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“When you first teach kids about life and how to be a responsible adult, teaching them basketball becomes easy,” said Lamar Bigby, founder of the Las Vegas Knicks AAU basketball program.

Bigby, a former player at UNLV, uses his experiences on and off the court to help guide his players not only in basketball, but also in life. He says that his playing career greatly benefits his coaching, because his players are able to trust him and understand that he went through everything he’s preaching to his team.

Bigby prioritizes building a relationship with his players outside of basketball, and wants to develop responsible young men, not just basketball players.

On the basketball end, the Las Vegas Knicks are ranked number 17 in indihoops.com preseason poll, and look to continue the success they had in the previous season. However, the ranking is not what’s important for Coach Bigby.

“We appreciate the ranking, but that means nothing,” he said. “We still have to play basketball, and we have to be the best team we can possibly be. The ranking will take care of itself.”

For the upcoming season, the Knicks have a few players the country should keep an eye on.

One of those players is Nate Grimes, a 6’7” forward in the class of 2015 who has earned a scout grade of 80 on ESPN. He has offers from Boston College, New Mexico, San Diego State, and USC, just to name a few.

Two other players to look out for are Darrian Traylor and Deon Whiteside. Traylor is a 6’3” shooting guard with offers from schools such as Brown, University of San Francisco, Utah State and Weber State. He has a scout grade of 70 on ESPN. Whiteside is a 6’5” small forward with interest from schools such as UC Santa Barbara, Florida A&M, and University of San Francisco.

However, Coach Bibgy prides his program on being a team, and doesn’t want to focus on any particular individuals.

“Those guys will probably get the most stats, but our supporting cast is just as important,” he said. “That’s why we should be good; because we play as a team.”

The team will play in many tournaments throughout the spring and summer, looking to showcase their talent as much as possible. The tournaments the Knicks plan on playing in include the Double Pump Hoopfest, the Double Pump Spring classic, and the Magic Memorial Day Festival in California, the Reebok Classic Breakout in Philadelphia, and the Elite 32 in Las Vegas.