The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Zane Knowles is looking to make an immediate impact in his adjustment to a new club, a powerhouse in the Greek Champions League.

Knowles averaged 8.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game for PAOK Thessaloniki this season.

“I want to maintain this. It’s a long season and it’s a difficult league to play in. I just try and go out on the floor and play the best I can,” he said. “It’s not always about the stats it’s about how well I can do the job that the coaches ask for. It’s about being focused all the time and taking advantage of the time you get. I play 20 minutes and come off the bench and when I hit the floor I make sure I give it my all.”

Thus far, some of his best performances were 13 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Larissa BC and nine points with 12 rebounds in a loss to Ionikas Nikaias. PAOK has struggled thus far at 1-4.

“The basketball atmosphere here at PAOK is great, from off and on the court. They have great facilities and they are known to have coached some NBA players, Dennis Schröder was the last player who played and was coached by Kostas Flevarakis.

“I’m learning new things everyday and as a player I appreciate the coaches on giving me tips that will help me succeed,” he said.

“The city is great, I couldn’t have asked for a better city. It’s almost like Miami, and it’s right next to the water and just the locals are crazy. It’s just like the USA and everywhere you go people know you. It’s a culture for the fans of POAK. They consider you family and they support the team until the death. Everyone in the city speaks English and the Greek food here is wonderful.”

Knowles had an opportunity to return to the French ProB League with Etoile Charleville-Mezieres, but the offer in Greece was one he could not pass up.

“France was where I spent the last two years and I had some offers and it was definitely a place I felt compatible with. I really enjoyed France and I was close to Paris and I loved it,” he said.

“I was at home training, it was coming towards the end of the summer and I got a call and offer from PAOK in Greece. They have won a couple of EuroLeague titles in the last 20 years and it’s a strong and respectable organisation in Europe. When they made the offer my day lit up, I was on such a high and with them playing in the Champions League and being on the fringe of getting back to the power they were I knew it was a great spot. I spoke to the coach and he liked my game, didn’t judge me off my past team’s results but had a plan for my game specifically for his team and let me know that I had qualities that his team was looking for.”

In 27 games with the club last season, he recorded nine points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

Knowles spent his first professional season with Siarka Tarnobrzeg and King Wilki Morskie Szczecin of the Polish Basketball League or Tauron Basket Liga, the highest level of pro basketball in the country. He has played also professionally in Japan (Tokyo Cinq Reves and Wakayama Trians) where he averaged 9.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 24 total appearances. “When I went to Japan the hardest thing was the language barrier. We had a translator to help but one of the biggest adjustments was the food. Sometimes you don’t know what you are eating and the portion sizes are really small. The atmosphere is very different. The way the people act, they are very clean people, so things we are used to in our culture may offend them and that’s something I had to get used to embrace the culture and appreciate another part of the world,” Knowles said.

Coming out of Texas A and M Corpus Christi, Knowles was drafted by the Wisconsin Herd of the NBA G-League in third round (68th overall).

Knowles participated in the G-League’s Star’s Open Tryouts last season before being cut in training camp and eventually signing in Poland. He spent his freshman year at Grambling, where he was hampered by several injuries. He played in just 15 games and averaged 1.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.8 minutes per outing.

After completing a stint at Pearl River Community College (12.6 points, 8.4 rebounds per game), Knowles completed his final two years of eligibility with the Texas A and M Corpus Christi Islanders. As a junior he averaged 5.3 points and four rebounds per game and as a senior, increased those numbers to 7.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. “I lived in Houston from when I finished college. I played pick up games with players who were playing overseas and NBA and that’s what made me realise I was better than what I thought. I was and it was important for me to get into the best situation I could get into,” Knowles said. “Coming home and playing in Summer of Thunder showed me how much more complete of a better basketball player I have become and how different the college level is than the pro level. It was a good workout to stay sharp with my skills, and it shows the players who have aspirations to play college or pro to see the hard work and level you need to be at.”

Nicknamed “Viking” by his Bahamian national team teammates, Knowles said he continues to look for the programme to develop during this window with Buddy Hield and Deandre Ayton leading the way.

“Bahamas Basketball has grown through the years and I’m happy to be a part of that. The past summers I’ve been training in the US and this summer I wanted to do it differently and one of the main things is being able to spend more time with my family. I’m happy to be a part of the national team and I think we are going to do great things and shock people. We have a lot of high level pieces especially having NBA players and the overseas pros,” he said.

Knowles looks to help the development of other aspiring basketball players looking for a path toward professional basketball opportunities. To that end, he continues to assist his cousin Jaraun “Kino” Burrows with the development of the Raw Talent organisation.

Ultimately, Knowles said the goal is to help other players along their basketball journey. “My journey with basketball it’s a bit different at first, I played baseball then soccer, I was always playing soccer and everyone told me I should play basketball because I was tall,” Knowles said.