Men's Basketball Assistant Coach

Bio

Jamar McKnight returns to the Baton Rouge Community College (BRCC) Men’s Basketball staff as an assistant coach. He previously served as an assistant under Head Coach Ricky Wilson from 2011 to 2014. McKnight comes back to BRCC after being the head men’s basketball coach at Central High School and holding a position as an assistant coach at his junior college alma mater, Northwest Mississippi Community College.

A native of Zachary, Louisiana, McKnight brings a wealth of playing and coaching experience. He played for the Northwest Rangers from 1998 to 2000, where he led the team in scoring with an average of 18.5 points per game during his sophomore season. He earned All-MACCC honors and currently ranks third in the career record books for free throw percentage (.793).

After his time at Northwest, McKnight continued his athletic career at Clemson University from 2000 to 2002, where he earned 24 starts in his senior season. He averaged 12.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game during that season and recorded averages of 8.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per game across his two-year career at Clemson.

Following college, McKnight gained professional experience both domestically and internationally. He began with a two-year stint with the Greenville Groove in the National Basketball Development League (now known as the G-League). After attending a training camp with the Boston Celtics, he played overseas for teams in Austria, Hungary, Iran, and Spain from 2004 to 2006.

After a brief return to the United States with the Los Angeles D-Fenders in the NBDL, McKnight went back overseas in 2007 to continue his professional career in Portugal. Although he missed the 2008-09 season due to injury, he returned to the court in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2010 before retiring to pursue a coaching career.

McKnight began his coaching journey while playing internationally, leading the Zachary All-Stars AAU program from 2007 to 2013. In 2011, he took on the role of assistant coach for the men’s basketball program at Baton Rouge Community College, where he served until 2014. During his time at BRCC, he posted a 5-1 record as interim head coach and helped lead the Bears to their first conference title.

From 2014 to 2017, McKnight returned to his alma mater, Zachary High School, serving as an assistant coach for both the varsity and junior varsity basketball programs. While there, he helped the Broncos reach the LHSAA Class 5A Semifinals and guided the boys’ program to the playoffs in 2015. Additionally, he was an assistant coach for the school's football team.

In 2018, McKnight was appointed head boys' basketball coach at Southern University A&M Laboratory School in Baton Rouge, a position he held until this year. Under his leadership, Southern Lab reached the LHSAA quarterfinals and he was named District 1-6A Coach of the Year. During the 2020-21 season, he led the program to a No. 1 ranking in the state and secured a top seed in Class 1A. His team achieved remarkable victories over traditional powerhouse programs including Catholic, University, Walker, Jehovah-Jireh, and Crescent City.

McKnight holds multiple college degrees, including an Associate of Arts from Northwest, and bachelor’s degrees in Speech and Communications from Clemson and in Sociology from Southern University A&M College. In 2017, he earned his Master of Arts in Social Sciences from Southern University, with a concentration in sociology and a thesis titled "The Impact of Sports on Athletes and Their Families in Our Society."