Collins, Chandler Eye Next Step in Vegas

July 13, 2008

LAS VEGAS -- While they're certainly not NBA veterans in the strictest sense, both Mardy Collins and Wilson Chandler have been through the Summer League routine before. And following rookie seasons that -- one year apart -- eerily followed the same pattern, both come to Las Vegas looking to play an increased role in the Knicks' new scheme of things.

The Knicks' first-round pick out of DePaul last year, Chandler was virtually invisible during the season's first two-thirds, appearing in just seven of New York's first 49 games.

It wasn't easy.

"It was definitely tough, going in and working hard every day, thinking it's not paying off and thinking that your time is never going to come," said the 6-foot-8 Chandler. "That was mostly the hardest part, just watching other people play basketball."

But Chandler's fortunes turned during the season's final six weeks. Gradually earning a spot in the rotation, he appeared in 28 of the Knicks' final 33 games -- including 16 starts -- and averaged better than eight points per game over 22.6 minutes. He notched double-figure points in 10 of his last 15 contests, and was slowed only by a knee injury in the season's next-to-last game. His head-turning performance was one of the few bright spots during the final weeks of the Knicks' 23-win season.

"I learned that I could play with some of the best players in the world," said the 21-year old Chandler about his strong finishing kick. "I think that I have enough talent to play and being able to be out there and play and execute very well against them. It gave me a lot of confidence."

That feeling of confidence had always been there, albeit under wraps.

"In the first half, it was just (about) keeping focused," he said. "I kept working hard, listening to the coaches no matter how I felt about the situation about not playing. I just stayed focused and stayed ready. I could easily have stopped being focused, stopped working hard and not been ready when the time came. So that was the first part.

"Then, just knowing that we maybe would not make the playoffs, (but) just going out there and keeping yourself motivated, keeping yourself driven for personal goals and future goals for your team, knowing that there's better days (ahead)."

Better days are also hopefully ahead for Collins, the third-year point guard out of Temple who left a huge impression in his rookie year of 2006-07 in much the same way as Chandler. After struggling for playing time in the first half of that season, Collins averaged eight points per game over the final 24 games, starting the last nine. He put up a pair of 20-plus point games and had several that were just shy of triple-double territory.

But a little more than a month after the season, Collins underwent a procedure on his left knee that knocked him out of last year's Summer League and effectively set him back for 2007-08.

Collins won't characterize last year as a lost season, but he averaged just a better than three points a game in 46 contests, starting only eight times.

"It set me back a lot, being as though I wasn't able to work like I usually work in the summertime," said Collins, who also endured ankle and foot injuries in the first half of last year. "And that was the first real injury that I ever had, so everything was all new, with the recovery process and trying to get back to feeling the way I'm accustomed to feeling. It took awhile to start feeling like that.

"It was awhile, because the knee was still bothering me in training camp. I sprained my ankle before the Milwaukee game (on Nov. 30), so by the time my knee and ankle started feeling good, it was toward the end of the season. Plus on top of that, trying to get into the game and get a rhythm going. It was just a tough year to try and get a rhythm because I was hurt in the beginning and then trying to get minutes once I did get some playing time."

Playing time -- or personal incentive -- won't be a problem for Collins as the Knicks prepare for action in the 2008 NBA Summer League, presented by EA Sports. He sounds like a man with something to prove, especially after the disappointment of last season.

"You definitely do," he said, noting that his knee feels its best since the surgery. "That's what every player, when you get new coaches and new players on your team, or when you have a bad year having to come back from injuries, you always want to come back and try to prove that you can get back to playing how you played in the past. So I definitely come in with a little chip on my shoulder to try and go out there and do all I can to earn some playing minutes and help the team win."

An added element for Collins -- and for fellow 2006 draftee Renaldo Balkman -- will be whether or not the Knicks pick up his fourth-year contract option. The team has until the opening of the 2008-09 season to do so.

"You think about it a little bit, but for the most part you just want to go out there and let your play do the talking for you," says Collins. "Just go out there and prove yourself on the court and all the other stuff will take care of itself. It's in the back of your head that you know you've got to go out there and try to do some good things so you can stay around."

Collins and Chandler are both unanimous in their eager anticipation of the prospect of playing for Mike D'Antoni.

"Any player gets excited when, with the way they played in Phoenix, that's how guys grew up playing on the playground," said Collins. "You grew up playing open-court, just running and going to the basket shooting. When you've got a coach that's going to allow you to play like that, you've got to be excited."

Chandler couldn't agree more.

"My reaction was, 'Wow'," added Chandler. "One of the greatest coaches. I had never met him, but playing against him and seeing the Suns do good every year, you're like, 'Wow, we've got a good coach coming in. He knows a lot about basketball.' We're going to play an up-tempo style of basketball.

"I'm definitely ready to run. Whatever he wants me to do, I'm ready to do that."

NOTES: The Knicks' Summer League squad conducted two-a-day workouts over the weekend in preparation for the five-game schedule that kicks off on Monday afternoon vs. Cleveland at Cox Pavilion (4 p.m. ET; TV: MSG). … Knicks assistant coach Phil Weber will coach the Summer League team. … Veterans Stephon Marbury and David Lee practiced with the Summer League squad over the weekend, while Quentin Richardson was also on hand. … Stanford's Dan Grunfeld, son of former Knicks president Ernie Grunfeld, was scratched from the Summer League team due to a late injury.