Category Archives: Patrick Ewing Jr.
So today’s the day for final cuts, a reminder of the days when your coach would post the names of the team on a piece of loose leaf taped to the gym door then run for the parking lot.
As I said before, it will be no surprise for Ewing Jr. to make the team, and his performance the other night against the Nets had the Garden buzzing.
It sounds as if no deals are in the works so unfortunately Eddy House Anthony Roberson is on the outside looking in, and frankly his campaign has been rather underwhelming. But like they say I guess timing is everything.
With apologies to Anthony Roberson, your competition for the last roster spot has a leg up on
you, and did all along. It would be like putting the gloves on and stepping into the ring with Laila Ali.
The organization, headed by Donnie Walsh, loves this kid and I’m happy the fans get to see why. As I’ve said before, stats are way too often misleading and when you take a look at Ewing Jr.’s output on paper at Georgetown, he should be in law school somewhere right about now.
But what few people saw, and is becoming clearer day by day, is a kid who was sold on the concept of team ball, by a coach who’s father taught Jr’s dad to be great.
“Patrick, I need you to come off the bench and be the best 6th man in the Big East,” he coach must have said.
“Yes, coach,” clearly was the reply.
“Patrick, I know you can put up 15-20 shots a game, but this is a system where I can’t run that many plays for you. You’ll have to play defense and get what you can get,”
“Yes, coach.”
We may be embellishing, but you get the idea. So in order for fans to continue to see what we’ve been talking about for a year now, Walsh needs to keep the kid around, at the expense of Roberson, a nice shooting guard who’s had trouble getting his own shot at this level.
There’s no way Ewing Jr. doesn’t make this roster.
BTW, Ewing’s Dunk was number 1 on NBA.com Top 10.
Strengths
Perimeter length and athleticism could make him a standout NBA defender almost right away. He can guard 
the 1-2-3 position but he is a perfectly suited Small Forward who can contest most all shots. He is an outstanding weak side defender and gets a ton of blocks reading plays going to the basket in help situations. Protects his teammates very well defensivey. Offensively, he is very raw but he has been taught that an east to west pass is far more important to offensive structure than a forced shot. So he’s not a liabilty, he has the ability to finish very well for a small forward in transition and he can create some off the dribble. Ewing seemed to work hard on getting a higher release point on his jump shot from Jr-to Sr. year as I noticed better form and rotation in his last year.
Weaknesses
Offensively he’s not a one-on-one threat at this point, but can create some off the dribble. He’s simply not a breakdown Isolation player. He does not handle well nor is he an inside out, spot shooter. He has a solid skill set, but his defense is ions better than his offense.As it stands his ceiling is defensive specialist type on the perimeter at best, if he can’t improve offensiively he’ll be limited to role player minutes.
Overall
The kid would be an NBA player if his name were “John Johnson” but having to deal with the expectations of being a hall-of-famers son has to be difficult. That said it’s hard to imagine anyone doing it better than this kid He’s got the potential to have a long career as a defender, but he has to show that he can stay on the floor offensively. If he can gain any kid of perimeter game or a pick and pop jumper or slash, he should have a nice NBA career. Should he not develop one, like all 2nd rounders, he could be out of the league in 2 years.
So I get out of my car yesterday about 12:45 at a private golf club in New Jersey called Hamilton Farm. I was running late and didn’t know if they had one of those strict cell phone policies so I tell the valet kid to park the car as I went to meet my group for our 1 o’clock tee time.
Long story short I get back in the car around 6 and I have 50 missed calls.
“Who died,” I thought.
After sifting through the messages, I come to learn the Knicks have made a minor deal. As I touch base will all my TKB brethren it seems no one is near a computer. Steve is buried in tape, Andrew is parking cars at the US tennis Open, and Alvino is moving he stuff back to BC.
It was the perfect storm. Either way, we love the Ewing trade and have considered him an option and an NBA player for some time now. What bothers me is this Balkman comparison. Balkman’s gone people, this wasn’t a Balkman-for- Ewing trade, ok maybe on some level it is, but it’s the right move.
People have asked me why I think Ewing has the ability to have a career in the NBA and my answer is this. In today’s NBA, meaning where bigs are skilled and creating space offensively is much easier than it was, say, 10-15 years ago, there is a premium for long, athletic defensive-minded perimeter players, which Ewing Jr. certainly is. Ewing is longer than Balkman.
Granted, you can say Isiah brought in a bunch of far-from-complete players during his regime and with Ewing’s lack of a perimeter game offensively, you can ask how is this move different. I think Ewing has the ability to be a nice offensive player, he does have a good stroke.
In the end, Walsh was able to rid the Curse of Weis, and get back Ewing in return. To me at worst it’s a great PR move. But Walsh isn’t thinking PR, he’s thinking he got a kid with some talent, and he’d like him as a player regardless of his name.
Tommy Dee says…Chris is on-point with his closer look of Ewing. Anyone who just looks at his stats at Georgetown solely, is underestimating just how good this kid is. He’d be a terror defensively as he developed, and based on his experience with the Hoyas, would give you very energetic and productive minutes no matter how few.
Chris Alvino says… As Alan Hahn pointed out this morning, the Knicks might be looking at Patrick Ewing Jr. if he is cut by the Houston Rockets. Ewing Jr. was a part of the deal in which Sacramento also sent Ron Artest to the Rockets. Donnie Walsh showed interest in Ewing before the draft, and even attempted to trade into the 2nd round to pick him.
When analyzing Ewing Jr., his college statistics are not really a good place to start. While at Georgetown, Ewing Jr. was overshadowed in a system that featured Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert two seasons ago and Hibbert last season. If anyone watched Georgetown last season, they would know that the team thrived with their guard play and the play of Hibbert. Ewing Jr. was essentially a role player for that team, and his numbers reflect that. Ewing only played about 22 minutes per game last season, which was his second at Georgetown. However, last season Georgetown was also known for its athleticism and tenacity, two attributes that Ewing Jr. embodies with the best of them.
Ewing Jr.’s game is predicated on his athleticism and his drive. He has a 42-inch vertical and plays defense with the heart of a lion. Standing at 6’7/ 6’8 and around 235 pounds depending on who you ask, Ewing Jr. is a physical specimen (he must have good genes). In the NBA, he figures to become a defensive specialist and a slasher on offense. Perhaps with NBA training and weight-lifting regimens, he can further develop his body enough to guard 2’s, 3’s, and 4’s, with the potential to block some shots. His jump shot and handle need work, but I do not think that Donnie will look for him to provide much offense.
He could be a nice player to bring in for a look. While there are others who I would also like Donnie Walsh to consider, namely Josh Duncan and Nick Fazekas among others, Ewing Jr. would add nice element to this team’s dynamic. He is no stranger to the bright lights of the Garden and comes from a winning program at Georgetown.
Ah, Alan Hahn, our guy, speculates today if Donnie Walsh might extend an offer to Patrick Ewing Jr., who is sure to be let go by the Rockets. Ewing was part of the just completed Artest deal.
There is a roster spot, maybe two when they decide on Marbury, yet to bring in Jr. after trading Balkman may anger Balkman fans.
We’ve said for a while Ewing Jr. has the potential to be a very active role player for a long time.
Could be a savvy PR move by Walsh.
Patrick Ewing Jr. has dealt with the expectations of a hall of fame name is whole life, and as Tim Povtak of the Orlando Sentinel explains, he’s trying to make his own name at the NBA predraft camp.
“I’ve been living with the comparisons all my life — it comes with the territory — but I’m doing my own thing,” Ewing Jr. said during the NBA Draft Camp at Disney’s Wide World of Sports this week. “I’m not a center. I never tried to be a center, and I know what I am.”
Ewing is an NBA player, and has the potential the perfect role player on a good team, Andrew documented how we at TKB feel about him. Heck if Luke Walton can last this long, so can Ewing.
Newsday’s Alan Hahn does another great job of updating us on whats happening in Orlando and the pre-draft camp. Two interesting tidbits in today’s “Knicks Fix”. The first is a conversation with Patrick Ewing about not being offered a job with the Knicks and how special it would be to see his son wear orange and blue. Alan also outlines two potential Zach Randolph trades that fell through in the eleventh hour due to to the greed of Isiah Thomas.
I understand why people would be sentimental about Ewing coming back to coach with the Knicks, but honestly do we really know how good a coach he is? I have heard he has done wonders with Yao Ming and Dwight Howard, but don’t you think that might have something to do with the fact they are very talented? Ewing was more of a finesse center and those two have completely different games. This team is desperate for top of the line coaching and I just don’t know if Ewing fits that description. As for the Isiah story, all I could say is: good riddance to bad rubbish.
Tagged isiah Thomas, Patrick Ewing, zach randolph |
Last week, the always-entertaining list of early entries for the NBA Draft was released, and this year, more than any
other year in recent memory, provided some head-scratchers. Obviously the rule that allows underclassmen to dip their toe in the water and return to school if they are not pleased with their pre-draft camp performance makes it a no-brainer for a college junior to enter his name. But, the list of freshmen and sophomores that have submitted their papers makes me wonder who is giving them this terrible advice, and if these “advisors” know that the draft only offers the league 60 selections.
There are certainly compelling arguments to be had in favor of these players entering the draft, with the two strongest being: 1. There is no shame in a long career in a European league as a worst-case scenario and 2. Money speaks all languages. For many of these players, a paycheck beats the hell out of going to class and making no money (legally, of course).
A couple of years ago I spoke with an NBA scout who explained to me that in the second round, teams are looking for two things:
1. A prospect needs to be above-average at one thing: Whether it be three-point shooting, rebounding, defense, etc., successful NBA teams have specialists, and this does not mean above-average for college standards, it means you must be the BEST on your potential NBA team at that one aspect of the game. When J.J. Redick came out of Duke, everyone raved about his shooting prowess, but if you are Stan Van Gundy and are down three with five seconds left, Rashard Lewis or Hedo Turkoglu is your man. This makes the FIRST-ROUND selection of Redick, a pure specialist, a useless pick.
2. Know your role: The last thing an NBA team wants to do in the second round is draft someone who is going to complain about a lack of playing time. There is a reason that these players don’t go higher in the draft, and many of them don’t grasp that concept. Here, teams will ask every coach that a certain player has ever had in high school, AAU, and college to learn about their practice habits, personality, and be 100 % sure that this potential player will not only be happy just to have a spot on the roster, but will be an asset in practice as well.
Now, because we traded our 2008 second-round pick to Portland for Demetris Nichols on draft night last year (I still can’t believe I just wrote that, and that was the second best trade Portland made with us that night), Donnie Walsh does not have to worry about this dilemma in June. But, after reading all of the mock drafts scattered throughout the web, there is one player who is projected to slip through the cracks who is an absolutely perfect fit for this team.
The Knicks need perimeter defense, shot-blocking ability, passion, energy, and someone the crowd can get behind. Georgetown senior Patrick Ewing Jr. provides all of these qualities. At 6’8″, Ewing is athletic enough to cover most NBA point guards, and his incredible wing-span also allows him to challenge shots in the paint. He may not be able to sweat like his father did, but in every Georgetown game I watched the last two seasons, he never once took a play off. He is also a phenomenal dunker.
Also, coming from the tutelage of John Thompson III and his pass-first Princeton offense, Ewing Jr. has learned how to flow in an offense and more importantly, when NOT to take bad shots. For those of you who have not seen Ewing Jr., think Renaldo Balkman with some semblance of an idea of what to do with a basketball.
If I’m running an NBA team, he is an ideal second-round selection, but I don’t make these decisions. So, there is a chance that Ewing Jr. may be someone we can just invite to camp, but if I am Donnie Walsh and there is a team that is looking to pick him in the second round, I am on the phone making sure that does not happen, because we already saw how out of place a Ewing looked in Seattle and Orlando jerseys, a Ewing only belongs in orange and blue.
…Tommy Dee writes…
I can hear the naysayers now screaming “Balkman needs minutes! What about Chandler!” This isn’t some “we need another kid named Ewing” plea for sentimental reasons. The idea is to bring in a guy, no matter what the position, who can fit a need, and Ewing Jr. potentially guarding the perimeter is an intriguing thought. His length, desire and athleticism could make him a standout perimeter defender in the NBA. His name just happens to be Ewing. The question becomes: would the kid even come to camp, should he not be drafted, based on how his father feels about being snubbed by the organization?
…. Andrew Smith writes….
Tommy brings up a good point. If I was a free agent coming from a winning college program, I would want to sign with a playoff contender, and not the Knicks. Perhaps trading Nate Robinson back home to Seattle for the 43rd pick would be worth it. I would make that trade, now let the angry comments begin flowing….
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