How Knoch’s Derek Lang earned the nickname ‘The Unicorn’ — and why he isn’t like other big men
Sometimes, from inside the Knoch High School halls, you can hear Joe Lafko calling out for a mythical being.
Knights senior forward Derek Lang is being treated like one by the first-year boys basketball coach.
"When Lafko first came in, he always told me he wanted me to be the 'unicorn,'" said Lang, who stands 6-foot-9 but can do things most players at that height can't. "'Unicorn' meant do everything, whether it was passing, rebounding, scoring. He just wanted me to be a focus point in our offense to make plays. ... He uses (the nickname) all the time in practice still."
Through the first 13 games, Lang averaged 7.6 points, seven rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. He had six points in his team’s emphatic 54-28 win over Freeport on Tuesday night.
Most importantly, with Lang helping lead the way, Knoch is 12-2 with a 6-0 mark in WPIAL Section 4-1A.
Despite playing down low on the AAU scene, Lang had previously been asked to work from the perimeter for Knoch, something he said he had to adapt to. He described himself as "more of a catch-and-shoot type of guy that kinda rebounded here and there."
Aside from lining up beside 7-footer Zane Pacek in the past, Lang said he's hardly come across players taller than him on the court. He put on 20 pounds over this past offseason, trying to "fill out his body," he said, but is still slimmer than most forwards. He trades the "traditional big man" tag for the ability to stretch the floor and move more quickly.
When Lang would tell people he played basketball — or if they asked him if he did because of his height — they would just assume he made a living in the paint.
"Then you kind of get that pressure of, 'Should I be under the hoop?'" Lang said.
Lafko figured it made a lot of sense. When the coach arrived, he made it known he wanted to control the 15-foot space around the basket. To do that, he said, he needed a post presence.
"Offense comes a lot (from) rebounding," Lang said. "He always says that a main offense in basketball is rebounding. He saw my size and he really focused on telling me to get in the right positions, and showing me where to be to get those rebounds to create offense for us."
Lafko demonstrated the difference to Lang in a simple way.
"This might sound a little primitive, but I put him underneath the basket with one of our other guards, and I threw the ball up in the air at the basket," Lafko said. "I said, 'Let's see who can rebound and put this ball back in the hoop.' Derek had won the majority of those rebound battles."
Lafko then stationed Lang beyond the arc and asked him to do the same thing. He was less successful.
"Just a small, little mindset of where you need to be to be a contributor on the offensive glass, I think was something that was a paradigm shift for him," Lafko said.
Lang has also been a defensive centerpiece near the basket. Lafko stresses allowing opponents 45 points or fewer and the Knights are permitting a Class 4A low of 42.5 points per game.
They’ll aim to continue that success when they visit Valley on Friday night.
