coachstyles Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 I always thought that this could have been a future recruit for the bills. He is a raw big body. Rival article.... The word “upside†is used again and again in talking about recruits. You can't necessarily predict the upside a kid has in high school, but Missouri saw enough of it in Adam Knollmeyer to offer the 6-foot-8, 230-pounder a scholarship before his junior season even began. Jeff City News Tribune Knollmeyer averaged 14.5 points and eight rebounds as a sophomore. “The coaches at MU think he could step in tomorrow and help them out,†said Adam's father, John Knollmeyer. “But he's got two more years to develop. I think they're really excited about getting him.†“I think he's got an awful lot of tools,†said Helias head coach Jerry Buescher. “He's fairly quick for a big kid and he jumps fairly well. He can shoot the outside shot or he can go inside and dunk it. I think when you're a junior in high school, that's a pretty good combination.†Knollmeyer will most likely be a completely different player by the time he sets foot on campus in Columbia in the fall of 2006. His coach thinks he'll be a different player when Helias opens the season next week. “You have to remember he was awfully young last year. He was a sophomore last year. I don't think you'll be as consistent as a sophomore as you will be as a junior or senior,†said Buescher. “He'll get better. I think the thing we'll see is he will be more consistent. As a freshman and sophomore, you have some good games, you have some average games. I think what we're trying to do the last half of last year and this year is get him where every game is a good game. That's a lot to ask of a young man, but when you're a four-year starter, yo'ure expected to be good and I think he will be.†As a sophomore, Knollmeyer averaged 14.5 points and eight rebounds for the Crusaders. It was his work off the court that Buescher says will help the junior over the next couple of seasons. “Adam does a lot of work in the summertime. He lifts the weights religiously,†Buescher said. “He works on his basketball a lot. He plays on a couple AAU teams and travels all over the place because he wants to play against the good competition. I think all that combined is what's really helped him out.†The Tiger coaching staff had a couple of opportunities to see Knollmeyer's potential. “At some camps this summer he worked against some of [Missouri's] kids and the coaches told me he had some extremely good workouts,†Buescher said. “I think that was big. They came down to some open gyms and he had some really good workouts here.†Head coach Quin Snyder saw Knollmeyer this fall and offered him a scholarship following that observation. That's why the Tigers chose Knollmeyer, but why did he choose Mizzou? “I want to represent my state school. I like the player development program that they have and their coaching system,†Knollmeyer said. “I've gotten to know the coaches. We developed a relationship and I trust them completely.†But still, with nearly a year before he's even allowed to ink a letter of intent, Knollmeyer could very well have gained a lot more attention with a strong high school season and a good performance on the summer circuit. “He gets all kind of information from Nebraska, Iowa State and a bunch of different schools,†Buescher said. “I think a couple things really entered into this. He wanted to go fairly close to home and the Big 12 is an awful good conference.†“I knew where I wanted to play, so why wait?†Knollmeyer asked. The early decision even caught his family off guard. “I was kind of surprised Adam wanted to go ahead and commit,†said his father. “I kind of wanted him to look at some other programs so he could compare them to Missouri, but I think ultimately that's where he wants to go. He just doesn't want to fool with anything else.†And with that out of the way, all Knollmeyer has to focus on now is playing basketball. “To be a success at the University of Missouri, he'll have to continue growing. When I say growing, improving and getting better,†Buescher said. “I think he can go up there and if he keeps working at it, he can go up there and his freshman year, maybe play some ball.†Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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