Knicks Take a Look at Augustin, Love, Randolph in Massive Workout
The Knicks continued working out top prospects in preparation for the June 26 NBA Draft on Friday, as a total of seven players were evaluated at the Madison Square Garden Training Center.
The day's first workouts featured UCLA's Kevin Love, D.J. Augustin of Texas, LSU's Anthony Randolph, Syracuse's Donte Greene, Ohio State's Kosta Koufos and Davidson's Jason Richards. They all worked out in front of Knicks President, Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh, Head Coach Mike D'Antoni and the rest of the team's coaching staff.
Following this group workout, the Knicks brought in Italian forward Danilo Gallinari for a solo session. Gallinari was accompanied by his father, a former basketball star in Italy, where he was D'Antoni's longtime teammate.
A first-year forward, Love averaged a double-double with 17.5 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, as well as 1.9 assists and 1.4 blocks, in 2007-08. Leading his team in both scoring and rebounds, he became the first Bruin to be named a consensus First-Team All-American as a freshman.
In addition to earning Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors, Love became the second freshman in the conference's history to be named the Pac-10 Player of the Year and was one of five finalists for the John R. Wooden Award as the nation's top player
|
Augustin, meanwhile, won the 2008 Bob Cousy Award as the nation's top point guard. The sophomore averaged 19.2 points, 5.8 assists, 2.9 boards and 1.2 steals per game. Augustin was also a consensus All-American, and was a finalist for both the Naismith and Wooden Awards.
Randolph, one of the youngest players in the nation last season at age 18, averaged 15.6 points, 8.5 boards, 1.1 steals and 2.3 blocks per game for Louisiana State. The forward finished in double figures in 27 games and recorded nine double-doubles. He saved his best for conference play, averaging over 16 points and nine rebounds. Randolph finished with 20-plus points on nine occasions, and was a four-time SEC Freshman of the Week.
Greene, a freshman small forward, averaged 17.7 points, 7.2 boards, 2.0 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.3 steals per game for the Orangemen, while Koufos, who replaced Greg Oden at center for the Buckeyes, averaged 14.4 points, grabbed 6.7 boards and notched 1.8 blocks per game during his lone collegiate season.
Richards, who ran the point for this season's Cinderella Wildcats, averaged 12.7 points, 8.1 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.
For many of these highly-regarded prospects, Friday's Knicks workout was the latest in a string of such evaluations. Most agreed that what they were asked to do on the basketball court at the Training Center seemed as if it was designed to determin how they might perform in the up-tempo style of offense D'Antoni employed during his years in Phoenix.
"This is about the fifth or sixth workout I've done, and this one was more about getting up and down the court than any of the others," said Randolph. "Pretty much all of the teams are trying to get up and down during the workouts, but it was much more emphasized here."
Love agreed with his fellow freshman forward.
"Today was a lot of up-and-down play and a lot of three-on-three," said Love, who shed 15 pounds preparing for pre-draft workouts to prove he could be part of an up-tempo offense. "The only other time I played three-on-three was at the Memphis, but we only went about one or two games. Here we played about five or six games. And we went full-court, so we had to do a lot of fast break stuff, and things that really fit into D'Antoni's offense.
"We also did a lot of pick and pops. I did a lot of pick-and-rolls with the point guards. I also tried to stress my defensive versatility, guarding the four and actually the three at some points. (Donnie) Walsh was asking if I could put the ball on the floor so I showed him I could do that too. He wanted to see my outlet pass and I think I am pretty good at that, so I tried to show that in the drills as well."
Like every other prospect to work out with the Knicks, the players seemed excited by the possibility of playing up for D'Antoni and participating in the kind offense he made famous in Phoenix.
"Coach D'Antoni runs a great system," said Augustin, widely viewed as one of the purest point guards in the draft. "He uses a lot of pick and rolls and is all about pushing the ball, and I did a lot of that in college. It would be great for me to come in and run this system.
"I'm just a point guard. I know what I can do at the point. I can lead, and get everybody in the right position to be effective on the court. … I'm trying to show that I work hard and play hard. I'm a leader. I can shoot the ball and do everything."
Randolph had no doubt that he could to fit into the new Knicks schemes.
"I'm the perfect piece for Coach D'Antoni," he said. "I excel in the open floor, and I think his offenses are more towards a type of player like me. It feels like it's built for me. I would love to play for him."
Love, meanwhile, was already thinking two steps ahead, hypothesizing how D'Antoni would deploy him.
"I'll probably play the four, but offensively, I'll probably have to step out and maybe play a little bit of a point forward kind of role, especially if I'm going to play in D'Antoni's offense," said Love. "Defensively, I feel like I'm strong enough to guard the five but I'll mostly be guarding the four."
Love went so far as to imagine how it might feel to be drafted by the hometown team on June 26 at the WaMu Theater. He also showed he knows something about the Knicks' fan base.
"If they pick me I'll either get the ‘rah-rah's' or the ‘boo's,'" he said with a laugh. "But I've got to see how Spike Lee reacts. That will be the key."
In addition to the lure of playing for D'Antoni, propsects on Friday said being part of a storied team was also a big draw.
"I think it would be just great to be a Knick," said Randolph. "I would really be honored just to be drafted into an organization like this. I'd love to be here. The facilities are great, the coaches and front office, everything, it's really fantastic."
Augustin was equally excited, focusing on joining the current crop of Knicks players
"They've got some great players and great pieces here," he said. "I feel like I can learn from those guys and would fit in well. I talked to both Mr. Walsh and Coach D'Antoni. They are both great men. They like me, and hopefully I showed I can play for them. You've got to be able to show them that you can do everything. Getting everybody else involved, be smart and you've got to show them you can play defense"
Love, meanwhile, was particularly aware of the history and importance of the Knicks franchise. It was also clear that he had fallen in love with New York.
"I saw that the Knicks had the sixth pick, and that was pretty intriguing to me," he said. "It's the city that never sleeps, and you're on the grandest stage in the world at Madison Square Garden. That's big time.
"I really can't say enough how huge it would be to play here. It's the biggest stage in basketball. I don't care where you're at in the world, it's Madison Square Garden and I think that everybody that comes in here would say the same thing. It means a lot. I think the Knicks had about 18,000 people each game last season, and they didn't have the best year in the world, so that says a lot about the organization and the fans. And I really think this is a team that is on its way up. The basketball world needs the Knicks to be great, and with Donnie and Coach D'Antoni they are clearly on the right path."
