Knicks Begin Player Workouts
by Tom Kertes

GREENBURGH, New York, May 22, 2006 -- If the playoffs-sized media throng was searching for hints and hidden meanings in the New York Knicks’ first NBA Draft player-workouts…well, the search is still on. The team brought in an extra-physical workhorse-forward (Indiana’s Marco Killingsworth), a power-guy with local ties (Kelly Whitney from Seton Hall), an all-around swing-man from Tobacco Road (6-6 David Noel), and a mystery-center from Brazil (6-11 Leonardo di Pacce Dos Santos).

Does this mean the Knicks will select a power forward, a swinger, or a pivot when the 20th and 29th picks roll around in the first round? Maybe -- but not necessarily. As far the rest of the mysteries go, Coach Larry Brown was “totally himself” according to Noel. “I know him from some clinics down in North Carolina and he was just, well, Coach. He was very energetic, very involved. He yelled, stopped the workout constantly, told us a lot about playing in this league, and taught us some great things.” Knicks President, Basketball Operations Isiah Thomas, meanwhile, “sat on the sidelines, took copious notes in a book, and shouted some encouragement to us once in a while.”

Nothing unusual there. All the players however, did take note of the unexpected avalanche of attention, Noel and Killingsworth shrugging in “no big deal” fashion after attending big-time schools North Carolina and Indiana, but dos Santos admitting to be “a little bit shocked” through his Portuguese interpreter. “I knew this was a big team, big time, big coach and everything,” the thin 21-year old, wearing a “deer in the headlights” look, confessed. “But I never expected THIS.”

Indiana's Marco Killingsworth.
MSG Photos

“I’m actually a Knicks fan, though,” he said. “They are one of my two favorite NBA teams. I won’t tell you the other one. But I watch all their games on TV back in Brazil.”

Dos Santos led his nation’s Div. I. League -- which is said to be at the level of topflight U.S. college basketball -- in blocked shots (3.0 pg.), while averaging 17 points and 9 rebounds a game and shooting 34 per cent from trey range. His coach, onetime U.S. Div. I college mentor Bob Donewald, calls him an “outstanding lefty on-man shot- blocker who’s surprisingly aggressive and physical, a good ball handler with a nice hook shot, a very unusual talent.” Still, in order to succeed, dos Santos clearly must put on more weight, “something I’m working on every day,” he says. “I have no doubt I can contribute in the NBA, and contribute right away.”

The 6-8, 260-pound Killingsworth believes he can make the league “by just doing my thing. Which is scoring inside, throwing my weight around, being a punishing rebounder, and creating extra possessions for my team by hitting the boards hard. Coach Brown taught me a lot, though. He showed me how to use my legs to be more explosive, to get more into my shot.”

Brazilian center Leonardo di Pacce Dos Santos.
MSG Photos

“I’m stronger than everybody I play against, AND more tenacious,” added Killingsworth. “My weakness is sitting on the bench. I’m not very good at that.”

“I try to be pretty much an all around player, I think,” said Noel. “What I bring to a team is my jumper, my low post game, and my athleticism. I can still work on my handle though, Coach Brown told me.’’

“It would be an honor to play for the Knicks,” added Noel. “To play for this historic franchise, for Isiah Thomas, for this coaching staff…Playing for a coach like Roy Williams really prepares you for every eventuality. I feel that I have the upper hand on a lot of people just by playing for him. He teaches you to go hard on every play and he teaches you how to win. And I don’t mind being in a rebuilding situation, not at all. To me it would mean that they need your skills and that I’d have an opportunity to contribute.”

“The way I see it, playing for the Knicks would be just like playing at Indiana,” Killingsworth smiled, almost as if in delicious anticipation. “A big-time situation where it’s all about basketball. And that’s exactly the type of situation I’m searching for, the type of situation that I like.”

Last year they held ultra-secret Frye workouts. Makes me think that None of these guys will be knicks, or are second round interests...

"I'm stronger than everybody I play against, AND more tenacious," added Killingsworth. "My weakness is sitting on the bench. I'm not very good at that."

Funny.

There's not a lot of upside with Killingsworth. He's a 6'7 PF and he was 24 yrs old last year. He is what he is and he can help team, but he's no first rounder.


The Brazillian guy sounds interesting. Although at this point, anyone who can block shots sounds interesting.