Strick confidence
Former Knick Rod Strickland has witnessed Kevin Knox’s commitment to greatness from the very beginning
Rod Strickland’s first impression of Kevin Knox, several years ago, was on a recruiting trip that was focused on another player.
Knox wasn’t a top prospect at the time, just a kid with potential. And Strickland noticed how Knox was separated from the team, on the sideline, doing drills at the direction of his father.
“He’s been groomed for work,” Strickland said in an interview with the Daily News. “I think his father has done a great job with that. I’ve seen how hard he works. I’ve seen the way his pops pushes him.”
Strickland, the Bronx legend and former All-Star point guard, has a unique perspective on the ninth overall pick of the Knicks. Strickland’s son, Tai, was high school teammates with Knox at Tampa Catholic. Just last week, Knox came to Strickland for a personal workout session in Las Vegas.
Like many others who witnessed the Summer League explosion, Strickland, who was once a special assistant at Kentucky, is bullish on Knox. He just saw the potential a lot earlier.
“I’ve watched him in the high school circuit and I won’t name names but there were guys they had before him that I always thought he was better than,” said Strickland, who was an assistant at University of South Florida. “And in the NBA, the court is open, you’re playing with better players. Teams don’t scheme the same way. It’s not all the zones like in college.
“At Kentucky, when they brought the ball to him, when they ran plays for him, he scored. I think Kentucky has so many players they didn’t run it through him all the time. But there were games at Kentucky when he pulled it out for those guys. When they went to him, he delivered. The Knicks are going to try to grow him so he’s going to get a lot of touches. I think he’s going to be really good.”
Knox’s father, Kevin Sr., was a former football standout at Florida State and an NFL draft pick. An article in the Tampa Bay Times detailed how he long-ago began preparing his son for big-time athletics, inviting over 300 people to attend a first-grade YMCA basketball game with a specific purpose.
“I knew it was going to make my son handle pressure. This was my purpose since he was born, to get him in front of crowds so that he can be poker-faced, steely-eyed," said Kevin Sr., who also taught his son how to ace media interviews through “videos and motivational tapes,” according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Strickland said this will serve Knox well in the Big Apple, the largest media market. In fact, the 18-year-old commented Tuesday at his Kentucky basketball camp that he’s “really looking forward to the media in New York. I really like to answer questions.”
“I’ve watched him play with my son and I watched his father work,” Strickland said. “I’ve had plenty of conversations with his father so I know the mentality. His father pushes him in a good way. His father is a former athlete and he knows what it takes. He’s been taught well. New York won’t be too big of a stage for him.
“He looks nice and cool and a respectable kid and all that. But there’s that competitive streak inside of him.”
It also can’t hurt that Knox has worked with Strickland, who played for the Knicks in the late 80s and seems well-connected in the NBA. About a week before his workout with Knox, Strickland posted pictures of a session with Kevin Durant. Last month he hosted a camp with Kyrie Irving, who is Strickland’s godson.
The Knicks, with Knox and Kristaps Porzingis as cornerstones, hope to attract one of those stars next summer in free agency. But for now, they’re just hoping to show improvement – and that Knox is worthy of the hype.
“I think (GM) Scott Perry understands that New York is the town. I think we’ve lost a little bit of that feeling,” Strickland said. “But I think Scott Perry is well aware of that. (Team president) Steve Mills has obviously been around. But I think those two guys are aligned and they’re moving in the right direction.”