KJ understandably emotional over Knox success

The Knox Raiders saved the basketball career of KJ Feagin and that's why back-to-back NBL1 National Championships mean the world to him, why he worked himself to exhaustion on the Sunshine Coast, and why he gets so emotional just thinking about it.

Going back two years ago and Feagin felt like he wasn’t being respected for the player he was and wasn’t given the opportunities he wanted, or deserved, after a tough start to his life as a pro in Bulgaria and Lebanon after his college career finished at San Diego State University.

It was at a point where the Californian native was almost ready to give up on his basketball dreams until the Knox Raiders came calling and now the rest is history.

Feagin had a brilliant first season leading Knox not only to the NBL1 South championship in 2023 as captain, but then also to the NBL1 National Championship where he was named the Grand Final MVP as the Raiders beat the fancied Rockingham Flames in Perth.

That was the year that Feagin had dreamed of having after becoming a professional, but the 2024 NBL1 South season never quite went to plan for the Raiders where they finished in seventh spot and then lost an elimination final to the Dandenong Rangers.

However, Feagin and his Raiders teammates still had a National Championship to defend and they arrived on the Sunshine Coast on a mission, and left triumphant with Sunday's Championship Game victory against the Mackay Meteors of the NBL1 North.

Season didn’t quite go to plan

It was an NBL1 South season for Knox that just never quite built any momentum and they did need to win their last two games just to reach the playoffs from seventh position before losing that elimination final to Dandenong.

From there, the Raiders group stuck together and set their sights on defending the national championship from last year when they arrived on the Sunshine Coast.

Feagin just felt that what this group needed was time together and the build up to the National Finals provided that chance. Once they got to Queensland their bonding went to another level which he feels was as important as anything in their ultimate triumph.

"I think this year we were just a couple of steps away and it was frustrating we couldn’t win the South again, but this month was the big turnaround for us," Feagin said.

"Having that break away after the season, we went our separate ways for a little bit and then reconvened to get ready to come here and it was that breath of fresh air.

"We also didn’t have a road trip this year, we didn’t go over to Tassie so I think this time we got to spend bonding has been monumental for us. We've got closer over these two days than we did over the last five months.

"We had those drives from Caloundra and we just got closer the whole time and I don’t think this trip for granted, and I know they don't either."

What Knox means to you

Having grown up in Long Beach, California and then attending Santa Clara University and then finishing off with a year at San Diego State University, Feagin rightfully had high hopes of what life as a professional basketballer would look like.

However, a 10-game stint in Bulgaria followed by six games in Lebanon had him feeling disillusioned and thinking about if he might need to move in a different direction with his life.

That was until the Knox Raiders came calling and now two years later he has captained the Raiders to back-to-back National Championships. It's easy to see why he gets emotional just talking about it and thinking about what might come next.

"I get emotional talking about Knox. I was about to quit playing basketball two years ago and then Knox came along and gave me this opportunity," Feagin said.

"I was going to quit but these dudes found me and I'm just so grateful to them. I just wasn’t being given the opportunities to show the player that I was, but Knox gave me that chance and it's as simple as that.

"All I wanted was a chance and now I couldn’t even imagine playing for another team out here. I'm not sure what my future holds now, it might be time for me to take the next step in my career and try to make some money, but it's so hard moving on because this club is always going to be where I feel home after what they did for me."

Playing on the big stage

On the back of what he did last year leading the Raiders firstly to an NBL1 South championship and then his blistering three-game showing in Perth on the way to the National Championship, Feagin has well and truly shown he is a player for the big stage.

Knowing he has been playing for a national championship the last two years has clearly lit a fire underneath him and it meant so much to him that he pushed himself to exhaustion with three games in little more than 36 hours on the Sunshine Coast.

Feagin had put 20 points and seven assists on the board until he had a scare where he could no longer catch his breath on the court and had to leave the game with only a few minutes remaining.

That was a scary moment for the 26-year-old but in the end he put it down to exhaustion and was thankful for his teammates finishing the job against the Mackay Meteors that he had such a big part in setting up.

"It's just something about playing in important games and in front of a good crowd that gets me up," Feagin said.

"I've always been a big game player, I always wanted to be in those crunch time positions whether you win, lose or draw. It's just something that naturally gravitates towards me and when I see people here to watch me play, it's time to deliver."

Feeling of winning

There were numerous reasons why Sunday's championship triumph meant so much to Feagin including because of how thankful he is to Knox for the opportunity they have given him to shine the way he has the last two years.

Then there's also because of the challenging NBL1 South season the Raiders had but then put that aside to defend their national championship, and then also just to share it with a group of teammates he has such a connection with.

"The feeling of winning these games never gets old you know," Feagin said.

"First of all, I serve an amazing God to be put in this position to be blessed to be put on this team and to just be here in Australia being from California.

"I know many people would die to be in my position so I don’t take it for granted for one second. I just feel blessed and a lot of people don't get to experience these highs so for me win back-to-back in my first two years in Australia I couldn’t ask for much more."

How did you win Championship Game

As for the championship game itself on Sunday at UniSC Arena on the Sunshine Coast against Mackay, the Raiders were playing catch up a lot of the way with the Meteors focusing on going inside and finishing the first quarter with a 16-5 run to lead by double-digits.

Mackay ended up shooting 74 per cent from the field in the first half to still be leading by seven with that inside focus, but Feagin felt the Raiders had done well to take the best shot from the Meteors and only trail by seven at the break.

Knox then did well to get back within two by three quarter-time and Feagin was always confident in the Raiders finishing the better, and that's exactly what happened.

"I think this game was really similar to the Rockingham game last year," Feagin said.

"They got out on us by something like 13 points and the whole flow of the game was theirs the first half, and the same thing happened in this game.

"We were just playing catch up but when we went in only down seven and I was feeling good because we hadn’t played our best basketball yet.

"I knew it would be a game of runs and when they came out in a zone in the fourth, we knew they were tired and it was just all about who wanted it more.

"I think that first six minutes in the fourth we showed how much we wanted it, and that's where we won it. I tried my best and then my troops brought us home."

Three young bigs came up huge

While Feagin was outstanding running the ship in the Championship Game on Sunday for the Raiders, it was the presence of three young and emerging bigs that came up huge.

They had to tackle a Mackay front court consisting of Luca Yates, Amarco Doyle and Christian Maran, but ended up doing an outstanding job with Melbourne United's Kyle Bowen named MVP for his 24 points, 15 rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocks.

Then there was Austin Rapp who topped his big weekend on the Sunshine Coast with another 16 points and 12 rebounds ahead of departing for the University of Portland, but it was Anzac Rissetto who Feagin was beaming about afterwards.

The big Kiwi had been limited with a back complaint all weekend, but in the Championship Game came up huge including his own 7-0 run to put Knox in front in the fourth quarter to finish with 10 points and five rebounds in 20:35.

"Anzac has been nursing a back injury this weekend so he's been limited and for him to save his best game for the last game, I'm just super excited for him," Feagin said.

"He's been my roommate all year and I love that dude, man. Then Aussii, I love him like he's been my little brother and KB, I love him like he's my little brother.

"These guys have taken leaps all year and they've been leaders, they've been coachable and they put themselves last and the team first. When you do that, things like this happen and you can go back-to-back."