MOREHEAD, Ky. - Chad McKnight, who finished a four-year men's basketball career at Morehead State in 2004-05, has been promoted to a player-coach for the Guildford Heat club in England. McKnight was a member of the inaugural Heat team in 2005-06 and has now played three seasons with the club. In his new role, he'll take on a greater responsibility as he strives to someday become a head coach. He was named All-OVC and led MSU with 16.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in 2004-05 and was a member of the Eagles' OVC co-championship team in 2002-03.
The following is an article about McKnight's appointment by Andy Webb of eurobasket.com.
The Guildford Heat are delighted to announce the appointment of Chad McKnight of Morehead State as player-coach for the 2009/10 season.
The 6-8 American power-forward has been with the club as a player for three seasons. As well as his duties as a player and first-team coach, Chad will be an integral part of the Heat Community Foundation, having day-to-day involvement in the Heats Development and Community Programmes. This reinforces the Heats stated aim of focusing the club on its grass-roots activities of encouraging basketball in the wider community.
Talking about his appointment, Chad expressed his delight at being the new player-coach of the Guildford Heat:
"I had always hoped to move into coaching and was not about to turn down this opportunity. My first season was with Guildford and I consider it my home form home. The fans have always welcomed and supported me and I have made a lot of friends here.
"I have always believed in developing younger players for the future and I am excited by the renewed emphasis on being a community based club. That said, the fans in Guildford have seen a lot of success over the past four years and I am grateful that the management team have given me the tools I need to build a competitive first team"
Chad's appointment takes place with immediate effect and the Heat's new head-coach is already recruiting next year's BBL team. He has been watching game-tapes of prospective new signings and is expecting to make some exciting announcements in the near future. In the meantime, Chad is already working with Heat's junior teams, which will continue throughout the summer, and is looking forward to this years Heat Residential Camp in August.
A fan-favourite, Chad was a member of the inaugural Guildford Heat team in the 2005-06 season, when he appeared in all 40 of the teams BBL games, averaging over 11 points per game (ppg). He returned for the 2006-07, where he was an integral part of the Championship winning team. Chad spent the 2007-08 season with the Leicester Riders before returning to the Heat last season, where he played in 43 games, averaging 10 ppg.
Speaking about the decision to appoint Chad, Alan McClafferty, the Heat's Managing Director, said:
"Appointing Chad as player coach was an easy decision. Not only is he an outstanding player but he has all of the tools needed to be an excellent head coach. His commitment to developing Guildford Heat players from under 10s to the BBL will be fundamental in helping the club achieve our goals both on and off the court."
