"New Piston Brandon Knight actually played as a sophomore. Sure, he played just one season at Kentucky, but in the classroom he became a sophomore by his second semester because of his Advanced Placement classes in high school.

"Brandon Knight had a GPA in high school of 4.3," ESPN's Stuart Scott said, moments after the Pistons selected Knight with the eighth pick Thursday.

Knight, who attended Pine Crest School in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., visited Yale before landing at Kentucky.

"He could go to any school in the country without bouncing a ball," David Beckerman, his prep coach, told the Kentucky Advocate-Messenger in 2010. "He has a 4.3 grade-point average at the No. 1 academic school in Florida. He could not bounce a ball and go to Harvard. He's a once-in-a-lifetime player, but he's also a superb student."

So the kid's smart, but can he play?

"Brandon Knight is a combo guard -- not really a true point guard, but he's got scoring ability," ESPN's Jay Bilas said. "He's a very good shooter, has excellent range. ... He needs to improve his release -- he shoots it right in front of his forehead. ... And he's good off pick-and-rolls.

"He's just a guy that's got to get stronger, and I think if he learns to play the point position -- which obviously Detroit thinks he can do -- he's got a chance to be a very good NBA player in time.""