Kevin Knox is the 5-star wing every team desperately needs

The hardest player to find in college basketball is a big wing who can score from all three levels. Every coach wants one, but there are only a few players every year who fit the description.

A big wing is a walking mismatch problem. In the small ball era, the big wing is typically moved to the four, where he’s too fast for a traditional big man to defend while also giving you another shooter. Slide him down to the three and he can bully opposing guards who don’t have the size to contain him.

It only takes one look at Kevin Knox then to realize why he’s one of the most coveted players in the country.

We first introduced you to Knox a year ago as he was trying to make the transition from quarterback to blue-chip basketball recruit. In the time since, Knox has solidified himself as a top-10 prospect. He won a gold medal with USA Basketball and competed in the McDonald’s All-American Game, Nike Hoop Summit, and Jordan Brand Classic.

Now it’s time for him to pick a school. Knox better get this choice right because he’s already turned down a $1.4 million offer to play professionally overseas.

The 6’9, 205-pound wing is down to five choices. Here’s what he would do for all of his finalists.

The Tar Heels know the value of a big wing better than anyone. Justin Jackson departs for the NBA after leading North Carolina to the national championship this season. Now Roy Williams needs to find his replacement.

Getting Knox would be huge for UNC. For one, it would signal Williams is again capable of landing a five-star recruit. The Tar Heels have only signed one McDonald’s All-American since their 2014 class that featured three in Jackson, Joel Berry II, and Theo Pinson. Knox would be their biggest pull in recruiting since that group three years ago.

It would also show recruits aren’t worried about the academic scandal that still hangs over North Carolina. The scandal started to surface when Jackson, Berry and Pinson were high school juniors and remains unresolved today. Williams believes other schools use the scandal against UNC in recruiting. If Williams can land Knox, perhaps it will re-open the doors for North Carolina as a one-and-done destination.

From a basketball perspective, Knox is a seamless fit in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels will be a national championship contender with Berry, Pinson, and Tony Bradley coming back. Knox would replace Jackson as the combo forward in the starting lineup. His skill set is perfect for a UNC offense that loves to push the pace and run in transition.

Mike Krzyzewski’s coaching philosophy has shifted since taking over as the head of USA Basketball before the 2008 Olympics. Coach K has now embraced a small ball, spread offense that consistently makes Duke one of the most efficient teams in the country on that end of the floor.

The key to small ball is a big wing like Knox. Duke looks for a player like this on the recruiting trail every year, whether it’s Jabari Parker or Justise Winslow or Brandon Ingram or Jayson Tatum. Duke is still missing that player for next season. They have to land Knox for the system to work.

With the return of Grayson Allen, Duke should again be one of the best teams in the country. Frank Jackson is poised for a breakout sophomore year, and incoming freshman Wendell Carter Jr. will make an instant impact as a big man who can control the glass and score inside. Duke is still in the mix for fellow five-stars Mohamed Bamba and Trevon Duval, too.

You can make the case that Knox is the most vital get of all of Duke’s targets for next season. They have no one else to replace Tatum in the starting lineup. He would be perfect in that role.

Everything has changed for Mizzou over the last month. It started with hiring Cuonzo Martin away from Cal and continued when No. 1 overall recruit Michael Porter Jr. flipped his commitment from Washington to Missouri following the firing of Lorenzo Romar.

The combination of Martin and Porter has put the Tigers in a position to potentially reel in Knox. He recently visited campus and included Mizzou in his final list of schools. Knox and Porter know each other well from the All-Star Game circuit and putting both together on the same team would be a nightmare for any opponent.

Who could possibly matchup against two 6’9 wings with elite athleticism and capable three-point strokes? Martin once landed a pair of five-star recruits at Cal with Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb. This would be an even bigger coup.

The question for Knox is if he wants to be Porter’s sidekick or the man somewhere else. Another factor: unlike the blue bloods Knox is considering, Mizzou is no lock to make the NCAA tournament. Adding another 5-star recruit like Knox would go a long way toward getting them there, though.

Kentucky has a lot of talented big men and a lot of talented guards. What John Calipari’s team is missing is a star wing.

The wing has been Calipari’s blind spot for a few seasons now. He was playing Trey Lyles out of position at the three during Kentucky’s 38-1 season in 2015 and spent the last two years putting Isaiah Briscoe, a nominal point guard, on the wing to accommodate all of his backcourt talent.

You have to go back to James Young in 2014 to find Calipari’s last true small forward. Knox would fill that role seamlessly. He’s a better outside shooter than commit Jarred Vanderbilt and would help unlock some new lineup combinations for Calipari to play with.

The problem with Kentucky is the risk of getting lost in the shuffle. In Vanderbilt and P.J. Washington, the Wildcats already have two freshman commits who play Knox’s position as a combo forward. Knox appears to have a more polished perimeter game than either of them, but there are no guarantees he’d be penciled in as a starter.

Knox’s connection with Florida State is obvious: his father was a wide receiver under Bobby Bowden in the ‘90s while his mom played volleyball for the Seminoles.

FSU tried to play the legacy angle during Andrew Wiggins’ recruitment in 2014 and it didn’t work out. Could that change this time around? It’s possible.

Florida State just had Jonathan Isaac, a player who Knox is sure to draw comparisons to next season. Like Knox, Isaac is big (6’10), fast, and has a developing perimeter skill set. After one season at Florida State, Isaac looks like a lock to be a top-10 draft pick.

Knox can fill the same role for FSU next season. He won’t have Dwayne Bacon and might not have Xavier Rathan-Mayes, but FSU still brings back a deep and experienced roster that spent most of last year in the top 25. Knox would be the clear star of the show this time around.

Knox’s decision appears to be totally up in the air. Duke was considered the frontrunner for a while, but now Missouri has some momentum. From a basketball perspective, North Carolina’s up-tempo system and veteran returnees might make for the best fit. It’s hard to ever bet against Kentucky.

Whoever lands Knox will have one of the most unique talents in the freshmen class and a likely one-and-done draft pick a year from now. After so much speculation, it’s finally time for Knox to make a decision.