Curtis Knight didn't get exactly what he wanted coming out of high school.

But to hear him tell it, that was one of the best things to happen to him.

When then-N.C. Central basketball coach Greg Jackson recruited him out of Greenville Rose High in 2000, Knight looked to be exactly the kind of player the Eagles needed.

A two-sport star who got interest from several colleges because of his exploits as an all-conference wide receiver for the Rampants' football team, Knight was the Big East 4-A Conference and Daily Reflector area player of the year after leading his team to back-to-back conference basketball titles.

But away from the court, he was an academic non-qualifier.

"My GPA and SAT didn't add up with the NCAA Clearinghouse," Knight said.

But he went to NCCU anyway and spent his time working on his grades and watching then-new coach Phil Spence's team practice.

"That year helped me learn how to study," Knight said. "I kind of found out where I was going. Getting a degree was going to take me a lot farther in life than playing basketball was. I had to not go to the club and mess with the girls much, but I learned what I needed to do to succeed academically."

And that part of Knight's life had a very happy outcome.

The oldest of five children, Knight became the first member of his family to earn a bachelor's degree when he finished his major in criminal justice.

Now he's a senior on the basketball court and a graduate student off the court, leaning towards becoming a state trooper after his basketball days are over.

"That was a pretty happy day," Knight said of his graduation. "A lot of my family members were crying when I got my diploma."

It might have taken the shock of a season off the court to make Knight a steady student, but he didn't skip a beat in basketball.

He found himself in an instant "go-to" role early in his first season in 2001-02, when the Eagles' best player, Shawn Ray, broke his hand during a layup drill before NCCU's opening game.

Knight responded well, scoring 24 and 30 points in his third and fourth games. He went on to make the conference's all-rookie team and average 13.4 points a game that season -- his highest scoring average so far, although he's averaging 17.0 this season -- and CIAA and other opponents have since learned that it's a bad idea to let Knight get a good look at the basket.

"Curtis is a great shooter," said NCCU assistant coach and former guard MarQus Johnson, who has been on the bench during Knight's entire run as an Eagle. "And he works extremely hard. I call him 'Mr. Clutch.' "

Knight says his best clutch bucket came two seasons ago at Fayetteville State, when he picked up a loose ball and hit a 10-footer to give the Eagles a 94-93 overtime victory at Capel Arena.

Knight wasn't taking the last-second shots so much over the last two seasons, as the Eagles had a wider array of talent.

When Knight was a sophomore, Ray usually would get the last shot for an NCCU club that won the Western Division title.

Last season when the Eagles finished as CIAA runner-up, David Young -- who was drafted in the second round by the Seattle Seahawks -- usually would get the ball in the closing seconds. Knight often was the team's "sixth man," an idea he had proposed to Spence early in the season.

But this under first-year coach Henry Dickerson, the play more likely will go to either Knight or Jonathan Moore, the Eagles' only other double-figure scorer (16.7) who is getting some attention from NBA scouts.

Dickerson's first squad is 4-1 against a pretty tough schedule.

"Curt is really a likeable young man, who seems to me like he has appreciated everything that was ever done for him or given to him," Dickerson said. "He's a very polite person, kind of old-school. He says 'Yes, sir' and 'No, sir' and means it.

"He cares more about how the team does than he does about himself. And he's a good student, good enough that he's already in grad school. I don't know a whole lot of student-athletes who would have kept playing this year like he did."

Dickerson said Knight, who shares captain duties with Moore, Jason Hervey and Markael Brace, could be more vocal on the court, and he'd like to see Knight improve his ballhandling. But the coach said Knight has handled his leadership role well.

"He really does lead by example, and he's a really hard worker," Dickerson said. "A lot of days he comes by and asks for a ball, and then goes and shoots all by himself. I think he's a great shooter because he always takes good shots when he's on the perimeter. He's thinking 'shoot' first, so he's always in a good rhythm."

Knight had a little say-so on Dickerson coming to NCCU after Spence's contract was not renewed in March. He was the only student on the coaching search committee.

"I'm not going to say I had anything to do with him getting the job," Knight said. "But I was really impressed with the things he said in his interview, and I told the other committee members."

Knight -- who is already 22nd on the NCCU career scoring list (1,111), 11th in field goals (380), 15th in steals (104), and 19th in free throws (212) -- said he liked playing for both Spence and Dickerson.

Spence, Knight said, allowed players to run more of a freelance offense. Dickerson is more specific about what he wants the Eagles to do.

"Coach D always says he likes practice more than he likes games," Knight said.

Dickerson brought the hammer down on Knight once after the guard took a shot he didn't like early in the second half of the 95-58 exhibition loss at Duke.

"He put me on the bench, and I only played about two more minutes," Knight said.

Either the Duke game or the CIAA final against Virginia Union last season would qualify as the biggest stage on which Knight has appeared.

"I think about that CIAA championship game a lot," Knight said of the hard-fought 80-72 loss, after which he made the all-tournament team. "I want to play in the NCAA [Division II] Tournament at least once in my career. I think we've got the team to do that this year if we just follow Coach's motto: 'Play hard, play smart, and play together.' "