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Tonya Knight says it has been “hectic” for her son, former Kentucky point guard Brandon Knight, as he continues to work out and talk to NBA teams before finding out later this month where he will be headed following the NBA draft.
“Brandon is just traveling and working out for different teams. He’s actually enjoying it. Not much stresses him out. He leaves all that to his mother,” Tonya Knight said. “He doesn’t worry at all. He doesn’t mention any worries or concerns. It’s just life as usual for him, just like it was all last season when he only focused on winning a championship and not what next year might bring. He just doesn’t worry.”
She admits it has helped that her son hired an agent to take care of scheduling and other things for him before the draft in New York, which she will attend with her husband and Brandon’s older brother.
“I think we are all looking forward to that,” she said.
Many mock drafts have Knight projected as a top-10 pick. Some have him going in the top five. All have him as a lottery pick.
“I don’t speculate or look,” Tonya Knight said. “I learned a long time ago not to speculate about things Iżcould not control. Iżam not at all worried about where he’ll go or what team will pick him. He will do what he is supposed to do and be fine. That’s just him.
“Brandon is just wired differently from most kids. You won’t hear him talk about being popular or this or that. It’s just not in his DNA. He just takes things as they come. Iżknow that is very different from most people, but that is the way it has always been with him.”
He’s not taking summer school classes — he insisted when he announced he was leaving Kentucky after his freshman year with almost 60 hours of college credit that he would complete his degree — because of the team workouts and draft. But he said during the NCAA tournament that if he did turn pro, he would actually miss taking classes. He made all A’s both semesters at Kentucky.
“I know he will miss his academics. Basketball and school have been part of his life forever,” Tonya Knight said. “That is taking a piece of him away when he can’t go to class. He has already told me as soon as his life stabilizes he will be back in school, and Iżknow he’s very sincere about that. I know not many athletes might be that way, but he is.”
Tonya Knight has not decided what she’ll do next year. She lived and worked in Lexington last season to be closer to her son.
“More than likely I will be going wherever he goes for next year,” she said. “Iżhave made a lot of friends here. Iżknow a lot of people that I would really miss. I will absolutely miss being in Lexington.”
She knew plenty about Lexington before her son left Florida to play for the Wildcats.
“My best friend lives in Lexington, so I have been coming to Lexington for years,” Tonya Knight said. “She and Iżused to work together for years. So I knew a lot of people already in Lexington, and that just made it even better for me.
“But we had a great year in Lexington. Brandon loved playing for Kentucky and the Kentucky basketball fans.
“It was everything he wanted the year to be, so that makes it hard to leave.”