El Capitan’s Isaiah Knott gets vocal for senior campaign

Isaiah Knott is extremely personable.

With an easygoing personality and a smile that political campaigns are built on, everything about the El Capitan senior screams approach me. And people do.

Whether it’s teammates, family, fans or even opponents, Knott often holds court after a game as people let him know they appreciated his performance. Outgoing as Knott might be postgame, it’s never been something he’s been able to incorporate into game sequences. The point guard served as a lead-by-example star for El Capitan the last two years, but head coach Chris Tufts needed more from him going into his senior campaign.

“If there’s any flaw that Isaiah had, it was just being verbal with his teammates,” Tufts said. “He plays hard. He does the right things to get his teammates involved, but there are times you need your top players to step up and speak.

“That’s the challenge we issued to him going into the season. I think he embraced it.”

Knott averaged a team-best 15.1 points per game, 4.8 assists per game and 3.3 steals per game to help the Gauchos earn the first boys basketball conference title in school history and the team’s first ever playoff appearance. El Capitan’s playoff run ended sooner than they would have hoped, a 58-51 loss to state D-III champion Manteca, but Knott more than secured his place as the Sun-Star Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

“I feel like I was a lot more confident with myself and my team this year,” Knott said. “We were a lot more prepared for what was coming. We had goals that we wanted to achieve and we stayed focused to do it. Outside of the court I’m not so quiet, but on the court I always have been.

“It wasn’t a tough adjustment, but there were times I had to stop and think, ‘You need to say something here.’ Eventually it became more natural.”

Knott was the total package for El Capitan, tenacious on the defensive end and dynamic on the offensive side.

Blessed with an electric first step, there are few that can keep the diminutive guard from getting to the rack whenever he wants. And no one can do it without leaving one of his teammates open. With tremendous vision and natural unselfishness, Knott is just as capable of carving up a defense with his passing. Throw in his vastly improved three-point shooting and most opponents were forced to choose their poison.

“I think he averaged 4  1/2 turnovers as a point guard a year ago, and he cut that in half this season,” Tufts said. “His decision making and his unselfishness make him almost impossible to stop. Either you key on him defensively and he gets his teammates involved, or you try to take that away and take your chances with him beating you one-on-one. I’m glad I never had to scheme a way to slow him down

“I’m looking forward to just being able to sit back and watch him in the stands (at UC Merced) next year and just get to appreciate him as a basketball player.”

Knott left his coach plenty of lasting memories this season.

With the senior running the show, El Capitan went 21-7, and 11-1 in the Western Athletic Conference, both school records. The Gauchos all but locked up their first conference title in a 69-56 home victory over Patterson Jan. 15. It was arguably the best game of Knott’s high school career.

The guard shot 8 of 13 from the field, matching a career-high with 27 points. He was 2 of 3 shooting beyond the arc and drained all nine of his free throw attempts. Knott rounded out the performance with four assists and three steals.

“That’s the game that probably stands out the most in my mind,” Knott said. “We knew they were our best competition for the league title. I think everybody got a big confidence boost from that win. After that, we really felt like we could do something special.

“The playoffs ended faster than we would have liked, but we represented ourselves well in that game. We were right there with the eventual state champion. We had their big men taken away, but unfortunately, their guard went off.

“I’m proud of what we accomplished this year. It’s always special to be the first to do something. Nobody can take that away from you. Hopefully I can keep it going and create some firsts at UC Merced next year.”

This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 6:21 PM with the headline "El Capitan’s Isaiah Knott gets vocal for senior campaign."