The Knicks brought in a gaggle of youngsters to work out yesterday. While the gaggle wasn't quite as illustrious a gaggle as the gaggle that will grace the gym this Thursday, it did include a few names you might know and some talent that might intrigue the Knicks if they happen upon a second round pick or need some extra bodies for summer league and training camp. Once more, here's who worked out ("working out" is presumably a display of basketball skills, but I always picture it like the President's Challenge fitness test we used to do in gym class. Let me know if you see "superior V-sit reach" in any prospect profiles.) yesterday:
DeMonte Harper, G, 6-4, 195, Morehead State, senior
John Holland, G, 6-5. 205, Boston University, senior
Rick Jackson, F. 6-9, 240, Syracuse, senior
Malcolm Lee, G, 6-5, 200, UCLA, junior
Sam Muldrow, F, 6-9, 229, South Carolina, junior
Julyan Stone, G, 6-7, 200, UTEP, senior
After the jump, some post-event links:
Here's a Post article about Rick Jackson, who was the biggest and perhaps most familiar prospect in attendance (assuming there are more Syracuse fans than UTEP fans among us). Here's Jackson speaking to the media. Also fielding questions were John Holland (ebulliently), the BU shooter and Bronx native, and Malcolm Lee (confidently, even defiantly), the spindly guard out of UCLA.
Again, none of the above are projected anywhere near New York's 17th selection, though Lee does fancy himself a first round pick and is the highest rated on the mock drafts that I've seen. There may come a point at which people are like "hey, remember that time Russell Westbrook, Darren Collison, and Jrue Holiday all turned out pretty well?" and move Lee up the boards on precedent alone. Also, he's been working with Chauncey Billups a bit, which is probably worth knowing.
Meanwhile, Holland's agent is Lee Melchionni, which is...I don't know. That fact doesn't really have any bearing on this story, but I enjoyed it.
Tomorrow's workout includes Jimmer Fredette, Klay Thompson, Marshon Brooks, and Darius Morris (Update: And Gary McGhee and Denzel Bowles). Those are all guys more likely (at this point) to warrant a 17th selection, though none of them employ Lee Melchionni, which strikes me as a major red flag.