KNOXVILLE, N.Y.
Despite boos, draft pick will grow on Knicks, fans
Once boos fade away, Knicks top pick will give fans something to cheer about
It was two minutes past 9:30 p.m. when Kevin Knox Sr. rose from his seat in front of the stage at Barclays Center, his bright orange tie and matching pocket square glistening under the arena lights. Just more than an hour earlier, on this Thursday night in Brooklyn, the proud father had watched as his son, Kevin Knox II, get selected ninth overall by the Knicks at the NBA Draft, signifying the beginning of his professional basketball career.
Knox Sr. wore a blue Knicks hat atop his head. He walked slowly out of the green room — the makeshift setup of tables and chairs where potential draftees sit and wait for their name to be called by Commissioner Adam Silver — and tugged on the lapels of his blue suit.
The color scheme was no mistake. Knox Sr. had expected his son to end up in New York. As he strolled toward the exit at the back of the floor, following his wife, Michelle, Knox Sr. lifted one of his pant legs to reveal another piece of his well-calibrated outfit — dark blue socks with orange and light blue patterns zig-zagging every which way.
“I wore the colors for a reason,” Knox. Sr. said. “I wore the socks for a reason.”
Yes, the Knicks had found their man — or kid, really.
GROWING CHANGES
Knox is still just 18 years old. He won’t turn 19 until August. He measured at 6-9 in shoes at the NBA combine last month. His wingspan is a quarter-inch short of seven feet. Odds are he’ll grow before he takes the court at Madison Square Garden for the first time in the fall, because as Knox Sr. tells it, that’s what his son has always done.
Knox stood 6-7 by the end of the his sophomore year in high school. The previous fall, he’d started at quarterback for the Tampa Catholic varsity team.
“But they got Kevin Knox, and I’m willing to work.” KEVIN KNOX
Football was always in his blood. Knox Sr. played four years of wide receiver at Florida State, winning the national title in 1993, his senior season. That year, he caught 42 passes for 575 yards and seven touchdowns. Knox Sr. was drafted in the sixth round of the 1994 NFL Draft — held at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, what is now a short ride on the 3 train from Barclays Center — by the Buffalo Bills.
His son followed in his footsteps. And in 2014, Knox was already drawing recruiting interest, landing on ESPN's Top 150 list. But he just wouldn't stop growing.
“After his sophomore year, he was 6-7, wearing a 17 shoe,” Knox Sr. said. “That don't exactly bode well for football. So yeah, we had to go ahead and move on.”
Knox turned his focus to basketball. He developed into one of the top prospects in the nation before committing to Kentucky, where he averaged 15.6 points per game as a freshman this past season.
Football never left him, though. According to Knox Sr., it “absolutely” impacts Knox's approach to basketball.
“We play a physical style of game. We're not afraid to get bumped and bruised,” Knox Sr. said. “The mentality that football players have, and the lifting weights to change your body, is really not a custom of a basketball player. And so those are some of the foundations that I instilled in my kid early on, and I think it transferred well to basketball.” Knox mimicked his dad's sentiment. “Playing quarterback,” Knox said, “you have to have quick reactions. You've got to be able to know pretty much everything that's going on on the field, lateral quickness, lateral movements in the pocket. Football is a little bit different as far as lifting weights. We lifted weights every day. It's a different type of sport. So those things, different aspects, they help you in basketball.”
NEW YORK GROOVE
Since they took over for Phil Jackson last summer, Knicks president Steve Mills and general manager Steve Perry have painted a consistent picture of how they want to build their roster. Youth, athleticism, defense, physicality and work ethic are the priorities.
Knox has the potential to fill all of these desires, especially given his football influence.
He certainly is young, though, and he needs time to develop into the player the Knicks eventually expect him to be.
“Kevin's a very mature kid mentally,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said in the bowels of Barclays Center late Thursday night. “Just physically, he's gonna have to catch up, which he will. And he's not that far behind. I make it so that everybody understands: He's 18. He's not a 24-year-old kid.”
“If that kid's a year or two older, he's the 1, 2 or 3 pick. He's just 18 years old,” Calipari added. “So physically, I think he'll come into his own quicker than everybody thinks he will, and the league is moving to 6-10 shooters, 6-9, be able to play multiple positions, and he can do that.”
Calipari compared Knox to Jayson Tatum, who flourished in his rookie season with the Celtics. When forced into a leading role in the playoffs because of injuries, Tatum rose to the occasion, even posterizing LeBron James with an iconic dunk in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Calipari envisions a similar progression for Knox, if he's given the chance.
“I just saw Jayson Tatum come (into) his own, and I had watched him as a high school player and even in college, and you didn't see the things he's doing right now in the NBA,” Calipari said. “You just didn't see them. And there were some things he did, but he, physically, was able to do stuff that I didn't think he'd be able to do.”
As far as what Knicks fans should expect from Knox in terms of his personality on the court, Calipari said, “He's not an emotional kind of kid. He's not making faces and all that.”
But the competitive drive is there. That much was clear Thursday night.
At 8:19 p.m., the Knicks were on the clock for their first-round pick. A buzz permeated around the arena. Then the chants began — scattered at first, but unifying and amplifying as each second ticked away. “WE WANT POR-TER!” “WE WANT POR-TER!” Knicks fans were making their desires known. They wanted Missouri forward Michael Porter Jr., who, because of injury concerns, was falling in the draft. Porter fidgeted in his seat in the back of the green room as the chants changed course. “MICH-AEL POR-TER!” Louder. “MICH-AEL POR-TER!” Then Silver emerged on stage. He announced Kevin Knox's name. Some fans cheered. Some booed. Others gasped.
Knox was asked about the mixed reaction in his press conference. “They can chant Michael Porter all they want,” he said sternly. “But they got Kevin Knox, and I'm willing to work.”
Spoken like a true New Yorker.
OLD GLORY
Spike Lee was one of the fans at Barclays who approved of the Knicks' pick.
Lee — wearing a faded blue shirt with “ORANGE AND BLUE SKIES” written on the front, along with orange-rimmed circular glasses — clapped excitedly when Silver made the selection official, and the filmmaker found Knox's family to offer his congratulations later in the night.
Knox Sr. showed his attire to Lee, who had stood nervously behind the green room as Silver announced the pick from the podium on stage. Lee, always in Knick colors, appreciated the arrangement.
“Welcome to New York,” Lee told Knox Sr.
“We're going to take over, man,” Knox Sr. responded. “We're getting back to the playoffs. We're going to get back to a championship team, the way the old New York Knicks liked to play.”