A bad break provided Geovonie McKnight extra incentive for his senior basketball season at Middletown High School.

Being recruited by what he called “high mid-majors,” from the Atlantic Coast Conference and Big 12, they all backed off after he was diagnosed with a left-knee fracture.

“That really got me going,” McKnight said. “You know how that is. Schools think that you’re not the same after you get injured like that. It still motivates me.”

McKnight led the Middies (20-6) in scoring, helped secure a rare Greater Miami Conference title and keyed a deep Division I tournament run. That was good enough for new Miami University coach John Cooper.

McKnight verbally committed to the RedHawks on Monday. He’ll sign next month. He said he has a 3.0 GPA and is eligible to play as a freshman. He chose Miami over Ohio, Nebraska and Tennessee Tech.

He’ll also be the third former Middie to be on next season’s roster, joining Bill Edwards Jr. and Allen Roberts, both redshirt juniors.

“Miami has great history and hopefully these guys can be a part of some history together,” Middletown coach Josh Andrews said.