McKnight Doesn’t Hesitate to Put Up Three-Point Shots

The great thing about Clay McKnight is that he just keeps shooting.

When you’re a freshman playing very significant minutes on a team fighting for first place in conference, you’re supposed to keep the defensive intensity way up and the turnovers way down. If you get a wide-open shot, you might take it. And if you make it, you might take another.

But McKnight has never landed on a spot 19 feet away from the basket that he didn’t absolutely love to shoot from. So he shoots. And if he misses a few, well, he better figure out a way to create some more.

Last week against Utah State, McKnight, who had missed eight three-pointers in a row, was dribbling near the top of the three-point arc. He faked driving to the basket, pulled up, turned his back and dribbled back out. Then, as if an afterthought, he spun around and popped a 20-footer over the head of a relaxed defender.

Swish. It ended an 11-0 second-half Aggie run and put UC Irvine ahead by one. The Anteaters won, 81-76.

“I’m not the kind of guy who comes into the gym and starts shooting layups,” said McKnight, who set an Orange County record with 131 three-pointers last season playing for his father, Gary, at Mater Dei. “My whole life I’ve been trying to perfect that shot. I’m so far away from that, it’s ridiculous, but it’s so much fun to walk into the gym and try to never miss a shot.

“And I love trying to come up with different ways to get it off. I had been working on that one in practice.”

McKnight has made 28 of his last 56 three-pointers and is averaging eight points during that 13-game span. He also has played an average of 21 minutes during the last eight games, a testament to the fact that he’s more than a shooter. He’s a coach’s son.

“He’s not the quickest guy out there, but he’s always in the right place,” Coach Rod Baker said. “His technique and positioning are very good.”

And his anticipation is superb. He has 11 steals in Big West play and almost all of them came when he jumped in a passing lane or intercepted a pass on an inbounds play.

“I just rely on my instincts,” McKnight said. “That’s my approach to the game and it’s gotten me to this point. I don’t try to be a dunker, I don’t have the greatest vertical [leap], I just do what I do. I shoot, I play smart the way I’ve been taught and try to do the little things that help a team win.”

When sophomore guard Brian Keefe hit double figures in each of the Anteaters’ first eight games, McKnight didn’t see a lot of playing time in his future.

“But I was confident there was a place for me on this team,” he said. “I knew it wouldn’t be like my senior year in high school when I was kind of the go-to guy. I knew I’d have to play a role and that was fine with me.”

Then senior forward Shaun Battle was sidelined because of wrist injuries and Baker started using sophomore forward Kevin Simmons inside with Keefe and McKnight in the game at the wings.

“To play 25 minutes as a freshman is a blessing,” McKnight said. “It’s been great for my confidence and I’m very appreciative that Coach Baker has gone to me. And I like to think I’ve responded in a good way.

“I’m just really happy that I’ve been able to contribute to the success of this team this year and I hope to be a part of all the success I’m sure we’ll have in the future.”

The Anteaters, with a first-round bye in Big West tournament, are two victories away from the conference’s automatic NCAA berth and school history, but McKnight isn’t likely to be overwhelmed by success. Mater Dei was 102-4 in his four years there.

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Missing might: If Battle is unable to play in the Big West tournament this weekend and Irvine loses in either the semifinals or finals, Anteater fans will be left wondering how things might have turned out if he was still in the lineup.

Battle, a senior forward, finally had added consistency to a game that for three seasons was highlighted by only occasional flashes of brilliance.

Battle sprained both wrists Feb. 6 breaking a fall against Southern Utah. He played in the next two games--victories over Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State--with his wrists heavily taped and shot 70% from the field, scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

But the pain persisted, the injuries were not healing properly and there was concern another injury could do permanent damage. So both wrists were immobilized in casts.

Battle will be reevaluated this week.

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Observation post: Baker, who was an assistant on the U.S. team in the World University Games for two consecutive summers, says he learned a lot during his experiences with USA Basketball.

“Being with different coaches and players gave me an entirely different perspective,” he said. “One of the problems with coaching on this level is you don’t get to see other people do their thing.

“But on those two staffs, I’ve been with two guys who have won national championships (UCLA’s Jim Harrick and Bo Ryan of Division III Wisconsin Platteville), two other guys who have been to the Final Four (Cincinnati’s Bob Huggins and Florida’s Lon Kruger) and maybe the nicest human being in the world in [Air Force Coach] Reggie Minton.

“It’s a great opportunity to put the things that you do in perspective.”

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Anteater Notes

The sixth-seeded women’s basketball team, which plays No. 3 New Mexico State Thursday night in the first round of the Big West tournament in Reno, will need a better performance from senior center Allah-mi Basheer than the last time the teams met. Basheer, who scored in double figures in every game but two this season, had only eight points and the Aggies beat Irvine, 55- 45. . . . Basheer and forward Leticia Osegura have combined to score more than half of Irvine’s points and have more than 55% of the team’s rebounds.