Friday Flat-Headed Cats

"We have a couple players under contract right now and are likely to wind up with a guard in next week's draft," Grunwald said.

Boom. Forget Jordan Hill. Well, not quite, but I'm surprised I hadn't seen any of this.

- Buried in this superb article about Senegalese baller Ndongo Ndiaye is this gem about everyone's favorite Knick:

A few years ago, Ndiaye spotted the legs and head of a young mechanic sticking out from under a car in the Senegalese town of Thies.

"Do you play basketball?" Ndiaye asked.

The teen said he didn’t know anything about the game.

"Well, you should," Ndiaye shot back.

The mechanic was Mouhamed Sene. Now aged 23 and 6-foot-11, Sene is a center for the New York Knicks.

Ndiaye takes no credit. He simply introduced Sene to fellow countryman Amadou Gallo Fall, a chief scout for the Dallas Mavericks who created a basketball academy in Thies that Sene attended called SEEDS, short for Sports for Education and Economic Development in Senegal.

Ndongo Ndiaye: Patron Saint of Posting and Toasting. 

- I figured I should pass along information about this event, since a number of Knicks are rumored to be showing up. Sprite is going from city to city looking for the best dunkers. This Saturday they'll be at South Street Seaport to find New York's finest. Now, the "word on the street", to use the phrase that was conveyed to me, is that "NBA Players David Lee, Wilson Chandler and Nate Robinson along with NBA Legends John Starks, Earl "The Pearl" Monroe and, of course, Darryl Dawkins will be present". Take that for what you will, but most certainly check this event out, and report back if you do.

- Myles A. Mills' latest post at TKB is a very quick read and makes a really solid point: players misconstrue D'Antoniball. Nearly every prospect we've encountered has perked up at the notion of playing for D'Antoni, some because of the spaced offense and quick tempo of the system. Most, though, are under the impression that they'll just be tossed a basketball and told to fire at will. D'Antoni is known for easing off the reins a little, but players need to know that this isn't Pleasure Island for young ballers.

- Speaking of D'Antoni, the possibility of his being named Olympic head coach is still on the table, as Coach K will be deciding his own future pretty soon.

- Fanhouse has the Knicks taking Mickael Pietrus in a rewrite of the 2003 draft. I would've preferred Barbosa or Diaw. FD, meanwhile, has them with Jordan Hill in their draft of "most FD player and most FD state of affairs". So, the Knicks aren't cool enough for Jrue Holiday or "Zombie Ricky Rubio", eh? You're on thin ice, Ziller.

- Flat-headed cats have webbed toes and backwards-facing teeth to help them snag slippery prey like fish and frogs. Not sure how the flat head helps.

Hope you've enjoyed the linkage. Have a victorious Friday, everybody. Stay free.