Pre-Draft Workouts Resume at Greenburgh

GREENBURGH, New York, June 14, 2006 -- Providence point guard Donnie McGrath is not only a four-year Big East star but “has grown up 15 minutes from here in Katonah, New York,” he smiles after his NBA Draft workout for the Knicks at the Madison Square Garden Training Center in Greenburgh. ”Needless to say, I’ve been one crazy mad Knicks fan all my life. My whole family is. So just being able to work out here, for Coach (Larry) Brown and (President, Basketball Operations) Isiah Thomas, it’s been an unbelievable honor.”

“It made me shaky in the legs.”

Ironically, the shaky Mr. McGrath has been best known for his aggressive floor attitude. ”That’s how Coach Brown calmed me down,” he says. “He told me how he’s watched me over the years and how much he appreciated my toughness and my shooting. And then he told me to keep on working on my defense.”

“This last year, we struggled a little bit as a team so we were not on TV that much,” says McGrath. “I had a good year but, who knows, maybe no one noticed. So I want to show in these workouts that I know how to run a team, get the ball to the right people, and knock down open shots.”

“People know I can shoot it. NBA range is definitely in my game -- maybe the best party of my game.”

“I like Steve Nash and Chauncey Billups, the best guys and the biggest winners at my position, naturally. But I don’t really pattern my game after anyone. I must make my own name. And I’ve always admired Isiah’s game, though. So it was a particular pleasure to work out in front of a point guard of his caliber.”

Damir Markota. MSG Photos

Damir Markota, 6-10 and all arms and legs, HAS patterned his game after Toni Kukoc -- “Everyone admires him a whole lot in Croatia,” he smiles -- and, of course, Dirk Nowitzki. ”I’m big and I can play a little bit on the outside,” the 20 year-old Cibona Zagreb forward says. “So, of course, I look at Dirk all the time. I try to learn his tricks. He’s the man.”

“I can shoot very well for my size,” adds Markota. “I run fast and play quick defense. I need more power -- and more game experience, for sure.” The agile Markota averaged 8.3 points and 4.4 rebounds in 21 minutes per game in the Adriatic League last season. He led Croatia with 18.3 ppg and 10.8 rpg, and dished out nearly 3 assists a game as well, in the 2005 Under 20 European Championships.

“I watch Kukoc play all the time,” adds Markota. “He’s Croatian and pretty tall and we’re somewhat similar players. When I had a chance to talk to him he just told me to do my thing, have confidence, and always give a hundred per cent. If I do that, the NBA is not that hard, he said.”

“Playing in the NBA, especially in New York, that’s the biggest dream,” says Markota. “That’s every basketball players’ dream, in or outside of Croatia, I’m sure. New York is a fabulous city with great basketball tradition and a long history. To be selected by them, it would be wonderful.”

In addition to McGrath and Markota, the Knicks worked out Oleksiy Pecherov (center, 7-0, 210, Ukraine).