Regardless of any debates over recruiting strategy between the transfer portal and high school level, new Arkansas basketball coach John Calipari has brought his adept ability to recruit elite high school prospects into his program.
In his first summer on the job, the Hall of Famer brought three of the six recruits previously committed to Kentucky with him to The Hill, all of whom were ranked among the top 25 nationally by at least one outlet.
Johnell “Boogie” Fland is the highest rated recruit in this class and has drawn interest as a potential first-round pick in next year’s NBA Draft, but fellow freshman guard Karter Knox has a unique opportunity to play a pivotal role for the Hogs next season.
Standing at 6-foot-5, Knox is a hybrid wing player capable of playing the two or three, but in today’s modern, ever-changing basketball landscape, he could likely even spend time at the four in a small-ball, or “positionless basketball,” lineup.
He’s ranked as the No. 21 player in the country in the 2025 class on both Rivals and On3, while also boasting a No. 25 and No. 26 ranking on 247Sports and ESPN, respectively. Knox is considered a 4-star recruit on each platform, though he’s listed in the top 10 among recruits barely missing 5-star status.
Karter Knox Scouting Report
Karter Knox is the younger brother of former Kentucky star and current NBA player Kevin Knox. In his lone season at Kentucky, the elder Knox brother averaged 15.6 points and 5.4 rebounds on 45% shooting from the field and 34% from long range before being drafted No. 9 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Much like his older brother, Karter projects to be a true three-level scorer. This essentially means he can be equally dangerous from all levels of the court, whether he’s knocking down shots from the perimeter, pulling up off the dribble from the midrange or attacking the basket with his length and athleticism – often finishing through defenders while generating free throw attempts.
Knox’s trainer at Overtime Elite, Corey Frazier, told Best of Arkansas Sports that one of the key focal points for the newest Razorback wing this summer was staying aggressive and utilizing his body when attacking the paint.
“Your downhill [drives] need to be LeBron James type drives, getting that body into the defender,” Frazier said of Knox. “The goal this season is to be so aggressive it leads to 10 free throw attempts per game.”
Former Arkansas coach Eric Musselman often had the Hogs among the best in the nation at free throws attempted, so this would be nothing new for Razorback fans. For Knox individually, however, it could work wonders for his game.
He has the talent and shooting stroke to be an effective scorer all over the court, but if he’s able to generate 7-8 free points per game and see the ball go through the net a few times, sometimes that’s all it takes for a lethal scorer to get hot.
One of the other major parts of Knox’s game that makes him such an intriguing young prospect is his advanced footwork for his age. This is another thing Frazier has been working with Knox to develop during his time with OTE.
Several times throughout this workout clip, you can see Frazier working with Knox on getting his footwork right – whether it be coming off of screens, dribbling through contact or setting up for catch-and-shoot jumpers.
A lot of young prospects can be creative with the ball in their hands and have a pretty jump shot, but those that master the fundamentals of footwork and body control early on are the ones who have a great chance to be elite scorers throughout their basketball careers.
The late, great Kobe Bryant spent large portions of his workouts focusing on basic footwork doing things like pivoting, basic crossovers and stepping into a shot. Author and general life performance strategist Scott Welle was able to watch one of Bryant’s workouts in which he spent nearly an hour on only footwork. Welle asked, “Kobe, you’re the best player in the world, why would you spend 45-plus minutes of your workout doing such basic footwork?”
Kobe responded, “Why do you think I’m the best player in the world?”
Understand, Knox is not the next Kobe Bryant – there may never be another Kobe – but much like the current generation of basketball stars that idolized Bryant and his work ethic, Knox can use that sort of attention to detail to turn himself into the type of scoring threat that strikes fear into his opponents.
Player Comparison: More Ant than Kobe
While Karter Knox might employ some of Kobe Bryant’s attention to detail in his workouts and style of play, he’s not the best true player comparison for the young wing. There is, however, another up-and-coming NBA star who spent his lone season of college in the SEC and shares similar athleticism and footwork in the mid-post as a young Kobe Bryant.
Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves – and formerly of the Georgia Bulldogs – is one of the more athletic players in the world. Though he has the upper hand on Knox in the raw athleticism department, Knox is not a below-the-rim type of player by any means. He has little qualms about finishing through contact or above the rim when he sees an opportunity.
The thing that really connects the style of player between Edwards and Knox is their high shot release and ability to get to their spots offensively. Both are above-average 3-point shooters, but it’s their ability to put the ball on the floor and get into the midrange where their athleticism and length allows them to get an easy shot off over the top of defenders.
They both have enough ball handling ability to blow by their defenders, but they often do so off of pump fakes, jab steps or attacking a defender who’s reckless in their attempt to close out to a perimeter shooter. Sure, Edwards has started to amass a highlight reel of embarrassing defenders and their ankles with the ball in his hands, but he’s most efficient when using one or two moves to get to his spot, rise up and get a shot off.
Knox can be a very similar type of player at Arkansas this season. He is a significant enough threat from the perimeter that defenders will have to respect his outside shot, but he’s also continuously improving his ability to let a defender fly by and either take a side-step 3-pointer, or a one dribble pull-up from the midrange.
All of this goes without even mentioning that both players are liable to make a few highlight reels if they ever get the ball on a fast break opportunity.
The only question mark around Knox’s offensive game is exactly how efficiently it will translate to the next level – the ability is undoubtedly there. The defensive side of the ball will likely be what determines his overall playing time this season.
He clearly has the length and athleticism to be a plus defender, but so did Edwards in college when he was far from a defensive stud. It’s worth remembering, however, that some people questioned Edwards’ passion for the game in general due to his lackadaisical effort at times – something Knox seems more likely to avoid at this point in his career.
Regardless, Edwards has dispelled those doubts in the NBA with his much-improved defensive ability and effort. If Knox is able to replicate that type of effort and efficiency on the defensive side of the ball earlier in his career, he could break into the first round of next year’s NBA Draft. That’s still a big “if,” of course, for a young, offensive-minded talent like Knox.
Fit with 2024-25 Arkansas Basketball
With John Calipari’s newly implemented strategy of bringing in only nine high-profile guys for his main rotation and filling out the rest of the roster with walk-on types, Knox will have plenty of opportunity to prove himself and earn a significant role for the Hogs this season.
He projects as a wing/forward thanks to his height and frame, but he would likely be most comfortable at the three with two guards and two other forwards/bigs on the court with him. This means his main competition for minutes will be junior Kentucky transfer Adou Thiero and fellow incoming four-star freshman Billy Richmond.
Both Thiero and Richmond could be argued as better overall defenders than Knox at this stage, but neither really has much of an argument as a better offensive talent. That’s why Knox’s defensive development could really dictate just how important his role is with Arkansas next season.
Should he struggle on that side of the ball, Calipari will have two solid options to turn to – though both are likely to be a downgrade offensively. It’s not unrealistic to think that Knox has a real chance to earn a starting role at small forward, with his biggest competition being Thiero.
Even if he does settle into a bench role, he’s likely to be the scoring punch that coaches at all levels look for off the bench. Look no further than both Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard last season with Kentucky. Arguments can be made that their value as offensive weapons should’ve earned them a starting spot, but both still had plenty of minutes and opportunity to earn themselves spots as lottery picks in the 2024 NBA Draft.
It’s also not unreasonable to think that Calipari could deploy some funky lineup combinations that push Knox up to the shooting guard, or even down to the four spot if all three guards in Fland, DJ Wagner and Johnell Davis were to share the court together.
Regardless of where he starts each game, Knox is going to be impossible to keep off the court this season and is more than likely going to be a top-three scorer on the upcoming squad. He might even have a chance to lead the team in scoring should Davis not maintain his high scoring efficiency at the SEC level.
***
Check out some more highlights of Arkansas basketball freshman Karter Knox:
***
More player breakdowns and coverage of Arkansas basketball from BoAS…
