For Knox Lendall, being president and coach of Northeastern University’s men’s club basketball team means more than just the title – it’s about initiating leadership and creating a family among the members.
Written by Mélanne Ghahraman
Knox Lendall has had quite the journey to get to where he is today – president and coach of Northeastern University’s men’s club basketball team. It helps that he has been involved with the sport from a young age, and ever since, he’s known this would be something that would follow him throughout the years.
The die-hard Celtics fanatic always had a passion for basketball, and before he got into coaching, he was playing the game. Early on he started playing at the YMCA with his friends in the kids league where he also played pickup recreation. Then, in middle school, he went on to go to State Championships. He had his own training plan growing up and with skill training on the side, an inner-drive for basketball, and hanging out with people who also played, these all kept him motivated to keep up with the sport. Freshman year of high school Lendall played for the junior varsity team while also staying to observe varsity practices and games, often finding himself sitting next to the coach, allowing him to get a different perspective on how the sport is played. He then started coaching on a lot of Amateur Athletic Union teams for basketball in high school, learning from his mentor Ted Cottrell.
“Once I got to high school, I said this is what I wanna do. I’m gonna play in college,” Lendall said.
Cottrell would eventually help Lendall get recruited to Wells College in Upstate New York where he committed to play basketball for his freshman year. The first week in however, he tore his hamstring – an injury that had come up once before in his sophomore year of high school. Due to his past injuries, he felt nervous to play and didn’t want to have any repercussions or cause any new pain. Ultimately, a leg injury his sophomore year is what put a permanent stop in his career on the court and how he eventually ended up transferring to Northeastern in fall 2020.
His journey to joining the NU men’s club basketball was not something he had necessarily planned for. Lendall was simply playing on the basketball court in the Marino Recreation Center when the president of the club at the time came up to him, suggesting that he should try out for the team. Lendall explained he couldn’t play because of his injury but that he would still like to be involved in some form, also mentioning that he wanted to coach college basketball one day. As an injured player in college, Lendall had the time to study the game closely through a different angle – that of a leader. When he got to Northeastern, Lendall connected with the coaches on the women’s varsity basketball team, asking if he could sit in on their practices to watch and pay attention to how the game was played with this new lens. Throughout the year, Lendall started to train some of the players on the men’s club team as well as individuals unaffiliated with the club, and word quickly got around that he was good at what he did. All the networking and awareness of his passion is what landed him a position as coach for the club’s B-team. His own business as a personal trainer for basketball (@hard_knox_hoops) also helped him hone his coaching skills and gain that recognition. Due to his previous experience of playing at Wells College at the Division III level – which is also the club team’s level – Lendall had a good idea of how he wanted to go about starting to coach the team. Once the team saw the dedication he had for the sport, Lendall was asked if he wanted to coach the whole team altogether – including both the A and B-teams. In 2021-2022 he officially became the coach for NU’s men’s club basketball team and stepped up to also become President for the 2022-2023 season.
Due to the pandemic and a two-year hiatus of the club, at some points there would be a disconnect among the players on both teams. However, as head coach, Lendall was determined to find ways to get both of the teams together and acquainted with one another.
A-team players, Cameron Gleichauf (fifth-year) and Keyu Lao (second-year), explained that their favorite part of being on the team was the growth in connections that were made between players. Gleichauf mentioned there was a divide between athletes before and after covid but that everyone got a lot closer as the seasons went on, where players were hanging out with each other, going to get dinner, and creating relationships that went outside of just training. Lao stated that the people are what make a big part of the experience and that he’s close with both the A and B-teams where there is a lot of relationship-building involved.
“My basketball skills got better and [made] more connections with people,” Lao added.
Lao enjoys spending time with his teammates both on and off the court, and even mentioned that he used to be roommates with a player on the team.
For Lendall, this was arguably the most important part of the process of coaching the team – making sure they felt like family was such a crucial step to bringing success and collaboration into the group. He expressed that he wasn’t in this leadership position to earn accolades – his ultimate goal was to build the best team. In order to do so he didn’t use “I” but instead, when referring to himself, he addressed the whole team with “we.” He admitted that pushing for and building this mentality with everyone takes time but the more it is practiced the more it rubs off.
“Team first. It’s not about me or a specific player. The more you use ‘we’ the better,” Lendall explained when talking about his coaching style.
Christian Berlus, a fourth-year student on the B-team recognized this on Lendall’s way of coaching, saying that team building and making new friendships has been a great and consistent part of the experience.
“Show don’t tell” is a mindset that the coach abides by. He sets this statement into reality by actively showing up for the team without saying it, and instead just doing it. As an example, Lendall is always the first one to arrive at and be ready for practice and games, and the last one to leave, even taking smaller actions such as picking up trash and putting the chairs back after games. He does this in hopes that the rest of the team will follow suit.
“I’m not bigger than the team,” Lendall said.
He prides himself in keeping a positive attitude towards the players, even when things get tough. If someone misses an open layup for example, he’s not going to talk down on them – instead, he’ll encourage them by ensuring they’ll get it next time and just keep moving forward. Nate Francois, a third-year on the A-team, noted that Lendall was an inspiration with the passion he has and being able to connect with the players.
“I think Knox is a super dedicated person. He gets so much out of a 24-hour day,” Francois said.
Lendall noted that at times it’s hard to find a balance of leading the team and keeping a level of respect since everyone is around the same age as him, but his eagerness to make sure the team feels like a family has helped shape the club into just that. The passion and commitment level from the players, he says, has been his favorite part of coaching the club team.
“The fact that I can get 20 people to show up at 11:00pm is crazy,” Lendall said, adding that the team trains two to three times per week on campus.
When asked who in the sports world is his biggest inspiration, Lendall, without hesitation, answered Brad Stevens, President of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics. He explained that they both had similar experiences in that Stevens also played Division III college basketball and then worked his way up the coaching ladder to become head coach of the men’s team at Butler University, and later, head coach of the Celtics. This is the same path Lendall eventually wants to follow. He also mentioned that he looks up to Stevens’ style of coaching – calm on the sidelines, strategic-based, and positive.
On top of coaching the club team at NU, Lendall also coaches elementary through high school in Andover, Mass. His goal with working with these students is to make sure they enjoy their time playing, help with their basketball skills, as well as act as a mentor to push them to be the best they can be in terms of being an adult.
“I’m not doing it for me, I’m doing it for the kids,” Lendall said.
He finds that the responsibility and coaching styles are different when it comes to working with the younger kids versus with the team at Northeastern. Lendall pushes for the kids to go and support NU’s club team games, further demonstrating his dedication to ensuring a family-like environment is set.
Now that he’s had experiences in both playing and coaching, Lendall confidently stated that he prefers coaching. He found that his experiences as a player translated well into coaching, and he always knew he had a passion for a position such as this, explaining that he wanted to be the coach he needed when he was younger. Lao mentioned that Lendall’s leadership helped inspire him to build his own Chinese basketball team at NU, which he is now captain of, competing against other Chinese basketball college teams in the area. Similarly, Gleichauf stated that Lendall set a great example for work ethic on the team.
“That was a big thing for me this year. Knox helped instill confidence in me. He’s empowered me to be a leader on the team [and to] lead by example for the younger guys,” Gleichauf said.
With one more semester left before he finishes his studies in business management, Lendall is starting to look for new opportunities for the future. His end goal is to coach college basketball, putting an emphasis on team and culture-building as his main values, as a way to bring people together. Although Lendall is still going to be helping out with the team, he will take on a less active role as he looks to apply to coaching jobs outside of the club team. He’s been busy sending emails and networking, trying to find a chance to show what he’s got.
“People have seen what I do. I know that I have what it takes,” Lendall said, explaining that he can control his work ethic.
While he waits on interviews for coaching-specific positions at the college level, Lendall continues to remind himself that once he gets the chance, he knows he is going to be successful in his endeavors.
As someone who has so much dedication, experience, and commitment for this sport, Lendall hopes to, “make a bigger impact in basketball as a coach,” in the years to come.
The Red & Black 