Like a newly crowned boxing champion, Pine Crest junior guard Brandon Knight knew challengers would be lining up for his Gatorade National Player of the Year award and No. 1 ranking by Rivals.com.

Knight sent a clear signal at the NBA Players Association Elite 100 High School Basketball Camp in Virginia that he has no intention of relinquishing either.

Under the watchful eye of the four major recruiting services -- Rivals, Hoopscoop, Scout and Prepstars, the 6-4 Knight drew raves for his performance during the event that ran last Wednesday through Saturday at the University of Virginia's John Paul Jones Arena.

Knight finished with the third-highest scoring average (15.3) and reportedly was so impressive on both ends of the court that he was the leading vote-getter among his peers for the All-Star game.

He dominated his highly-anticipated head-to-head matchup with Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick's and was a recipient of the camp's hardest-working player award.

Sagemont 7-0 junior center, Brazil-born Fabricio del Melo, also distinguished himself and could see the reward in higher rank before the summer ends.

Del Melo is currently ranked No. 3 among centers and No. 23 overall by Rivals.com but likely will add to the offers he already holds from Louisville, Miami, Connecticut, Florida, Florida State, Syracuse and Texas after showing off the mobility and range rarely seen for a player his size.

Knight and del Melo were two of nine Florida players to receive an invitation, joining Orlando Winter Park's Austin Rivers -- son of Celtics coach Doc Rivers, Montverde's James Bell, Jacksonville Paxon's 6-8 Patric Young, Clearwater's Okaro White, Jacksonville Andrew Jackson's Stacey Poole and Bradenton Pendleton's 6-10 Dwight Powell.

Between games, players received invaluable insight from 30 former and current NBA players on wide-ranging topics covering proper nutrition, life skills, stress management and peer pressure.

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