The apple juice bottle flew past Sean Knapper as he sat in the upper deck of the South Charleston Community Center.
Within a millisecond, 5-year-old son Bryson followed.
"Dad," said the boy, bursting with energy, "there was this guy over there, but I told him I know karate and he ran away."
Bryson beamed with pride. Ditto his father, who was also watching another son, Brandon, on the court below.
Brandon Knapper, you might know, has signed to play basketball for WVU, although he'll first make a stop at Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia.
On this snow day, when both a game and practice were called off, the future Mountaineer point guard practiced both dunks and 3-point shots to the delight of a handful of kids, including his other brother, 13-year-old Brenton.
"It's my second home," Knapper said of the Community Center. "I'm always here, almost every day, every morning."
It's his home away from home. Sort of like South Charleston is to the entire Knapper family.
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In case you didn't know, Knapper was not born in the Kanawha Valley. He was born in Ontario, California, about 30 miles east of Los Angeles via Interstate 10.
Both of Knapper's parents, Sean and Nicole, played basketball first at the same high school and then at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, California, the latter under George Tarkanian, son of legendary UNLV coach Jerry.
Afterward, Sean went to Southern Utah for a short stint before moving everyone cross country in 2004 when Brandon was 6. Sean Knapper attended West Virginia State. He got a job at South Charleston's Gestamp Plant (formerly Charleston Stamping). He became an assistant coach for Black Eagles coach Vic Herbert.
"Dad works hard," Brandon said. "He works the night shift. He should be asleep right now, but he's here in the gym with us, showing us he really cares and loves us. His main concern is his family and kids and making sure we're successful."
The father smiled.
"We're blue-collar workers," he said. "I guess that work ethic rubbed off on our son."
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Sean Knapper knew his son had basketball ability in the formative years.
"As a dad, you kind of see it early," said the father. "Ever since he was able to walk, I could tell. Usually young kids dribble once. He was able to put four and five dribbles together. Then he grew up in a gym. I've always coached basketball. My wife coached basketball."
"I've been playing since I was 3 or 4 years old," Brandon said. "My dad always had a ball in my hands. I realized I could play in sixth or seventh grade when I was playing AAU, going against some of the nation's best players. I went up against kids that were 7-foot in sixth or seventh grade. I realized I could play Division I ball if I kept working on it."
Brandon initially played for David Kirkpatrick's Charleston Cavaliers AAU team. But Sean saw other talents in his son.
"Even baseball," said the father. "Put a bat in his hands at 2, 3 years old and he could switch-hit. He's just always had good hand-eye coordination."
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Knapper's father thought it might be a good idea for Brandon to concentrate on baseball and then, if that didn't work, fall back on basketball. It became clear, however, hoops captured the player's heart.
"I just love the game," Knapper said. "The atmosphere, the teammates, the friends, just the game."
He started really getting serious about basketball between the eighth and ninth grade, going to the gym and getting at least 100 shots up each night.
Then he had a chance encounter that changed the dynamics of Knapper's life.
"My sophomore year, I went up to WVU and went against [former Mountaineer standout] Juwan Staten," Knapper said. "That's when I really realized I could be a big-time Division I player. He's one of the best to ever play at West Virginia University."
Many have compared Knapper's game to that of Staten.
"That's what Juwan always said," said Sean. "Brandon went up in June of his sophomore year and surprised me. I always knew he was a Division I player, but him and Juwan played one-on-one for an hour and a half during a full-court scrimmage.
"You could see Juwan starting to take it easy on Brandon. Then, after Brandon hit a couple shots, Juwan thought, 'Oh, this kid can play. I better kick it up.' Brandon blocked his shot a couple times.
"Once, he called a foul and Coach [Larry] Harrison yelled, 'That's not a foul!' You could see the competitiveness. He didn't want a young kid showing him up.
"[Ex-Mountaineer great and NBA player and executive] Rod Thorn was even there. Rod Thorn said, 'This kid belongs.' "
Staten vouched for Knapper's game to WVU coach Bob Huggins.
"I talk to Juwan all the time through Snapchat and texting," Knapper said. "He's actually doing good. I congratulated him on having his daughter. He's in the D-League with the [Delaware 87ers]."
Knapper laughed.
"Huggins calls me Juwan Staten with a shot," he said. "He says I play similarly to him. I play tough defense. I always play hard. We have a similar type of game."
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Sean Knapper sees his son developing more and more each year. Leadership abilities have progressed. The player has quickness and scoring ability, but has also gained 10 pounds and is up to 170. He's 6-foot-1 "with shoes on," according to the father. Perhaps most notable is improvement in passing.
"You can really see it in AAU ball [with the West Virginia Wildcats Select team]," Sean said. "When Brandon plays with [WVU signees Maciej] Bender and [Chase] Harler, he does the right things. He penetrates the gaps. He penetrates and kicks. He gets it to the right guys."
Where does he need to improve?
"Just playing with and against bigger guys," said the father. "I think going to Hargrave will be to his advantage. It will help tremendously. I know when Hugs and I talked, he gave Brandon the option of a redshirt year or going to a prep school. There you lift weights and play 40 games. Had he gone [to WVU] in 2016, there would still be six or seven guards [on WVU's roster]. In 2017, it will just be [Jevon] Carter, [Daxter] Miles, [James] Bolden, Brandon and Harler. There will be more of an opportunity to play early."
Knapper's move to Hargrave might be smart, but that doesn't mean the player was thrilled about delaying his move to Morgantown.
"The first time we talked about it, I was kind of iffy about it," Knapper said. "But I thought about it and realized it's best for me. I saw the facilities at Hargrave and realized I can get bigger and stronger and become a better point guard overall there."
And, no, he said, other offers won't sway him from attending WVU.
"WVU is my concern," he said. "WVU has been my team since the eighth grade. I've been going up there since then. I've been at their camps and they've always given me attention. That's where I want to go."
After Knapper committed, however, Michigan assistant Bacari Alexander called, requested transcripts and video and invited the player to Ann Arbor for an unofficial visit. Alexander was turned down.
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In Knapper, WVU is getting a gym rat who not only excels on the court, but also off it. He loves going to the movies (his favorite of late is "Ride Along 2" and his all-time favorite is "Coach Carter").
"He's a homebody," said the father. "You can't get him out of the house. If he's gone, you know he's at the movies or a gym."
"Or my grandpa's," Knapper chimed in.
Also, the player wants to become a physical therapist.
"I love science, anatomy and physiology," he said.
On the court, well, no less than Dallas Mavericks guard Raymond Felton has complimented Knapper's game.
"We were playing in Myrtle Beach," Knapper said. "Felton's nephew Jalek, who is going to North Carolina, was there. I ended up with 20 points and seven rebounds. Everyone was playing good. He asked me where we were from. I told him West Virginia. He was surprised. He didn't know West Virginia had good basketball. He told me to keep working and said I'm a very good leader on the court."
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Knapper's story is a neat one. He has a 3.4 grade-point average. He's signed with a Mountain State school. And he's accepted going to Hargrave, where prime Kentucky Mr. Basketball candidate Braxton Beverly moved.
"I've played against Beverly since the seventh or eighth grade and I can see he got a lot bigger and stronger in just a year there," Knapper said.
How the story wraps up five years from now, of course, is yet to be determined. Odds are, however, the player will be in a good place.
"I hope I graduate college, get my four-year degree [en route to] my physical therapy [degree], which takes seven years," Knapper said. "I'd like to go to the NBA if I have a great career at WVU. I'd like to become one of the best in college basketball."
Sean Knapper, wearing sweat pants and a sweat shirt, tired from loss of sleep, smiled that snow day at the Community Center. Sometimes hard work and attention to the family pays off.
"Brandon is a great kid," Sean said. "He's quiet. He's laid back. He's never been in trouble. He's never had a discipline issue at school. He's a great brother to his younger brothers."
He paused and looked at Bryson in front of him and Brenton on the court below with Brandon.
"They look up to Brandon," he finally continued with a nod at his sons. "They want to be just like him.
"Which is hard to do."