July 19, 2013
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Notre Dame forward Tom Knight will be taking a break from the rituals of summer school and workouts with his Irish teammates next week as he heads to Tallinn, Estonia from July 20-28 as a member of the East Coast All-Stars.
Knight will be part of a 12-member squad that will travel to Estonia for the Foreign All-Star Tour 2013. As part of the four-team tournament, the squad will play games against the Estonia National Team, the Belarus National Team and the Republic of Georgia National Team.
Guy Rancourt, head coach at Lycoming College, is the founder of the program that began in 2006 and annually travels to Europe. He will be in his eighth year serving as head coach of the East Coast All-Star squad.
Joining Knight on the team will be Kadeem Batts (Providence), Askia Booker (Colorado), Rakeem Christmas (Syracuse), Mke Gbinije (Syracuse), Eron Harris (West Virginia), Justin Miller (Lycoming), Philip Nolan (Connecticut), Michael Rudy (Lycoming), Russ Smith (Louisville), Jarrod Uthoff (Iowa) and Jabrille Williams (Binghamton).
Knight, who was named Notre Dame’s Most Improved Player, started the final 16 games of the season and appeared in 28 contests during the year. Heading into the 2012-13 season, he had only started three career outings in the 34 games that he had played. Knight averaged career bests of 8.3 points and 3.8 rebounds playing 17.5 minutes per game. He also shot 48.9 percent from the field as he connected on 64 of his 131 field goal attempts. Knight scored in double figures on six occasions, including a career-high 18 points versus Rutgers during a second-round game of the BIG EAST Championship. In that contest, he also hauled in a personal-best nine rebounds. Knight finished second on the team with 26 blocked shots, including a career-high four versus St. John’s in the second meeting of the season between the two teams on March 5, 2013.
“I’m really looking forward to this trip,” Knight says. “This will be my first time in Europe and I am excited to see a new country and a new part of the world. This really is a chance for me to do something different and have a new experience. It’s going to break up the summer for me and give me the opportunity to play basketball in a really different environment.”
Knight will be the third Irish player to take part in this program as a member of the East Coast All-Stars. Scott Martin toured with the team in August 2010, while Jack Cooley played on the team the following year in 2011.
East Coast All-Stars RosterNo. Name Hgt. Class Pos. College15 Kadeem Batts 6-9 Senior Forward Providence03 Askia Booker 6-1 Junior Guard Colorado20 Rakeem Christmas 6-9 Junnior Forward Syracuse11 Mike Gbinije 6-7 Sophomore Guard Syracuse05 Eron Harris 6-2 Sophomore Guard West Virginia21 Tom Knight 6-10 Graduate Center Notre Dame13 Justin Miller 6-8 Senior Center Lycoming14 Phillip Nolan 6-9 Sophomore Forward Connecticut10 Michael Rudy 6-7 Senior Forward Lycoming1 Russ Smith 6-0 Senior Guard Louisville12 Jarrod Uthoff 6-8 Sophomore Forward Iowa4 Jabrille Williams 6-6 Sophomore Guard Binghamton
Head Coach:Guy Rancourt (8th Season)
Assistant Coach: Ken Hamanaka (1st Season)