Knekose Mack Jr. played basketball for a little while but really started taking it seriously in the last year or two.

“I saw a message on Instagram,” said Mack Jr. “It was telling me my potential and stuff. Then I finalized started to notice it and started taking it serious.”

He was the top scorer in all of Section V boys basketball last year. And that’s gone hand in hand with what he’s done in the classroom: a 3.6 GPA and was chosen as a Urban League of Rochester Black Scholar.

“Right when I got home, my mom checked the mail and she saw that I was a Black Scholar and saw the biggest smile on her face,” he said.

Speaking big smiles on faces, Mack Jr’s basketball journey wouldn’t be complete without meeting his icon and the icon of many more: LeBron James.

“Meeting the best player of all time. IT was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Seeing what James has done has motivated to strive for greatness, as well.

“I do want to go to college. My biggest goal is to play in college, at least set a couple of records but only for that to be possible, I got to work hard.”

Congrats to U. Prep’s Knekose Mack Jr. on being this week’s News 10 NBC Scholar Athlete of the Week.