Point Guard Pipeline

By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications

Lehigh is in the midst of its most sustainable success in program history. Over the last 12 seasons (including this year), the Mountain Hawks are 200-158 with four 20-win seasons, two Patriot League Championships and four championship-game appearances.

Over those 12 years, Lehigh has featured three starting point guards, three consecutive four-year starters - Marquis Hall, Mackey McKnight and Kahron Ross - who have imprinted their names on the Lehigh and Patriot League record books. Most recently, Ross broke the Patriot League record for career assists with his 600th on Tuesday at Navy. Last month, he broke McKnight's school record, four years after McKnight broke Hall's record. The trio currently stand No. 1, 3 and 4 in league history.

Even though they never played on the same team, the three have kept in touch and feel a connection to each other. They are part of a Lehigh basketball family which transcends years, and decades.

"It's all about the brotherhood and being a part of something bigger than yourself," said Hall. "It's not just about the guys you've played with, but also the guys who came before you and come after. I sent Kahron a text when he got the school record to congratulate him. Same thing when Mackey was going for the record."

Assists, more than any other individual statistic, are indicative of team success. Assists indicate team play and only happen when teammates make baskets.

"We've had a long-standing philosophy of approaching the game in a true team sense," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed, who recruited and coached Hall, McKnight and Ross. "Lehigh basketball has put a lot of guards in very advantageous situations to be playmakers and in each case, these guys have really answered the call."

Hall, McKnight and Ross are very different players, but have a common denominator – making everyone around them better. Hall entered Lehigh in 2006 and developed his game, becoming the first (and still only) player in school history with more than 1,500 career points and 500 assists. His career culminated with the 2010 Patriot League Championship as a senior.

"The first time I saw Marquis play was at the Kingwood Classic and he was playing with Kevin Love and Kyle Singler on an excellent team," said Reed. "Marquis' overall composure and feel for the game stood out the most. He had a great vision. He was setting everyone up and had his hand totally on the pace, tempo and outcome of the game, despite being surrounded by excellent players."

Hall was seasoned beyond his years.

"When you have someone with a game that's a little bit more mature, there's a better opportunity for him to come in and impact a program early in his career," said Reed.

Next in the point guard pipeline was McKnight.

"Mackey was a fiery competitor. He was always on the go, aggressive and looking to attack the basket at all times," said Reed. "You could see his passion come forward when he was playing. He would take a tough defensive assignment, play with energy and push the ball in transition as hard and fast as he could until his teammates decided to keep up with him. Even in the half court, he would attack the paint fearlessly."

In McKnight's freshman campaign of 2010-11, he earned a spot in the starting lineup, finishing with 13 points and three assists in his first-career game at Penn State.

McKnight went on to help lead the Mountain Hawks to the 2012 Patriot League Championship and historic NCAA Tournament win over Duke. As a senior, he scored a career-high 13.5 points while also dishing a career-high (and at the time, school-record) 192 assists, earning second team All-League for a second straight season.

After McKnight graduated in 2014, the Mountain Hawks were in a similar position as four years prior. Luckily, the Lehigh coaches had identified a quick point guard from Arkansas named Kahron Ross, who would have a chance to jump right into the lineup.

Ross made the most of his opportunity.

"Kahron was just a wizard with the ball. His speed was apparent, but he could get anywhere he wanted on the floor," said Reed. "Because of that element of speed and being able to control and push the ball, he was creating a great deal of offense for everybody around him, which was immediately attractive in the recruiting process."

Ross knew there'd be a strong opportunity to crack the starting lineup, but he would need to earn it.

"When Coach Reed and I were originally talking, he implied I may have a chance to start as a freshman," said Ross. "I knew Mackey started all four years, but I didn't know about Marquis starting all four years before Mackey."

"I didn't want to predetermine anything with Kahron, but he certainly had the talent to step in," said Reed. "It can be a major challenge for a coach to think about having to rely on a freshman point guard. Oftentimes, that can be very damaging to the competitive success for a program, but in each of these three cases, those guys were able to step in and really answer the call early in their careers."

As freshmen, Hall averaged 10.9 points and 4.3 assists, McKnight averaged 7.6 and 3.7 while Ross averaged 10.4 and 5.8. Each were strong, but only continued to improve as their careers progressed. Hall finished his career with 1,514 points and 566 assists, McKnight tallied 1,327 points and 578 assists while Ross is currently at 1,141 points and 600 assists with half his senior season still remaining.

"Each player improved significantly after starting at a pretty high level," said Reed. "With Marquis, just his overall presence, communication and leadership to lead us to a championship his senior year, demonstrated his evolution. Mackey improved his ability to shoot from the perimeter over the course of his career, which made him more of a dual threat and opened up the game. Kahron has not only improved his shooting, but he's also improved his ability to finish. He's demonstrated a lot higher levels of leadership and willingness to be an effective communicator out on the floor, which has been very welcomed by our program."

The best part about Lehigh's point guard pipeline is their support for each other. When the next point guard was ready to break the previous point guard's record, there was nothing but support.

"The support definitely speaks volume of the family atmosphere that has continued throughout the years," said McKnight. "We are all proud alums and want the next guy to do better than the guy before him. The game of basketball is growing, as is Lehigh basketball."

"I probably talk with Kahron once or twice a year," said Hall. "I came back to campus last year, went to practice and saw the guys. I'm a little removed, but I try to be as much of a resource as I can, knowing what these guys have been through and actually being on the other side of basketball now (having played professionally overseas and currently working with Nike). I try to be a resource to not only Kahron, but also anyone on the team if they have any questions that I can help with."

Whether it was Hall, McKnight, Ross or past Lehigh basketball standouts like Johnny Waters and Scott Layer, who helped pave the way for future point guards, they all have perspective.

Everyone within the Lehigh basketball family is part of something bigger than themselves.

"I give credit to Coach Reed recruiting as well as he does and finding the right pieces to surround the point guards," said Ross. "Lehigh having three of the top four in Patriot League history for assists, all credit to the coaching staff for surrounding us with guys who make us better."

"It all starts with having a solid foundation and building it up from there," said McKnight. "I think I can speak for all of us and say these things don't happen without the fantastic teammates we've been blessed to play with.

"Lehigh University is Point Guard University."

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Lehigh University Athletics

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Loyola University Maryland on March 4, 2025 , Loss , 73, to, 77

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Army on March 1, 2025 , Win , 89, to, 67

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Boston University on February 26, 2025 , Loss , 68, to, 79

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Lafayette College on February 22, 2025 , Loss , 70, to, 78

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Bucknell University on February 17, 2025 , Loss , 50, to, 67

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Holy Cross on February 15, 2025 , Win , 72, to, 60

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Navy on February 12, 2025 , Loss , 60, to, 63

Players Mentioned

Marquis Hall

Kahron Ross

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