Eyoab Knapp '21 Recruiting Profile

Living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as a young child was a challenging time in my life. I was raised with 5 siblings, and being the youngest I learned how to be resilient and hard working. I've gone through many things that no child should go through, and that has helped me become a more responsible young adult. When I was a five year old boy my friend and I walked into a forest. Our mothers told us to find branches to build a fire for dinner that night. A few minutes later, we separated and a python snuck up on my friend.  When I heard him screaming I went running to him, but at that point there was nothing I could do. Living in that part of Ethiopia we not only struggled with events like this, but we went through times where the entire village was starving. Eventually my mother realized that she couldn’t support as many kids as she had without my father, and at the age of seven, I was adopted into the Knapp family, the family which I live with. After adjusting to my new family, I did the only thing I knew how to do, play sports. When I first learned about the game of basketball I fell in love with it. That love for the game has driven me to be the best version of myself. Even though I may be smallest player on the court, I more than make up for it with my speed and knowledge of the game. I have a great work ethic and if you challenge me to do something I will get it done, no matter what. When people judge me by height and tell me that I will never reach the next level, it pushes me to work that much harder to accomplish my goal. My skill, my drive, and my passion for the game are the things that define me as a player, and they tell me that I am ready to play at the next level.