Kobe Knox knows how to reach another level.
He has been immersed in that as part of a family that repeats "Nobody works harder than the Knoxes" in the gym with a father, Kevin, who played in the NFL for the Arizona Cardinals, and an older brother, Kevin II, who is entering his third NBA year with the New York Knicks.
It is Kobe's turn now after the 6-foot-6 wing player signed Tuesday with Grand Canyon.
"The coaching staff was phenomenal on our Zoom call we had," Kobe said. "They showed me how beautiful the campus is and how crazy the fans are about GCU basketball. They are building something special there and I just wanted to be a part of that."
Kobe led Tampa Catholic High School in scoring for three seasons after his brother departed as a McDonald's All-American for Kentucky. Kobe's game has grown as quickly as his body, which shot up from 5 feet 9 inches as a freshman to 6-4 as a junior.
After averaging 16.9 and 19.0 points in the past two seasons for Tampa Catholic, he joined Bosco Institute in Indiana for a post-graduate prep season to set up his college career.
"This is the exact opportunity I was hoping for," Kobe said. "Grand Canyon is the perfect school for me so I'm very happy about it."
GCU head coach
Bryce Drew projects that Kobe will play multiple positions because of his ballhandling and playmaking skills combining with the length and athleticism to defend bigger players.
"Kobe's best basketball is ahead of him," Drew said. "He's still growing. He's still coming into his game. We've seen tremendous improvement in just the few months that he's been at prep school. I believe Kobe fits our campus tremendously with his character and his Christian values. With his athletic ability, he's going to be a really good player at GCU."
Kobe, whose mother, Michelle, played volleyball at Florida State, was named after the late Los Angeles Lakers legend but he and his brothers played football and basketball growing up until a growth spurt and basketball passion took over. His father played for the Cardinals in 1994 after starring and reaching a national championship game at Florida State, where he roomed with Amp Lee, whose son, Saben, played for Drew at Vanderbilt.
"He's hard on all my brothers and my sister," Kobe said of his father. "We're always in the gym working out. He told us that whatever sports we picked to play, he was going to push us hard to make sure we made it to the next level."
It worked, giving Kobe interest from Creighton and Oregon State before he signed with GCU.
"Coach Drew knows what it takes," Kobe said. "He and the coaching staff told me they're going to push me to the next level and that's where I want to be.
"I'm ready to play in front of the fans. I can't wait for everyone to be back in the arena."
Knox's Tampa Catholic teams went 76-19 over his three full varsity seasons. Rivals.com rated him as a three-star recruit.
"He has grown up in the sports world and I think that mental toughness helps him be even a better player with his family background," Drew said.
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
