Knight to Start, Young to Come Off Bench

Coach Steve Lavin apparently has decided to continue to bring Ray Young off the bench in hopes of a continued spark, so Billy Knight got his chance to move into the starting lineup at shooting guard Saturday.

He became the Bruins’ third starter there in as many games, a change prompted by Rico Hines’ toe injury. Matt Barnes got the promotion at one of the wing spots Thursday at Oregon State--the position is mostly interchangeable with that of small forward Jason Kapono--but played only 11 minutes. So Knight got his chance two nights later at Oregon.

He responded by making six of seven shots and scoring 13 points, tying Jerome Moiso for team-high honors. It was significant not only because of how he took advantage of the rare start, his second of the season, but because that, along with the 29 minutes, were indications from Lavin that Knight’s defense continues to improve.

“It’s not necessarily a reward,” Knight said. “It’s just that I’m playing hard. Coach is not looking at individuals. It’s just who plays hard.”

Lavin, meanwhile, said he likes the spark Young gives in a reserve role and that he will probably continue to come off the bench. Lavin even chose Knight after Young had consecutive games of 10 and 22 points while making a combined 12 of 19 shots, before Young missed all eight of his shots against Oregon.