El Capitan’s Isaiah Knott signs with UC Merced basketball

Isaiah Knott had a perpetual smile on his face as he posed for picture after picture with family, friends and teammates. That smile may stick with the El Capitan High School senior for a while.

The Gauchos’ point guard became the first El Capitan basketball player to sign with a four-year school on Thursday evening when he signed his national letter of intent to play at UC Merced.

“This day is really special to me,” Knott said. “This is something I’ve been looking forward to since I was a child. I’ve always wanted to play college basketball.”

With his mother, Yvetta Russell, to his side and brother, Julian Russell, and sister, Brittany Scott, sitting near him, Knott thanked the large gathering of people who came to celebrate his moment.

“It was amazing. They all showed their support for me,” Knott said. “I teared up a little bit, but I’ve got to be a man and I got to hold it in. But I appreciate everybody that came out and everybody that supports me.”

With UC Merced just down the road from El Capitan, Knott’s supporters will have a short drive to watch him play.

The Bobcats are getting a leader in Knott.

He helped lead the Gauchos to a Western Athletic Conference championship in just their second varsity season since the school opened three years ago. Knott was named the WAC MVP and the Sun-Star Player of the Year after averaging 15.1 points and 4.8 assists per game.

“It’s exciting for me, because I know on game nights, I can go watch him play five minutes away,” said El Capitan coach Chris Tufts. “Isaiah is just a special person. I couldn’t be happier for anybody else. He is the most unselfish kind of player. He’ll do anything he can to help set up a teammate for a shot and he can also put the ball in the basket.

“He’s the type of player who doesn’t just hustle when the ball is tipped in the air, but also when it’s time to lift weights, time to hit the practice floor, or when he’s in the classroom. He’s just someone teammates gravitate toward.”

After helping set the foundation for a new high school program during his prep career, Knott will now join a relatively new college program still trying to establish itself.

“It’s going to be the same for me, but I’m going to have to work twice as hard,” said Knott, who has a 3.43 GPA and plans to major in business management. “We’re going to have the same goals. We want to win a league championship and go as far as we can. That’s all about working hard.”

This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 8:25 PM with the headline "El Capitan’s Isaiah Knott signs with UC Merced basketball."