OHS Basketball Players Give Insight on Recruitment Process
BY JAKE GONZALEZ
FOR THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA — With summer in full swing, most sports calendars are beginning to wind down or finish up. One part of the college sports calendar that never slows or winds down is the recruiting process. Recruiting happens year round and for high school kids looking to take their game to the college level, it can be a fun or even daunting process.
Opelika High School has a trio of basketball players that are going through that process. Knox Chase, Isaiah Knight and Mekhiron Brock are all rising seniors and have begun to hear the first waves of schools reaching out to them.
“It’s been so fun,” Chase said. “As a kid you always want to play in college, and now you know you’re getting there. Starting to get a taste, and it’s been real fun and real exciting.”
Chase plays guard and the small forward position for the Bulldogs, and has just begun to hear from a few schools. Auburn University at Montgomery, University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), Dallas College and Reinhardt University have all reached out to Chase. Dallas sent him an offer about a month ago.
“It is kind of wishy-washy,” Chase said. “Some days you hear from coaches and they are talking a lot. Then some days you won’t hear from anybody. It’s kind of like a roller coaster.”
Knight is a shooting guard and small forward combo for Opelika. Knight has been in this process for a year with Huntingdon College reaching out to him in his junior season. Since then, he has been in contact with Southern Union, UAH and Dalton State in Georgia.
Knight has confidence in his game but knows he can improve parts, including his 3-point shot and defense.
“I’ve talked to a couple of schools already,” Knight said. “I just got off the phone with a school from Chicago. I’m ready. I’m happy. My favorite part of all of this is when coaches respond to me.”
Mekhiron Brock is a small forward for the Dawgs and has heard from a number of schools as well. One of the most important things that he has heard back from these schools are the ways that he can get better and improve for the next level.
“They’re telling me what I need to work and my weakness,” Brock said. “I’m trying to have more fun and let things go that I can’t control.”
The most important thing in Brock’s recruiting process is being able to meet players, asking how their college lifestyle is and what they go through on a daily basis.
Each one of these athletes is getting ready for next season by doing multiple workouts a day, lifting weights and finding ways to make their game better.
“I’m trying to get two workouts in a day and make like 400 shots a day, like game shots,” Chase said. “For the season, I’m just trying to get to a winning record and then go deep in playoffs.”