Q&A with Demetris Knick-ols
Aug 1, 2007
Posted by: Dave McMenamin


Nichols his hoping to beat the odds and land a regular season roster spot.
Steve Freeman/NBAE/Getty Images

There are two things you need to know about the No. 53 pick in this year's draft before reading any further:

1. People don't know his name. His first name is Demetris, not Demetrius.
2. He knows the Garden. He played 19 of the 123 games in his collegiate career in MSG, averaging 11.2 points per game in those contests overall and 16.4 points on 41 percent shooting over his junior and senior seasons.

The 6-8 forward had a stellar showing in the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 15.6 points per game on 53 percent shooting from the floor, but he still doesn't have a guarantee to be wearing orange and blue in the state of New York for a fifth consecutive season because second round picks don't get guaranteed contracts.

New York currently has 18 players showing on its roster page, all but two of them (Nichols and Kelvin Cato) are signed for the 2007-08 season.

NBA teams carry a maximum roster size of 15 during the regular season.

Do the math and you'll see that the only way '07-08 can equate in a New York NBA berth for D-Nic would be for two players to be subtracted from the group.

But that's all out of Nichols' hands. For now he is doing what he's been doing the last 10 years of his life: trying to get better every day. I caught up with Nichols at the Rookie Photo Shoot in Tarrytown, NY last week and here's the transcript:

NBA.com: Take me through draft night ... You were drafted by Portland but traded to New York. How long were you thinking you were going to Portland?
Demetris Nichols: That was like three hours. I got a call at like 3:30 in the morning saying that I was traded to the Knicks.

NBA.com: What was that like?
Demetris Nichols: I was pretty happy about that. One, because my girlfriend is having a baby and just being close to back home (in Boston) and two, I’ve played in the Garden before and I’ve had great games there so I was pretty excited for it.

NBA.com: Your freshman and sophomore years at Syracuse it was Hakim Warrick’s team. Your junior year it was Gerry McNamara’s team. Last year, it was your team. How did you improve last year and make the leap?
Demetris Nichols: I just tried to be consistent. You know, go to the gym, come early, stay late and just make sure I did the right thing every single day. And that’s what I did every single game and I think it helped me out.

NBA.com: What allows you to be considered one of the best shooters in this draft?
Demetris Nichols: Just hard work and preparation. I’ve worked on my game a lot. Even here today, I left lunch early and came back in the gym and shot by myself. It’s just hard work and confidence really. It’s just confidence.

NBA.com: It’s nice to be considered a great shooter, but you don’t want to be just a great shooter do you?
Demetris Nichols: No, I want to be a great defender, a great teammate and a great leader. I think if I work on those things I think the sky’s the limit.

"I plan to be the best player."
NBA.com: At Syracuse you played a lot of zone, in the NBA you’re bound to play a lot more man-to-man. Does that affect what you work on day-to-day? Like do you do drills for lateral quickness?
Demetris Nichols: Not really. Actually at the combine in Orlando I was first in the slide drill. A lot of people don’t know that I’m a pretty good defender because I played zone all four years, but I’m a pretty good defender.

NBA.com: Between now and the start of training camp, what are your goals every day?
Demetris Nichols: I’ll probably be in this building every morning. I already started actually like two weeks ago. I’m just going to keep getting my shots up just trying to get better.

NBA.com: How much better do you think you’ve gotten since you played your last game in college?
Demetris Nichols: I think I’ve gotten a lot better. I think I’m much more confident. I’m playing with the best players and I’m playing well against them. I’m playing really well right now and I know I’m only going to get better.

NBA.com: Is this a little extra satisfying for you because of how much you’ve improved? Freshman-Sophomore year, Sophomore-Junior, Junior-Senior, you’ve constantly gotten better. You’ve worked every step of the way, what kept you motivated?
Demetris Nichols: A lot of things. My family kept me motivated and the goals I set for myself. I plan to be the best player. That’s what I try to be. I try to do all the right things and make sure I work on my game every single day, and if I continue to do that I think I’m going to be one of the best players in the draft.

NBA.com: I saw you saying hi to Herbert Hill, and Jeff Green is here plus Jared Dudley played a couple seasons in the Big East. Is there a camaraderie between you guys?
Demetris Nichols: Yeah, we played against each other a couple times so we talked about games where they beat us or we beat them and stuff like that. Just joking around a little. That’s about it.

NBA.com: What about Wilson Chandler. How well have you gotten to know him?
Demetris Nichols: Me and him are real close right now. We both played well in Las Vegas and we played against each other during the season when he was at DePaul. I think he’ll surprise a lot of people. I think he’s ready. I think he has a shot. He’s athletic. He can run the floor. If he keeps on working I think he’ll be really, really good in this league.

NBA.com: How about having Isiah Thomas as your coach? He’s one of the 50 greatest players, ever. Everyday you can learn a little bit more from a guy like that I’d imagine …
Demetris Nichols: Exactly. I’ve been blessed because I had a high school coach that really helped me out a lot. Then I go to Syracuse and Jim Boeheim, a friggen great coach, he’s a Hall of Famer, and now I have a chance to be coached by Isiah Thomas. I’m very, very blessed and I’m grateful for that.

NBA.com: The reality of it is, you’re still a second rounder so nothing is guaranteed. Do you hear rumors about your chances? When will you know whether you’re a Knick or you’re going to be somewhere else?
Demetris Nichols: I’m not sure. It’s just a waiting process right now. I know I want to play for the Knicks, but if things don’t work out I know there are teams out there who need a guy like me. But my first option is to play for the Knicks, so we’ll see.

-- Edited by Dave McMenamin at 08/01/2007 3:04 PM

jeeez...i hope we sign him

or you could just outright state jones and dickau. nichols is a player, and he shoots.

Posted by nixluva:

I don't see any way that Isiah doesn't keep this kid. He's exactly what we need.

I just hope he finds a way to make a 3-for-1 instead of haven't to cut people.

Dickau and James. Trade, cut, whatever. Just get it done. We will know at the end of August probably, when Dickau and Jones can be traded.

I love the fact that this kid has gotten better each yr at Cuse. It shows progression, a higher ceiling and also shows that the kid is a hard worker.

As was said above, can't see Isiah wasting a pick on him then turing around and cutting him.

Jerome James- either a buy out (three years left- do we need him with Curry, Zach & Morris) or he gets sent packing when he shows up out of shape.

Jones- released- we now have athletic defensive minded wing players in chandler, balkman & nichols

Dickau stays because he is only true pg, he's had some great games against us and with the miles on marbury, you don't know if he'll make it through the season.

Posted by franco12:

Jerome James- either a buy out (three years left- do we need him with Curry, Zach & Morris) or he gets sent packing when he shows up out of shape.

Jones- released- we now have athletic defensive minded wing players in chandler, balkman & nichols

Dickau stays because he is only true pg, he's had some great games against us and with the miles on marbury, you don't know if he'll make it through the season.

Actaully, I would cut JJ2 before I cut James. JJ2 is useless on this team especially when we have Balk who does everything that JJ2 was signed to do and more. And it seems like Chandler has the potential to be a pretty good defender not to mention the offensive game he seems to posses.

The only reason I keep James is as an insurance policy in case Curry gets hurt. With Zach on the team, James' defense would help for stretches (of course his non-existent offense will not be needed with Zach beside him) in case Eddy went down for some reason. Not sure Isiah would comfortable with only having Morris as a legit back-up to Curry.

with the abundance of SF's on the team, JJ2 irrelevant in my mind.

Its all sunk cost at this point, so why not do right by the team and by the "rebuilding" plan and cut JJ1, JJ2, and Malik. No need for any of them.

I've held Nichols in high esteem ever since last season, when he torched St. John's for 37 points. He did a good amount of his scoring that game against Mase Jr., who is pretty decent defender in his own right. That game showed me that Nichols had the athleticism to get it done in the League...but I also thought the same thing about Lawrence Moten. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.