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Brad Knoy ’ 96
Journey with Steve Alford was utter magic
T he man still calls and texts him regularly , partly to insert the needle . He could have been at UCLA now , Steve Alford tells Brad Knoy ’ 96 . UCLA .
Knoy just laughs about that . What about the path he chose – a path that led through Manchester University and its basketball program at an utterly magical time – would he change , after all ?
The memories alone are worth it .
“ Not just the town , but kind of the whole area , they hadn ’ t seen that since I 43 | think way back in the ‘ 60s ,” Knoy says of his years as the point guard for Alford ’ s Manchester teams of the mid-1990s . “ That was probably the neatest thing , bringing in extra bleachers at the PERC just to accommodate everybody . And obviously on campus , being a small campus , it was a pretty big deal .”
It was . At the peak of it – the 1994-95 season – the Spartans went 31-1 and reached the NCAA Division III National Championship game , and Knoy was a big part of that . He twice earned all-Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference honors , and he remains Manchester ’ s career assists leader with 566 .
More to the point , he left a piece of his heart always at Manchester , whose mission and small-town sense of community he cherishes to this day .
“ You knew most of the people on campus , your professors were always willing to work with you on different things , and it was just such a great atmosphere ,” Knoy recalls .
“ North Manchester was just such a small , neat little community . Everybody knew everybody , and if you needed something you helped each other out . Whether you were at the Main View having dinner or Mr . Dave ’ s or wherever it was , you almost always knew someone .”
And different from Lafayette , where Knoy starred at Lafayette Jefferson High School , which was almost twice the size of Manchester . He wound up there because , the weekend Jeff played in the state finals in Indianapolis , Knoy ’ s dad happened to be checking into the hotel at the right time .
Turns out Steve Alford was standing right behind him .
The two got to talking , and Knoy had a terrific state tournament and by the next week Alford was calling to invite him to campus .
“ Of course , growing up as an IU fan , when Steve Alford calls you pretty much get on the horn ,” Knoy says . “ So I went for a visit and the rest is history , I guess .”
And if that history didn ’ t lead to UCLA , where Alford now coaches the Bruins ... well , suffice it to say Knoy has no regrets .
After following his college coach to Southwest Missouri State as an assistant , Knoy returned to Lafayette , where he and his wife , Amanda , a former college basketball player at Bradley , have two children . He still coaches basketball , although it ’ s middle school ball . And he owns a couple of businesses – a screenprinting shop and a scrub shop that sells medical uniforms .
“ It ’ s kind of like on the basketball court ,” he says . “ I have six or seven very good and loyal employees , and we make a good team .”
Hardly his first .
By Benjamin Smith
Manchester | 43