College basketball player dies in Thanksgiving Day car crash

The 20-year-old represented Philadelphia's Rosemont College as a point guard

Jermaine Knight was described as a ‘quiet kid’ (gofundme)

A  Pennsylvania college basketball player described as a "team leader" has died in a Thanksgiving day car crash.

Jermaine Knight, of Stewartsville, New Jersey, died on Thursday after the car he was travelling in overturned in Harmony Township, authorities said.

Knight, 20, represented Philadelphia's Rosemont College as a point guard. Before that, he played for Phillipsburg High School, New Jersey.  

Friends and former colleagues paid tribute to Knight, who graduated from Phillipsburg in 2018.

Phillipsburg athletic director Tom Fisher told lehighvalleylive.com Knight was a "quiet kid" who was "more about the team than himself.”

His best skills on the court were his ball-handling, quickness and leadership, Mr Fisher said.

He gave his all on the court and epitomised everything a coach could ask of a player, he added.

“My heart is so broken,” friend Michele Kromar wrote on Facebook. “You were your mother’s pride and joy, a friend to all and a handsome sweet human being."

She added: "I wish I could make you breakfast just one more time. God bless you and keep you. … You will never be forgotten.”

Police are investigating the cause of the crash. It was not immediately clear if any other drivers were involved.

Knight’s Nissan Altima veered off County Road 621 shortly before 1am. It hit several trees before flipping.

He was ejected from the car.  Emergency services attended the crash but he was announced dead at the scene.

A gofundme page has been set up in Knight's name and donors have already raised some $32,000.