Transfer season: Modesto Christian boys hoops welcomes another high-profile talent

The new kid penetrated the lane, drawing two defenders. Instead of forcing a shot through the tangle of arms above him, he whipped a wrap-around pass to the other new kid.

Is there a transfer of power within the Modesto Christian High boys basketball program? Likely, if you consider all the new faces on the floor.

Less than a month after the arrival of Junior Ballard, a high-scoring guard with four Division I offers, the Crusaders, already boosted by the return of juniors Aaron Murphy and Dathan Satchell, welcomed junior point guard Earvin Knox into the mix.

Knox, a true facilitator with ties to the fabled Oakland Soldiers AAU program, enrolled on Tuesday and joined Modesto Christian for a morning workout on Wednesday. He was accompanied by his father, Ernest Knox, who said the transfer is rooted in academics, not basketball.

In three years, Ernest Knox said his son had outgrown the public school system in Sacramento. Trusting the advice of an academic specialist at a Sacramento-area college, Ernest Knox decided to pull his youngest son out of Luther Burbank High.

Of all the schools in the valley, Ernest Knox said Modesto Christian, with its small class sizes and proximity to family — he is moving into the area for the school year — offered the right “environment” for his son to blossom.

“I got only two family members in family that went to college,” Ernest Knox said. “I have over 100 family members and me and my sister are the only ones to go to college. So education was one of the biggest things.

“No knock on a public school – I actually went to Luther Burbank myself – they tend to use you as a sports player and you don’t really get to figure out who you are. … Earv needs to find out who he is. He’s more than a basketball player and that’s one of the reasons why we ended up at Modesto Christian.”

On the floor, Knox is a natural talent. Raised a baseball and soccer player, Knox didn’t begin to play basketball until the sixth grade. Since then, he’s developed into a prolific point guard.

Luther Burbank went 49-12 in two seasons with Knox at the helm and lost to Beyer in the semifinal round of last season’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs. Burbank was the No. 2 seed.

Knox’s high school statistics were tame for a player of his stature. He averaged just 6.6 points on 45 percent shooting in two seasons, but he had nearly a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio as a sophomore.

His father believes he could average more than 10 assists per game at Modesto Christian, where the Crusaders boast at least nine college prospects: Ballard, Gabe Murphy, Aaron Murphy, Tyler Williams, Michael Pearson Jr., Baljot Sahi, Tsotne Tsartsidze, Satchell and Knox.

The 5-foot-10 Knox is rated No. 8 in the Class of 2019 by The NorCal Report and plays for the Oakland Soldiers’ Nike-sponsored 16-and-under team.

“Earvin has a high basketball IQ. He’s a great team player,” Ernest Knox said. “He can score, but looks to set up his teammates more. I would say he’s probably going to average double figure assists over the next couple of years. That’s the type of player he is; very unselfish.”

Knox will battle Pearson for minutes.

Coach Brice Fantazia may also use the two in the backcourt together. Pearson started at point guard as a freshman last season, but he is a capable scorer. He averaged 16 points in eight games at the Sheldon-Franklin Summer Jam last week.

“I don’t think it will affect him at all. Mike has the ability to play off the ball, as well as on the ball,” Fantazia said. “Like I said, I’ve never really seen (Knox) play, so I don’t know his skill set or how he’ll fit in. We know how Mike will fit in. I already know what Mike’s role is with this team.”

Minutes, though, depend solely on performance in practice.

Knox acclimated himself quickly to the pace and competition on Wednesday. He was paired with Ballard, among others, in the final hour as Modesto Christian scrimmaged on two courts.

Knox and Ballard were regulars on the winner’s court.

Ernest Knox watched from the baseline, speaking with Fantazia and assistant coach Greg Rosenbaum. It’s been a long two-day process for the family. On Tuesday, the Knoxes met with school officials, completing the enrollment process around 4 p.m.

“The main thing he understands is without the academic side, basketball doesn’t even exist,” Ernest Knox said. “We want him to understand he’s more than just a basketball player. That’s a small part of your life. … We want him to open up and find his other skills he’s good at other than dribbling a basketball.”

With two high-profile transfers, Fantazia isn’t worried about the perception of MC as a basketball factory.

“It’s been like that for years at Modesto Christian. People have their different views. People don’t know how hard we work,” said Fantazia, a former player who transferred to Modesto Christian after three years at Turlock High. “A lot of people who criticize us do a disservice to the kids. The don’t know how hard the kids work, how hard our coaching staff works.

“Like coach (Gary) Porter used to say, success attracts. Kids want to come to prepare for college and play with other kids with the same goals. That’s how it’s been. MC always gets accused of recruiting. Other schools, when they get transfers, nobody says a word. When we get transfers, it’s a big deal. It’s frustrating at times, hearing people say stuff, but when you know you’re in it for the right reasons, it really doesn’t matter much.”

This story was originally published June 28, 2017 at 12:46 PM with the headline "Transfer season: Modesto Christian boys hoops welcomes another high-profile talent."