Rookies Ready

by Tommy Dee on October 13th, 2009 at 11:53 am

Via nyknicks.com

“…Rookies Jordan Hill and Toney Douglas were all smiles when talking about stepping on the Madison Square Garden floor for the first time as New York Knicks. They couldn’t help but express their excitement of playing in front of their new hometown fans.

But don’t let them confuse you. The nerves are definitely there leading up to Tuesday night’s Garden opener against the Philadelphia 76ers in New York’s third preseason game.

“There are a little jitter bugs,” said Hill, the No. 8 pick in last June’s draft, following Monday’s practice. “But there’s nothing I can’t handle. I just have to play my game.”

As a freshman at Arizona, Hill played only three minutes during an early-season game against Louisville at the Garden. Douglas, who played college ball at Auburn before transferring to Florida State, has never played at the World’s Most Famous Arena before.

“I’m excited,” said Douglas, who was selected 29th overall. “It’s my first preseason home game and I’ve never played on that court before so it’s going to be exciting.”

Hill and Douglas have already appeared in two preseason games, but both games were played outside New York City. The Knicks’ opener, which was considered a home game, took place in Albany against the New Jersey Nets and the team traveled to Boston last Friday to take on the Celtics. More.
  • http://twitter.com/DellyTheGawd/status/4837769432 @DellyTheGawd

    @TommyDeeTKB sign gerald green.

  • Sergio

    Can’t wait to see Mikki Moore and Earl Watson.

    Oops.

  • HaS

    OMG! I keep saying that same thing. Thank you. No one ever answers or responds to that.

    He’s more talented than Warren Carter, Sun Yue, Marcus Landry, Joe Crawford and Chris Hunter put together.

    He has good range on his jumper, a quick first step, can jump out the gym, can get to the line, super athletic, 6’7″ with a 6’10″ wingspan and he’s only 23!

    Yes he needs work on his decision making, needs to get more consistent on his jumper and learn how to make plays for his teammates, but he’s a better “prospect” than anything the Knicks have at the natural 2 guard position right now.

  • HaS

    Toney Douglas looks more ready than Jordan Hill is even in their photo. Hill is scared to death and it shows on camera and on the floor.

  • SilentJay

    Completely agree. Confidence is a must for a big guy. That’s what he needs to impose while going to the hoop (if he ever does) or to get the rebounds a guy his size can get.
    His 12 minutes against Boston weren’t bad, but I’m not quite happy with the fact that he’s only gonna get crap minutes even in the preason. If a rook can’t get more than that even during preseason I can’t begin to fathom the amount of minutes he’ll get during the season. I’m sorry to say that if things go like this, D’antoni may definitely crush the little confidence Hill has. I understand why Douglas is gonna get more consistent minutes, but if Hill is not given a decent chance to polish a little during preseason, the hope some of us had in him (and the little others had) can definitely wave bye bye.

  • BobbyFromBK

    Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

  • Magik_Trick

    I agree, hes a low IQ Wilson Chandler, with a bit less range…still talented nonetheless

  • Magik_Trick

    Tonigh D’Antoni should play Hill for 30+, to see what hes capable in-game if given the chance

  • MiamiMoe

    I hope Ghostface (Thrillah) & SHO’NUFF get some burn tonight…i’m not too worried about Tony D cuz he’s shown that he’s ready, i just hope he can find his shot, I do hope that J.HILL can bang w/ these sixers bigs and finally show some confidence and ability…My REAL worries though ly w/ WILSON & GALLO…They got a lot of preesure on them to perform and they have yet solitify their roles and potential

  • gbaked

    right…

    because the first ever nba preseason for a rookie (that everyone everywhere feels is not going to be stepping into major min and will most likely be a project) is make or break.

  • joeyballz

    I have a problem when fans on this site or analysts for that matter worry about hurting a rookies confidence. If a man drafted 8th to play in the NBA can be hurt confidence wise in the first place, then he was never cut out to be anything special anyways. I think any great player that comes into the league or any sport for that matter never lacks confidence and never is broken by what other people think or do because those are the traits that will carry them to be successful. GALLO prime example number one for this Knicks team. When he finally showed up on the court last winter the man exuberated confidence. Right away he did not seem to have a doubt in his mind that he could do well because it never crept into his mind. HILL has doubts and it shows in his game. You can see it when he attacks the basket, which should be something that he can do no matter what point of his development he is at, he attacks it second guessing himself. I dont like that, theres no passion there, I hope he proves me wrong but I dont see any intensity, only aloofness.

  • SilentJay

    Nobody said make or break, but we’re talking about giving the guy some minutes, independently on his “project” status.
    Let him have his minutes to see how the guy improves from game to game. It’s clear very few fans expect something from him (I’m one of those dumb ones that’s not willing to come around just yet…yeah, I know, stubborn).