No quit in McKnight
3/2/2014 2:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Lehigh senior Mackey McKnight has bounced back from multiple tragedies. Between family members losing everything to a hurricane and a close friend losing his life way too early, McKnight has grieved, coped and learned from the experiences to become an even better person.
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McKnight was directly impacted by Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005. His immediate family had moved to Houston, but the rest of his family was still in New Orleans. Mackey experienced the power of mother nature and the immediate lessons from such a natural disaster.
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McKnight learned the value of sharing with family members who had to start from scratch. That experience has translated into his role on the court where Mackey epitomizes that sharing, never-quit attitude.
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"No matter how bad it seems, you can still start from scratch and build it right back up into even more powerful things." said McKnight when asked what he learned from the Hurricane Katrina experience. "It can make you stronger."
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On the court, McKnight is a leader of the 2013-14 Mountain Hawks, whose never-say-die attitude has been on full display. Lehigh has shown the heart of a champion, including four straight games from January 22 through February 1 when the Mountain Hawks trailed at the half before coming back to win each game. It was capped off by erasing a 15-point halftime deficit to beat preseason Patriot League favorite Boston University on the road.
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"Mackey is a vocal person; he plays with passion," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "You see that passion come through with the way he plays. At practice, he is usually the loudest, most vocal person. He likes to energize other people. When he leaves the game, he always seems to be in that crouched position, cheering and clapping for his teammates. I've seen that passion translate to energy and become contagious to others."
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McKnight's past has helped mold him to the young man he is today. Mackey grew up in New Orleans before his mother got a new job. His immediate family moved to Houston when Mackey was in elementary school; they would go back to New Orleans during the summer.
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"I was flip-flopping in between until I got to middle school when AAU basketball was too much, so I stayed in Houston the whole time," said McKnight.
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Mackey was in the eighth grade when Hurricane Katrina hit. He was in Houston, but the rest of his family was affected.
"The rest of my family lost everything then turned to us because we were the only ones that moved outside of Louisiana at the time," he said. "Everybody came to our house and depended on us. It really made me unselfish because I was the baby of three and I was the only boy, so I had gotten everything I wanted. Everything changed. I had to share everything. I didn't know how to share a box of cereal, so I had to break that bad habit.
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"It just made me a better person and more giving," he continued. "It taught me to be unselfish and cherish everything you have in life because you never know, a natural disaster or anything can take it all away in an instant."
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That sharing has been on full display at Lehigh. McKnight is Lehigh's all-time leaders in career assists and stands second in Patriot League history. His assist totals have increased each season, and he's averaging around six assists per game as a senior.
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McKnight gains more gratification from dishing an assist than scoring points.
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"A lot of people keep telling me they expect me to be the best player, score 20 points per game and just be a complete All-Star, but that's not who I'm trying to be," he said. "I'd rather lead the league in assists than points any day."
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By focusing on assists, it creates a chain of events that makes the whole team better.
Â
"I like to pass the ball, see other guys knock down shots and get hyped they made the shot," said McKnight. "That makes me excited because now they're going to be excited to play defense. When everybody's happy, everybody's involved and we're all working together, nothing can stop us.
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"Scoring myself is not going to give everybody energy," he continued. "If I pass the ball and make a good pass, I'm happy, now he's happy, then the next person is happy."
Â
Another unfortunate life event taught McKnight some lessons that epitomize the never-quit attitude. When McKnight was a freshman at Lehigh, his best friend Joseph McMullan was tragically shot and killed in California.
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"We always talked about growing up and going to a better place," said McKnight. "For him to just die in a place like that, the timing was bad. I was starting something new and he was still stuck in the same position. It really hurt me. He's like a brother to me."
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The incident was hard to deal with, setting Mackey back with his grades, but he has bounced back. That experience, much like Hurricane Katrina, helped reinforce the value of little things in life.
Â
 "It hurt, but I've learned and grown a lot," said McKnight. "I love all of my brothers on my team. It makes me cherish them even more so, every day."
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One of McKnight's many career highlights was beating Duke in the NCAA Tournament as a sophomore. Mackey enjoyed a tremendous game, scoring 11 points including 2-of-3 from three-point range, while adding three steals, two assists and only one turnover in 38 minutes. That moment was especially emotional since McMullan grew up near Greensboro, North Carolina where the historic upset took place.
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All the tough things that have happened in McKnight's life have only made him stronger. On and off the court, you see someone who simply enjoys life. He loves his family, both biological and his Lehigh family, and is always out to dish the assist.
"When Mackey is with his family, he is so loving to his nieces," said Reed. "It's been amazing to see how he embraces these young girls. Every opportunity he has to interact with them, it brings a huge smile to his face. It shows the type of caring spirit that he has with his family members."
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"My family is so big and supportive," said McKnight. "We feel like family should be your foundation. We laugh, we cook together. We just love being together and being part of that New Orleans culture, it's really family-oriented.
Â
"Your family members are your best friends, your backbone and your support system for everything," he continued.
Â
McKnight tries to be the same person in all aspects of life. A big part of who Mackey is as a person goes back to some tragic experiences.
Â
"I do have bad days - everybody has bad days - but I like to have a consistency about myself because if you're consistent as a person, you can be consistent as a boyfriend, son, husband or basketball player," he said. "I like to have that upbeat, fun and lively spirit.
Â
"All of my family, except for my aunt, has moved back to New Orleans," McKnight continued. "They've all started over from the same house, the same house where the ceiling was wet. You could see the water line. Things are brand new and fresh. You can always start over. Life packs some powerful punches, but you can always start over. Never quit, never give up."
Â
McKnight was directly impacted by Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005. His immediate family had moved to Houston, but the rest of his family was still in New Orleans. Mackey experienced the power of mother nature and the immediate lessons from such a natural disaster.
Â
McKnight learned the value of sharing with family members who had to start from scratch. That experience has translated into his role on the court where Mackey epitomizes that sharing, never-quit attitude.
Â
"No matter how bad it seems, you can still start from scratch and build it right back up into even more powerful things." said McKnight when asked what he learned from the Hurricane Katrina experience. "It can make you stronger."
Â
On the court, McKnight is a leader of the 2013-14 Mountain Hawks, whose never-say-die attitude has been on full display. Lehigh has shown the heart of a champion, including four straight games from January 22 through February 1 when the Mountain Hawks trailed at the half before coming back to win each game. It was capped off by erasing a 15-point halftime deficit to beat preseason Patriot League favorite Boston University on the road.
Â
"Mackey is a vocal person; he plays with passion," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "You see that passion come through with the way he plays. At practice, he is usually the loudest, most vocal person. He likes to energize other people. When he leaves the game, he always seems to be in that crouched position, cheering and clapping for his teammates. I've seen that passion translate to energy and become contagious to others."
Â
McKnight's past has helped mold him to the young man he is today. Mackey grew up in New Orleans before his mother got a new job. His immediate family moved to Houston when Mackey was in elementary school; they would go back to New Orleans during the summer.
Â
"I was flip-flopping in between until I got to middle school when AAU basketball was too much, so I stayed in Houston the whole time," said McKnight.
Â
Mackey was in the eighth grade when Hurricane Katrina hit. He was in Houston, but the rest of his family was affected.
Â
"It just made me a better person and more giving," he continued. "It taught me to be unselfish and cherish everything you have in life because you never know, a natural disaster or anything can take it all away in an instant."
Â
That sharing has been on full display at Lehigh. McKnight is Lehigh's all-time leaders in career assists and stands second in Patriot League history. His assist totals have increased each season, and he's averaging around six assists per game as a senior.
Â
McKnight gains more gratification from dishing an assist than scoring points.
Â
"A lot of people keep telling me they expect me to be the best player, score 20 points per game and just be a complete All-Star, but that's not who I'm trying to be," he said. "I'd rather lead the league in assists than points any day."
Â
By focusing on assists, it creates a chain of events that makes the whole team better.
Â
"I like to pass the ball, see other guys knock down shots and get hyped they made the shot," said McKnight. "That makes me excited because now they're going to be excited to play defense. When everybody's happy, everybody's involved and we're all working together, nothing can stop us.
Â
"Scoring myself is not going to give everybody energy," he continued. "If I pass the ball and make a good pass, I'm happy, now he's happy, then the next person is happy."
Â
Another unfortunate life event taught McKnight some lessons that epitomize the never-quit attitude. When McKnight was a freshman at Lehigh, his best friend Joseph McMullan was tragically shot and killed in California.
Â
"We always talked about growing up and going to a better place," said McKnight. "For him to just die in a place like that, the timing was bad. I was starting something new and he was still stuck in the same position. It really hurt me. He's like a brother to me."
Â
The incident was hard to deal with, setting Mackey back with his grades, but he has bounced back. That experience, much like Hurricane Katrina, helped reinforce the value of little things in life.
Â
 "It hurt, but I've learned and grown a lot," said McKnight. "I love all of my brothers on my team. It makes me cherish them even more so, every day."
Â
One of McKnight's many career highlights was beating Duke in the NCAA Tournament as a sophomore. Mackey enjoyed a tremendous game, scoring 11 points including 2-of-3 from three-point range, while adding three steals, two assists and only one turnover in 38 minutes. That moment was especially emotional since McMullan grew up near Greensboro, North Carolina where the historic upset took place.
Â
All the tough things that have happened in McKnight's life have only made him stronger. On and off the court, you see someone who simply enjoys life. He loves his family, both biological and his Lehigh family, and is always out to dish the assist.
Â
"My family is so big and supportive," said McKnight. "We feel like family should be your foundation. We laugh, we cook together. We just love being together and being part of that New Orleans culture, it's really family-oriented.
Â
"Your family members are your best friends, your backbone and your support system for everything," he continued.
Â
McKnight tries to be the same person in all aspects of life. A big part of who Mackey is as a person goes back to some tragic experiences.
Â
"I do have bad days - everybody has bad days - but I like to have a consistency about myself because if you're consistent as a person, you can be consistent as a boyfriend, son, husband or basketball player," he said. "I like to have that upbeat, fun and lively spirit.
Â
"All of my family, except for my aunt, has moved back to New Orleans," McKnight continued. "They've all started over from the same house, the same house where the ceiling was wet. You could see the water line. Things are brand new and fresh. You can always start over. Life packs some powerful punches, but you can always start over. Never quit, never give up."
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