November 11 was a day of unusual pomp and circumstance, but Thomas Knight wasn’t writing his name on just any old piece of paper.

Knight knew he was committing himself to the rigors of Division I basketball and a college education when he signed his name to the national letter of intent that day. What he might not have known at the time was he was also signing away any benefit of the doubt he might be entitled to for the ensuing three-and-a-half months.

“After being accepted to the University of Notre Dame on a basketball scholarship, Tom came under scrutiny from many, many people,” Dirigo coach Gavin Kane said. “It didn’t matter what he accomplished, he was constantly critiqued and was expected to be Superman.”

“Well, you know what,” he added. “He was pretty darn close to being Superman for us.”

Knight wasn’t fast as a speeding bullet or more powerful than a locomotive, although opponents sometimes game-planned for him as if he was. Few players in Maine high school basketball altered the way teams attacked both ends of the floor as he did.

On offense, there were few spots on the floor from where he could not score, and at 6-foot-9, 260 pounds, he could get the ball virtually anywhere he wanted it.

With his size, footwork and wide assortment of shots, stopping him in the paint was impossible.

He could not be forced out onto the perimeter. If he stepped out, it was by choice, because he knew once he got there, he could shoot from there, too. Even from behind the 3-point arc.

Despite his proficiency, it was Knight’s efficiency on offense that made him so dangerous. He shot 66 percent from the floor for the Cougars while averaging nearly 22 points per game. Unable to stop him with the ball, opponents soon were more determined to deny it from him, hoping that once he did get his hands on it he would be frustrated and rush or force shots. They soon discovered he was more than willing to share with open teammates. In one game, Jay attempted a triangle-and-two defense, with two defenders constantly on Knight – one fronting him, one behind him. Dirigo played four-on-three for most of the evening and won by 35.

At the defensive end, teams tried to attack Knight early and get him in foul trouble. The early result was usually a couple of loud rejections (he averaged over three per game) and the opponent meekly retreating to the perimeter in hopes of avoiding a face full of leather.

He wasn’t just the center of attention for those trying to beat them. Whether he was playing before the friendly throngs in Dixfield, the hostile hordes across the Mountain Valley Conference, or the “Show me what you got” non-partisans at the Class C tournament, everything about Knight, from his game to his temperament to the color of his shoelaces, was the subject of close inspection.

While some might wear out physically and/or mentally from all of the scrutiny, Knight relished it.

“I wouldn’t have gotten as much out of the season,” he said. “It wouldn’t have prepared me for the next level as much if people weren’t coming after me with all they’ve got.”

Knight came with all he had in the Western Class C tournament. After two years of frustrating losses in the regional championship, he finally got the Cougars over the hump with a dominating 28-point, 13-rebound, five-block performance against Wiscasset for their first title since 1983.

He may have enjoyed the pressure-packed season and tournament, but Knight didn’t sign up for the heartbreak ending to his high school career. He had the last shot in the Class C championship game against Calais. It didn’t fall, and the Cougars lost 40-39.

Nevertheless, post-season honors have been rolling in ever since. He was a unanimous choice for MVC Player of the Year, a McDonald’s All-Star and took home the Maine Mr. Basketball Award.

Now, he is the Sun Journal’s Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year. Not just because he dominated on the court unlike any other player in the region in this, or virtually any other, year. But also because, as Kane put it, “He played with the weight of the world on his shoulders all season, and handled it unbelievably well.”