of the play. Everything kind of just blacked out,” he said. “I went up for a rebound and my legs got caught up in somebody and I tipped over them. I hit the right side of my head on the floor. It was definitely scary.”
The injury hasn’t swayed McKnight’s gung-ho passion for rebounds. He learned at a young age the value of rebounds from his father, Tim, who played as a prep at Rogersville.
“My Dad taught me rebounding is a key to winning games,” Adam said. “If you can outrebound your opponent, you can win a lot of games.
“I've learned to read the ball (off shot attempts), be more physical than your opponent and have good timing,” he added. “I’ve gotten better at that throughout the season. I love rebounding. I find it fun. I love going and getting the ball.”
The 6-foot-4 McKnight’s boards work is drawing comparisons between himself and 2016 Nixa grad Chase Allen, a 6-7 all-state center who averaged 8.5 rebounds a game as a junior and 6.4 as a senior.
“Adam plays like Chase. He just doesn't have the height,” Blansit said. “Hopefully, he (grows to) about 6-7. Whether he does or doesn't, he plays so hard that he gets so much done. Adam can get a rebound and go from one end of the court to the other with (the ball) and score.”
Nixa (11-4) was up 10-9 on Notre Dame (7-11), before bolting to a 30-11 advantage.
The Eagles finished shooting 59 percent from the field (27-of-46), including 39-percent accuracy on their 3-point attempts (9-of-23).
Josh Peters topped the winners with 13 points, while McKnight and Garrett Hines each had 10 and Bryce Foster and Randy Flint both contributed eight.
“We came in looking to pound them and not let up,” McKnight said.
Nixa’s second-team was just as responsible for the Eagles breaking away as their starters, if not more so.
“That's the same thing (Blansit) said,” guard Keivon Flint said. “We got off to a slow start. But the second-team came off the bench with high energy and we went from there.”
“I thought the intensity went up several notches,” Blansit said of his subs’ immediate impact. “Our second group was electric.”
Nixa prides itself on its depth
“Other teams never know who to be ready for and who is going to be doing good,” Randy Flint said.
“At any time either group can play better than the other one,” Keivon Flint said. “What It comes down to is whoever is playing better is who (Blansit) will keep in. He's not picking favorites.”
Blansit’s starting lineup has remained the same throughout the season, but who he plays at the end of games has varied, according to who is playing well.
“We don't go into a game with a plan of playing a certain kid a certain amount of time,” he said. “It’s kind of a ‘feel’ thing and we roll with it. It can be very difficult to determine who should play and if you lose, you're second-guessing yourself which kid you should have played. We try to mix and match the best we can.”
The Eagles meet Hillcrest (9-9) in a semifinal tonight at 7. The other semifinal at 8:30 will feature New Madrid County Central (15-1) against Rogersville (13-2).
