David Fizdale has a reputation as a players coach, but he clearly is demanding of his team, too, from a conditioning test that challenged players to declaring every starting job up for grabs.
But for Kevin Knox and Tim Hardaway Jr., nothing the coach can demand will be as honest and urgent as the lessons they got growing up in their own homes. Knox, like Hardaway Jr., grew up with a father who was a professional athlete, and one who didn’t hesitate to let him know what it took to get there.
Kevin Knox Sr. was a sixth-round draft pick of the Buffalo Bills and played one season in the NFL for the Arizona Cardinals.