McKnight ready to step into lead role with Pirates

After sitting behind Khadeen Carrington last season, Quincy McKnight is poised to replace him as Seton Hall's point guard. (Photo by Jerry Carino/Asbury Park Press)

By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ -- A guard version of Ismael Sanogo?

Those are the words that Myles Powell, Seton Hall’s junior guard and leading returner, was unafraid to use when describing the defensive chops of new Pirates guard and Sacred Heart transfer Quincy McKnight.

“Just how long he is, how low he stays and how he gets after the ball,” Powell said. “He’s very quick, has a great nose for when to go (for a) steal and when to stay solid. He reminds me of Ish. He loves defense.”

For folks familiar with the Hall the last four years, to compare anyone’s defense to Sanogo’s is the highest possible praise. While no one will confuse the 6’4” McKnight with the 6’9” Swiss Army knife of a defender from last season, Powell isn’t the only person to take notice of the Bridgeport, Connecticut native’s abilities on that side of the ball.

“Quincy sat out for us last year, and I think one reason why Khadeen (Carrington) got so good as the year went on is that he had to go against Quincy (in practice),” head coach Kevin Willard said. “Whatever scout team we had, Quincy was on that team. I just saw a development in Quincy of not only being a really good scorer, but someone who started to understand from a defensive standpoint how to be a point guard.”

Now, to the other side of the ball: McKnight comes to the Pirates after transferring from Sacred Heart University, and in his two years there, scoring was never an issue for him. As a sophomore, he averaged nearly 19 points per game as a sophomore, earning first team all-conference honors in the Northeast Conference while also being named third team All-Met. In one contest that year, he exploded for 44 points against conference rival Bryant. But with Seton Hall, his role is much different.

“It’s completely different,” McKnight added. “When I first got here, I didn’t think I would be passing the ball as much. I thought I was coming in as a scorer. But when I started playing against these guys and the (level of) competition, it was definitely three, four steps above where I came from. I changed my game around. I pass the ball a lot more now and look to shoot second.”

The narrative of a scoring guard needing to learn to be more of a distributor is nothing new for Willard and the Pirates, as there have been very few true point guards in his time as head coach, with guards who were skilled scorers first and passers second (such as Jordan Theodore, Sterling Gibbs, Isaiah Whitehead and Khadeen Carrington, to name a few) being the general order of the day. That transition has gone smoother for some than others, as Seton Hall fans know. For McKnight, it was his teammates that helped him get through the early stages of the process.

“I think before (at Sacred Heart), I wasn’t as comfortable passing because I was the main guy, so people were passing me the ball more,” McKnight stated. “But here, you’re comfortable passing it knowing that your teammates can go and get a bucket.”

Being teammates with Carrington, who had to make that same leap last year, also helped McKnight begin to realize his role with the Pirates.

“Khadeen gave me a lot of pointers last year,” McKnight said. “It was a slow process, but it’s all about learning the tricks of the trade that will help you in the long run.”

The decision to come to Seton Hall was an easy one to make for him, with McKnight citing the competition in the Big East and how the program Willard had built and the players in it felt familiar to what he was used to growing up in Bridgeport. It also meant moving far further away from home, though McKnight has taken that in stride as well.

“Sacred Heart was, probably, five minutes from my house driving,” he said. “Now I’m about an hour and a half, two hours away depending on traffic. But being away from home is great- it allows you to focus more. And having family coming down (to see me), it’s still going to be easy for them.”

That focus is what the Pirates will need this year. While Powell and Michael Nzei are the upperclassmen on this year’s team, neither would be considered a playmaker. That’s where McKnight and freshman Anthony Nelson -- who Willard has praised for his pass-first mentality -- come in, particularly with the more uptempo game that the Hall wants to run this year. A lead playmaking guard is always needed, but especially a team that wants to push the pace, and this is the first year in a while where Seton Hall has primary ball handlers that do not possess game experience within the program. Willard said at Big East media day that because of McKnight’s natural scoring ability, the two guards could play together a bunch to compliment Powell’s considerable shooting and scoring talents.

“Quincy and Anthony are going to play a lot together because we’re going to need Quincy to score,” Willard commented. “He’s got a great ability to put the ball in the hoop. When Q is off the ball, we’re going to need him to score. When he’s on the ball, he’s smart enough and mature enough to realize that he’s got to put the ball in the right guys’ hands.”

The Pirates will take the stage for the first time on Tuesday, November 6 against Wagner at Walsh Gymnasium, and for Quincy McKnight, he’s ready to step into the playmaking spotlight.