Ricky James Pellegrin
December 17, 2013
Anna Marie Reed
December 26, 2013
Everyone knows that the Tide rolls in football.
But if a Morgan City native has her way, Alabama will start to collect titles in women’s basketball, too.
Central Catholic guard Meo Knight has signed a National Letter of Intent to extend her playing career at the University of Alabama.
The Tri-parish area’s most decorated senior standout said that she chose the Tide over a slew of other programs from around the country.
“I just loved the atmosphere. Everything about Alabama and Tuscaloosa felt right to me,” Knight said. “I think that I gravitated to them because of how I’ll fit into the program, plus I’ll get an opportunity to play at an early time. Basically, it all added up and those things just led me to my decision.”
It’s pretty easy to see why Alabama wanted to secure Knight’s services going into the future.
The Lady Eagles’ guard has been one of the most dominant players in Louisiana for each of the past several seasons at Central Catholic. As a junior, Knight averaged 18.9 points and 12.0 rebounds per game as well as 5.3 steals, 5.0 blocks and 5.0 assists. She did so while leading the Lady Eagles to the Class 1A State Semifinals.
Because of those fat statistics, Knight said she had a large collection of offers from college teams interested in her talent. Knight said her finalists were Alabama, Ole Miss, Arkansas-Little Rock and Tulane.
Upon choosing the Tide, Alabama coach Kristy Curry immediately expressed her excitement in being Knight’s future coach.
Knight was one of several players to sign with Alabama’s 2014 class, which is widely regarded as one of the best in the program’s recent history.
Alabama is not known for its women’s basketball success. They’ve struggled in recent years.
“Meo is a tremendously talented athlete who can really impact the game for 94 feet on both ends,” added Curry. “She is explosive and competitive and understands how to win.”
The biggest reason why scouts and collegiate coaches love Knight’s game is because of her versatility – she possesses the ability to dominate a game on both sides of the floor.
Offensively, the 5-foot, 8-inch guard is an elite shooter, owning one of the smoothest step-back jumpers in all of Louisiana. In Thursday night’s blowout win against South Lafourche, Knight sliced the Lady Tarpons continually, scoring 20 points – most coming from the outside.
In the championship game, the Lady Eagles’ standout led Central Catholic in scoring and helped push the team to the tournament championship.
I’ve always been a pretty good shooter,” Knight said. “That’s always been one of the biggest strengths of my game. Ever since I was little, that was something I’ve had success with.”
But the reason why Knight can get off shots so easily is because of her explosiveness. If opponents crowd the Lady Eagles’ senior guard, she’s more than capable of dribbling past defenders and getting into the lane.
Once there, Central Catholic coach Jamarr Garrett said that Knight has the ability to either score or pass to teammates.
“She’s such a special player,” Garrett said. “She’s just a playmaker. She can do it all. I’ve only been watching her for a couple of years now, but every challenge we’ve given her, she’s taken it and done more than we’ve asked. She’s a rare talent. Alabama is getting a good one. She’s an unbelievable player.”
Knight said she thinks she’s able to cause chaos on offense because of her athleticism and the fact that she’s left-handed, a trait that bothers some defenders. But she added that she also takes pride in being unselfish on the floor. “
“I don’t really look at how many points I score or anything like that. I know a big part of my job is keeping my teammates involved in the game,” Knight said. “If they need me to really push it and try and score a lot, I’m willing, but I think we’re at our best when we’re all doing our part.”
Offense gets the headlines, but defense is arguably where Knight has her biggest impact. Knight possesses the quickness to defend guards and the athleticism to defend posts. She possesses an elite vertical leap, and she’s not afraid to use it. Against the Lady Tarpons, Knight sent a couple of South Lafourche shots into the seats.
“That’s where she’s truly at her best – on defense,” Garrett said. “She can take over a game on that end of the floor. She can do so many things to make opponents uncomfortable, and because of that, she really has a big fingerprint on the game.”
So with her college decision out the way, Knight and the Lady Eagles are eyeballing the state title. The Eagles are considered by most to be among the favorites after finishing just two wins short a season ago.
Knight said that with one last crack at the title, she will leave it all on the floor this time around to try and win it all for Central Catholic.
“That’s our goal – to win it all,” Knight said. “We have a lot of experienced players, so it’s just up to us to stay focused and stay hungry. If we do that, we think we have what it takes.”
Central Catholic standout guard Meo Knight (23) soars above teammates and South Lafourche girls’ basketball players to grab a rebound during last Thursday’s win against the Lady Tarpons. Athleticism and leaping ability are two things that make Knight an elite player. She signed with the University of Alabama and will continue to play post-prep.
