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Vegas Summer League MailbagCouldn't make it out to Las Vegas to hang with the Knicks? Don't worry, NYKnicks.com kept you covered via the Vegas Summer League Mailbag, where fans got their questions answered directly from the Knicks rookies and second year players.Gr8Life In VegasNate Robinson came to this very same place, to Cox Pavilion, exactly one year ago ... came to play in Summer League, to try to earn a roster spot with the Knicks, to take his first steps as a professional basketball player. Of course, that was before.Before he exploded onto the scene as one of the game’s most dynamic and popular players. Before he thrilled a worldwide audience with a victory in the Slam Dunk contest at All-Star Weekend. Before his jersey, it seemed, was on the back of every other kid who walked into the Garden. Before he found himself in Washington at a black-tie dinner hosted by the President of the United States.Mardy Gets The PointHe’s a point guard on a point guard-oriented team, coached by a point guard of Hall of Fame caliber. Mardy Collins has one heck of a comfort zone. “I think I bring a little different aspect to the team,” says Collins, the second of the Knicks’ two first-round picks (and 29th overall) in last month’s NBA Draft. “I’ve been playing some point but (Isiah) basically explained to me that he wants me on the team because when the ball’s in my hands, good decisions are going to be made.”Renaldo Balkman, Thats WhoBy now, everyone knows him as Renaldo Who?. . .The Man Who Wasn’t in the Draft Guide, the Knicks’ surprise – some say shocking – pick at number 20 overall in the NBA Draft two weeks ago. And everything Renaldo Balkman had done in basketball seemed to pale beside that singular designation.But remember this, too, about Balkman. Draft Guide or no, he’s already known a golden Garden moment that few can equal. That came just a few months ago, when he led his South Carolina squad to an NIT championship on the Garden floor, earning tournament MVP honors for good measure. That was his second straight trip to the NIT Finals on the hoop world’s biggest stage, and any first-time jitters were washed away very quickly.Channing’s Road BackChanning Frye answered the most important question right away.“ The knee is good, I feel one hundred percent,” said the Knicks’ First Team All-Rookie forward. “It’s just too bad I hurt my ankle, so I’m not going to have a chance to get out there.” Frye was heading into the home stretch of one of the best seasons for a Knicks rookie in more than two decades – 12.3 points and 5.8 rebounds worth in 65 games – when a sprained left knee ligament ended his campaign abruptly on March 21. Surgery was not required, and the subsequent weeks of rehabilitation culminated in Frye’s return to active duty in this week’s Toshiba Vegas Summer League.Knicks To Up Pace, Defensive Intensity Under ThomasStylistically, the Knicks are going to be a different team under Isiah Thomas. At times that might include playing at a faster pace, but according to the Knicks President and new mentor the changes are really going to amount to more than that. “We want to be efficient,” said Thomas. ”On both ends of the floor, offensively and defensively. We are not so much interested in pace as we are in being efficient. We want to be good on both sides of the ball. We want good execution so when we’re going to call a play we go out and do it -- and if we don’t do it there is a penalty for that. We want to be able to execute defensively. So if our defense is able to get us out into some kind of transition to move the basketball up court in a quicker fashion, we will do that.”Summerball, Vegas StyleA friendly word of advice if you’re planning to watch any of the Knicks’ action in the upcoming Toshiba Vegas Summer League: Don’t blink. Much. We’re not talking Phoenix Suns-of-the-East, not yet anyway. But the first glimpses of a revamped offensive game plan under Isiah Thomas will be on display starting on Friday. “Get it up the floor, get into your offense without wasting seconds on the clock,” says assistant coach Mark Aguirre, who’ll pilot the Knicks’ squad in Vegas. “That way, you’re never able to set your defense. We don’t want people to be able to set their defense on us. Even though we’ll be in a very structured situation, you won’t be able to come down and say `Okay, they’re getting ready to run this. . .’ We don’t want that.” With the Knicks’ entire five-game Summer League slate scheduled to be shown on MSG Network, Aguirre pointed out what viewers back home could look forward to. . . a new philosophy, Isiah-style. “They’ll see a lot more movement, they’ll see the floor being spread,” Aguirre says.Knicks To Participate In Summer League In Las VegasThe New York Knicks will participate in the Vegas Summer League (VSL) in Las Vegas, NV, with five days of practice prior to the games, at Cox Pavilion on the campus of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. The team is scheduled to have two practices per day, with media availability following the morning practice only. The team’s entry will feature returning veterans Channing Frye, David Lee and Nate Robinson and recent draftees Renaldo Balkman and Mardy Collins. MSG Network will be televising the entire five-game schedule live.
Las Vegas Summer Pro League
NBA.com Summer League Central | Toshiba Vegas Summer League
Summer League Roster as of July 5, 2006
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