New York Knicks: Witness??

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer published an interesting article Thursday. He was covering Stephen Curry of Davidson at the NBA Draft combine in Chicago, and he seemed a little perplexed by Curry's statement that he hoped to be a New York Knick on draft day.

The statement is a little unusual, because most guys give the same "cookie cutter" quotes about how they are just blessed to be in this position, happy for the opportunity, blah blah blah. Curry says he wants to be drafted by the Knicks. One reason it's not so strange is that the Knicks' 8th pick is the first position where Curry seems to be an option, so he isn't really risking "hurting the feelilngs" of any other teams by making this proclamation.

The strangest aspect of the statement is that Curry grew up in Charlotte (while his father, Dell, played for the Hornets), went to college at Davidson (which is basically in Charlotte), and seems to have zero interest in being a Bobcat. Now, don't get me wrong...the management of the Charlotte Bobcats have not done anything to convince me that they have a clue about building a basketball team. Other than the paychecks, there aren't a lot of factors to make anyone want to play for the Bobcats. Sean May doesn't even want to play for them enough to get up from the dinner table (or stay out of the clubs, depending on who you believe).

Anyway, I think there may be one not-so-subtle reason that Stephen Curry wants to be a New York Knick. I also think there may be one not-so-subtle reason that the New York Knicks want Stephen Curry. That reason:



This is a picture of LeBron James during Davdison's game against North Carolina State in Charlotte last season. James and Curry have become friends. Curry worked at James' basketball camp in Cleveland last summer.

LeBron is also going to be a free agent at the end of the 2009-10 NBA season, and the Knicks have been long-rumored as one of his top choices should he decide to leave Cleveland. A scoring point guard, like Curry, on the roster would make the Knicks a very attractive option for James. Add in the fact that they are already friends, and the Knicks become more attractive.

If the Knicks get Curry, and then get James, you will never convince me that it was just "coincidence". But, those two in Mike D'Antoni's offense would be fun to watch.

All-Encompassing Update

During the summer, there's not a lot of (ACC) football or basketball news to write about, so rather than driving myself insane trying to find topics, I will just occasionally (or more often, depending on what sparks my interest) weigh in on a few random topics.

JJ Hickson is probably staying in the draft. I don't think he should, but he didn't ask me. He chose not to play at the Orlando pre-draft camp, and wasn't invited for interviews and measurements only. Evidently, he's content with his current draft position...or he thinks he's going to blow the scouts away at his private workout that he will have soon. I believe his best chance of improving his draft stock would have been to go to Orlando and shine against other "wanna be" draftees. However, Sidney Lowe has been around the NBA quite a bit, and if JJ is following his advice, I will easily concede that he's doing the best thing for his particular situation.

The Danny Green saga is very interesting. Apparently, as long as the NBA doesn't specifically tell Mr. Green to pull out of the draft, he is going to stay in it. Tar Heel Fan has all of the UNC/NBA draft news anyone could need, including a couple of articles about Danny Green. It seems that being in prison made Danny Sr. an expert on the intricacies of the NBA draft process.

Football is only a few months away!!!

The United States Open is basically two weeks away. My early prediction: Tiger Woods wins! How's that for going out on a limb? I'll step out a little farther...Tiger will finish at -2, and will be the only golfer in red figures. Plenty of people will be predicting that someone other than Tiger will win, citing his long layoff for knee surgery. I say he will win, because he always wins at Torrey Pines. Also, in 2002, he missed quite a bit of time because of a similar knee surgery, and he won his first tournament back that year, as well. Where was that tournament played?? Yep..Torrey Pines.

Well, that's it for now. Check back soon for another all-encompassing update!

"Psycho-T" - Why All The Hate?

People love to take shots at Tyler Hansbrough.

They call him over-rated, and criticize every little thing he does.

I think I know why.

As an NC State fan, I hate to admit it, but it is probably a combination of two things:
1) He plays for UNC.
2) He is really good.

People love to say that Tyler gets away with an extra step quite often. I've said it myself, more than once. It is the truth, actually. However, we leave out the fact that traveling is very rarely called, and lots of players get away with an extra step these days.

That doesn't fit the argument, so we leave it out.

Then, there's the criticism of how he plays the game. He plays a little out of control, causes contact, and is bailed out too much by the referees. Another of my personal favorites. Again, there's a lot of truth in the statement. However, using it to criticize Hansbrough is probably not fair. J.J. Redick was another recent example of a guy who did the same thing. Now, I am NOT a fan of this type of play, and I wish in some situations the referees wouldn't call the foul. But, since they do, I can't really fault Tyler for taking advantage of the situation. Any player in the NCAA that can draw contact like that does the same thing. Hansbrough is just better at it than most.

Last, but certainly not least, the mother of all TH criticisms: He'll never be a star in the NBA. That seems to be the clean-up batter of Tyler criticisms. Is it fair? No. Not even if it's true. Is it true? Only time will tell.

Hansbrough's NBA prospects are, in my opinion, pretty good. At worst, I think he'll be a solid, rebounding, "energy" guy coming off of the bench. At best? This is where the debate comes in. If his game is, right now, all that it's ever going to be, he'll be a solid NBA player. Teams need guys to rebound, and get "garbage" points, without having to run plays for them. A team that already has two or three proven scorers would relish having someone like Hansbrough to work hard and get 10-12 rebounds a night.

The big knock on his NBA chances is his jump shot. No one has ever seen it, so we assume it's not there. Hansbrough only takes one or two (maximum) shots a game that aren't close to the basket. Does he not have the ability to make that shot? Or does Roy Williams have no desire to see him shoot it? The answer to that question will ultimately determine how high up the NBA "star scale" Hansbrough climbs.

If he can knock down a 15-18 ft. jumper with any regularity, he will be compared to Karl Malone. He already has Malone's size, he plays tough defense, he rebounds, and he's probably better facing up and driving to the basket than Malone. He just needs the jumper. If he shows that, he will be very difficult to guard. And, he could end up being a big-time NBA player.

There it is. Honesty about Tyler Hansbrough from an NC State fan. Now, I must go visit another blog so I can get back to my criticisms!