For the most part, the Knoxville Boys Basketball Squad was a perimeter oriented unit. The Panthers were among the top teams in the state in three point shots attempted. Knoxville was 4th in the state in class 3A with 597 attempts and 6th in the state with 195 makes. That said, late in the season, Kaiden Smith was able to be fully healthy after suffering a preseason knee injury. While Kaiden is not a back to the basket post player, he did get most of his points in the paint. Coach Troy Pearson tells KNIA/KRLS Sports when Smith had the ball inside he could turn and shoot or pass it out to an open shooter.

Pearson: “Today’s game there’s not a lot of those back to the basket kids. I think in the last third of the season he was getting more comfortable and either going up for the shot or passing back out to a teammate, and that is what makes him hard to guard.”

Smith ended up with a 66% shooting average and made 53% of his three