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/ Women's Basketball
Knight ranks in the top-20 at Georgia Southern in scoring, rebounds and assists.
Photo by: Frank Fortune - Georgia Southern Athletics
Women’s Basketball: Knight Caps Prolific Career
3/4/2015 9:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Eagles play host to UT Arlington Thursday at 5 p.m.
STATESBORO, Ga. – Anna Claire Knight has seen just about everything in her four-year college basketball career.
The lone senior on the Eagles' squad has played for two different coaching staffs, in two leagues - the Southern Conference and the Sun Belt. In conference play alone, she has played games in 20 different arenas, located in 20 diverse cities. Her travels have taken her just about everywhere – from San Marcos, Texas, to Hattiesburg, Miss., to Boca Raton, Fla. – and she has racked up over 1,200 points and 500 rebounds, which both rank in the top-20 in program history, to go with nearly 200 assists and 100 steals along the way.
Knight will lace up the sneakers in Hanner Fieldhouse one more time Thursday evening, when the Eagles play host to UT Arlington at 5 p.m. The preseason Sun Belt Conference selection is averaging 10.8 points and 5.5 rebounds in Georgia Southern's inaugural season in the league, which has not gone the way the Eagles would have liked.
"The Sun Belt is a lot more athletic, obviously," Knight says. "I feel like the SoCon had better skill players, and the Sun Belt has more athletic players. Neither one is necessarily better than the other, but the athleticism in the Sun Belt is hard to adjust to. I think we're transitioning into a more athletic team and getting more players who are athletic and will end up being really productive in the future."
If she could change anything about her time at Georgia Southern?
"More wins," she says. "Besides that, I liked everything else."
As a matter of fact, Knight is looking to make basketball her career. She is toying with the thought of playing overseas and has recently been bit by the coaching bug.
"I wanted to make sure I didn't want to get into coaching just because basketball is all I've ever known and that I did really want to coach so I tried to explore other options, but this year, I think it just hit me that I cannot see myself doing anything but coaching," she says. "Whether I go play overseas or what, hopefully when I come back, I can start that career."
A sports management major, the Dublin, Ga., native began an internship with Athletic Director Chandler Dennard at Bulloch Academy in Statesboro in the fall and when basketball season arrived, began helping to coach the varsity and junior varsity Lady Gator squads when her scheduled allowed. She even served as the head coach of the JV team for a couple games.
Knight was also on the bench when Bulloch Academy topped her alma mater, Trinity Christian, in the Region Championship in Statesboro. It was a bittersweet feeling for Knight, who scored over 3,000 points in leading Trinity to three region titles during her high school career.
"Because I'd been helping Bulloch, and it's kind of my job, you know I'm on Bulloch's team," Knight says. "After the game, when we were shaking the Trinity coaches' hands, I kind of felt bad for them."
Coaches, even in different sports, often share ideas and philosophies. Should a career in coaching come to fruition for Knight, a big fan of Duke basketball, she says she'll likely try to emulate coach Mike Krzyzewski and the Duke program.
"I watch a lot of Duke basketball, ever since I was little, and Coach K obviously brings a lot as a head coach," says Knight. "(Georgia Southern assistant coach Carolyn) Riley gave me a lot of Duke film, like their defense, and things like that."
If she had a time machine and could go back and give advice to a young Anna Claire about to enter Georgia Southern, she'd say, "Get ready, because you're going to learn a lot and grow a lot. Have fun while you're doing it and relax – I should have been a lot more relaxed my first couple years."
Her favorite visiting arena to play in was Georgia's Stegeman Coliseum – Troy's Trojan Arena in the Sun Belt and in the SoCon, College of Charleston's TD Arena. Her favorite city to visit was Nashville, Tenn., and her favorite hotel was a Doubletree in downtown New Orleans. Her favorite trip was a Thanksgiving trip her freshman year in which the Eagles traveled to Selma, Ala., and New Orleans en route to playing at Alabama and in a tournament at Mississippi State.
Knight will play the final contest of her career, her 119th game, at Georgia State Saturday in Atlanta, a short, 135-mile drive up I-75 from Dublin. It seems like just yesterday she was trying to shake off the butterflies before donning her Georgia Southern jersey for the first time against Arizona in Hanner Fieldhouse.
A reflective Knight leaves her teammates with this advice.
"Work hard, do your best and have fun while you are doing it," she says. "Time flies, and you only get this opportunity once in your lifetime. Enjoy it and take advantage of it."
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. For tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events, call 1-800-GSU-WINS or visit GSEagles.com.
The lone senior on the Eagles' squad has played for two different coaching staffs, in two leagues - the Southern Conference and the Sun Belt. In conference play alone, she has played games in 20 different arenas, located in 20 diverse cities. Her travels have taken her just about everywhere – from San Marcos, Texas, to Hattiesburg, Miss., to Boca Raton, Fla. – and she has racked up over 1,200 points and 500 rebounds, which both rank in the top-20 in program history, to go with nearly 200 assists and 100 steals along the way.
Knight will lace up the sneakers in Hanner Fieldhouse one more time Thursday evening, when the Eagles play host to UT Arlington at 5 p.m. The preseason Sun Belt Conference selection is averaging 10.8 points and 5.5 rebounds in Georgia Southern's inaugural season in the league, which has not gone the way the Eagles would have liked.
"The Sun Belt is a lot more athletic, obviously," Knight says. "I feel like the SoCon had better skill players, and the Sun Belt has more athletic players. Neither one is necessarily better than the other, but the athleticism in the Sun Belt is hard to adjust to. I think we're transitioning into a more athletic team and getting more players who are athletic and will end up being really productive in the future."
If she could change anything about her time at Georgia Southern?
"More wins," she says. "Besides that, I liked everything else."
As a matter of fact, Knight is looking to make basketball her career. She is toying with the thought of playing overseas and has recently been bit by the coaching bug.
"I wanted to make sure I didn't want to get into coaching just because basketball is all I've ever known and that I did really want to coach so I tried to explore other options, but this year, I think it just hit me that I cannot see myself doing anything but coaching," she says. "Whether I go play overseas or what, hopefully when I come back, I can start that career."
A sports management major, the Dublin, Ga., native began an internship with Athletic Director Chandler Dennard at Bulloch Academy in Statesboro in the fall and when basketball season arrived, began helping to coach the varsity and junior varsity Lady Gator squads when her scheduled allowed. She even served as the head coach of the JV team for a couple games.
Knight was also on the bench when Bulloch Academy topped her alma mater, Trinity Christian, in the Region Championship in Statesboro. It was a bittersweet feeling for Knight, who scored over 3,000 points in leading Trinity to three region titles during her high school career.
"Because I'd been helping Bulloch, and it's kind of my job, you know I'm on Bulloch's team," Knight says. "After the game, when we were shaking the Trinity coaches' hands, I kind of felt bad for them."
Coaches, even in different sports, often share ideas and philosophies. Should a career in coaching come to fruition for Knight, a big fan of Duke basketball, she says she'll likely try to emulate coach Mike Krzyzewski and the Duke program.
"I watch a lot of Duke basketball, ever since I was little, and Coach K obviously brings a lot as a head coach," says Knight. "(Georgia Southern assistant coach Carolyn) Riley gave me a lot of Duke film, like their defense, and things like that."
If she had a time machine and could go back and give advice to a young Anna Claire about to enter Georgia Southern, she'd say, "Get ready, because you're going to learn a lot and grow a lot. Have fun while you're doing it and relax – I should have been a lot more relaxed my first couple years."
Her favorite visiting arena to play in was Georgia's Stegeman Coliseum – Troy's Trojan Arena in the Sun Belt and in the SoCon, College of Charleston's TD Arena. Her favorite city to visit was Nashville, Tenn., and her favorite hotel was a Doubletree in downtown New Orleans. Her favorite trip was a Thanksgiving trip her freshman year in which the Eagles traveled to Selma, Ala., and New Orleans en route to playing at Alabama and in a tournament at Mississippi State.
Knight will play the final contest of her career, her 119th game, at Georgia State Saturday in Atlanta, a short, 135-mile drive up I-75 from Dublin. It seems like just yesterday she was trying to shake off the butterflies before donning her Georgia Southern jersey for the first time against Arizona in Hanner Fieldhouse.
A reflective Knight leaves her teammates with this advice.
"Work hard, do your best and have fun while you are doing it," she says. "Time flies, and you only get this opportunity once in your lifetime. Enjoy it and take advantage of it."
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. For tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events, call 1-800-GSU-WINS or visit GSEagles.com.
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