Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Boynton-Knight duo fuels Team Breakdown to Reebok title

The tandem of Kenny Boynton and Brandon Knight powered Team Breakdown of Florida over D-One Sports, 81-64, for the Reebok Summer Championships title on Saturday night.

Boynton, a 6-foot-2 guard considered a top-10 national recruiting prospect, led everyone with 26 points and showed he’s a veteran of the Las Vegas summer scene.

Five years ago, as a 12-year-old, he poured in 45 points in an Under-17 game.

“I just realized then that I have a good shot,” Boynton said. “I shot from everywhere that night. After that, my name was out there. I’ve kept working hard.”

Knight, who rang up 24 points against D-One, might be lethal if he could see. Florida coach Billy Donovan stood in a corner of the Foothill High gym in Henderson on Saturday and Knight never saw him.

He needs glasses. A new pair awaits the junior-to-be at home in Coral Springs, Fla., which he didn’t bring to Las Vegas because of the transition required.

“All I know is, there are important people watching the games,” Knight said. “I really can’t see that far. I’ll work with the glasses when I get home.”

None of that consoled John Wall, a 6-4 senior-to-be from Raleigh, N.C., who led D-One with 20 points.

After the game, he posed for a picture with the two Breakdown stars on both sides of him before a large Reebok banner.

“They’re two great kids,” Wall said. “Brandon, I think he’s the best player in that class. And Kenny, boy, he’s one of the top players in the country. They know how to play together.

“They came out and played harder than us.”

Knight was proud that Breakdown avenged a pool-play defeat to D-One, atoned for losing the Reebok title game last summer and became the first Florida squad to win the championship.

Breakdown stayed at Circus-Circus, too.

“I heard that no team that has stayed on the Strip ever won this tournament,” Knight said. “I don’t know if that’s correct, but we tried to break history. Circus-Circus is a crazy place, but we kept our focus and cool.”

Both teams finished the tournament 7-1.

At the start of the second half, Breakdown nursed a 46-38 lead when it ran away from D-One with 14 consecutive points.

Knight had five of those and Boynton scored seven, including the final four on a back-breaking series.

He sank a free throw then missed, but teammate Pe’Shon Howard yanked down the rebound and zipped it back to Knight, who drilled a long 3-point shot from the right side.

“Everyone got scared,” Wall said. “They were nervous. Where I’m from, you keep playing no matter what. My team let down. We’d never been down by 10 before.

“They hurt us. They took a punch, and they kept scoring and scoring and scoring.”

Wall’s favored list of colleges includes Memphis, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina State.

Boynton said he’s interested in Kansas State, Georgia Tech, Florida, Duke, Texas, Memphis and Southern California.

He plans to make a decision during the early-signing period in the fall and was blunt when asked if fans should read into him mentioning Kansas State first.

“They can read into it,” said Boynton, smiling. “I’m looking at them real good.”

Knight, who will be part of the 2010 recruiting class, almost whispered when saying that Miami, Florida, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Wake Forest, Syracuse, Indiana and Georgetown have all shown keen interest in him.

He agreed that he’s nonchalant about the process.

“You have to be,” Knight said. “If you get mixed up in it, it can get to your head where it doesn’t need to be. I’m still young. Right now, I don’t have to be worried about that.”

He’s most concerned with getting home and getting used to those new glasses. Imagine how dangerous he will be when the rim is in focus.

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