Kori Ellis
07-11-2005, 06:16 AM
Knicks thinking big
Have high hopes for 5-9 rookie Robinson
By FRANK ISOLA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/326952p-279502c.html
Nate Robinson is a fire hydrant with hops or a bowling ball made out of rubber. He figures to be the only NBA player who is low to the ground and above the rim all at the same time.
"Freakish," is how Isiah Thomas describes Robinson. "He has the vertical package that the rest of us dream about."
"He won seven or eight games for us just on tip-ins," says Lorenzo Romar, Robinson's college coach at Washington. "It's incredible."
"I don't know if there has ever been a player in the NBA like him," Herb Williams says. "Just look at his body and what he can do. He's different."
Listed generously at 5-9, the 21-year-old Robinson is proof that the best things come in small packages. The Knicks never have had a player quite like him. Robinson is 180 pounds of muscle and determination. He's sprinter-fast from end-to-end with the basketball, and his impressive vertical leap will bring smiles to vertically challenged people all over the globe.
By February, Robinson could be the NBA slam dunk champion and owner of the hottest-selling Knicks jersey among kids 6 to 60. Not bad for a guy who was taunted with "Gary Coleman" chants when he faced Oregon.
"I really think Nate is going to be a player that the fans fall in love with," says Thomas, the Knicks' president. "He competes, he has great character and he can do some amazing thing. The freakiest thing is just watching him dunk the basketball so easily. Shoot, Spud Webb had his hand on the rim to get a dunk off. The other day, I'm laughing because Nate threw it off the backboard and dunked it with both hands. I've never been able to get up that high."
Before a game last week at the Vegas Summer League, Williams was running out of adjectives to describe Robinson, so he motioned to the rookie guard to begin shooting three-pointers with his left hand. On cue, Robinson drained five of six before looking back at Williams and smiling, as if to ask, "Anything else?"
Robinson's athleticism has opposing scouts and coaches praising Thomas for taking a chance on him with the 21st pick in the draft two weeks ago. The Bulls were hoping Robinson would fall into the second round, while the Rockets, holding the 24th pick, figured they had a legitimate shot.
"He's a football player," said Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy. "I love that about him."
Robinson originally signed with Washington to play for the Huskies' nationally ranked football team. The gridiron was in his blood. Robinson's father, Jacque, was the MVP of the 1982 Rose Bowl and played briefly in the NFL. Nate was a hard-hitting defensive back who as a true freshman in 2002 had two interceptions and 34 tackles and accumulated 103 yards on kickoff returns.
"Because Charlie Ward played one of the toughest positions, quarterback, that helped him in the NBA," Robinson said of the former Knicks point guard who also made the switch from football to basketball. "Playing cornerback, I have offensive linemen closing in on me to make holes. You better learn how to be tough. Plus, I also had cousins who were always trying to beat me up. But playing football stuck with me."
Robinson's deal with the football team was that he would be allowed to play basketball. But after one season under Romar, Robinson decided to stick with basketball. In three seasons, Robinson averaged 14.4 points, 3.1 assists and 3.8 rebounds.
"The thing that jumps out at you more than the athleticism is his competitive spirit," Romar said. "The left-handed threes? He's not ambidextrous. That's just something he worked on. There will be great athletic plays that he will make and you'll say, ‘That's Nate.' But what makes him special is how he competes."
Robinson's arrival will make practices lively come fall. Both Stephon Marbury and Jamal Crawford have reputations for not always working hard in practice. Robinson, though, knows only one speed.
Of course, with Robinson under contract there is a chance that either Marbury or Crawford could be traded. Thomas vehemently denied he is actively trying to deal Marbury, the starting point guard and the Knicks' best player. It is no secret, however, that the Knicks would like to move Marbury's contract. But trading Crawford makes more sense because Marbury is the better point guard and with Quentin Richardson starting at shooting guard, Robinson would be the ideal backup guard.
Robinson mostly played shooting guard at Washington, and in the NBA he is being touted as a change of pace guard, much like Webb and Denver's Earl Boykins. He is not the prototypical point guard who will get the team into its halfcourt offensive sets like Muggsy Bogues did during his days with the Hornets.
"If you're looking for that type of point guard, Nate's not the guy," Romar said. "But if you're drafting someone to help you win, that's Nate Robinson."
George Karl, who coaches the 5-5 Boykins, says he was a coach who never believed in undersized guards until now, that because the defensive rule changes have helped the quicker perimeter teams. The Knicks envision Robinson getting into the lane and either creating layups or kicking it to an open three-point shooter.
"The rule changes are allowing the little guard to get on the court a little more," Karl said. "I'm convinced now you have to have one."
Robinson is the Knicks' man. (Even if he looks like a kid).
"Everybody makes a big issue about the height," Robinson says. "But as long as I go out there and play like a giant I'll be all right."
Have high hopes for 5-9 rookie Robinson
By FRANK ISOLA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/326952p-279502c.html
Nate Robinson is a fire hydrant with hops or a bowling ball made out of rubber. He figures to be the only NBA player who is low to the ground and above the rim all at the same time.
"Freakish," is how Isiah Thomas describes Robinson. "He has the vertical package that the rest of us dream about."
"He won seven or eight games for us just on tip-ins," says Lorenzo Romar, Robinson's college coach at Washington. "It's incredible."
"I don't know if there has ever been a player in the NBA like him," Herb Williams says. "Just look at his body and what he can do. He's different."
Listed generously at 5-9, the 21-year-old Robinson is proof that the best things come in small packages. The Knicks never have had a player quite like him. Robinson is 180 pounds of muscle and determination. He's sprinter-fast from end-to-end with the basketball, and his impressive vertical leap will bring smiles to vertically challenged people all over the globe.
By February, Robinson could be the NBA slam dunk champion and owner of the hottest-selling Knicks jersey among kids 6 to 60. Not bad for a guy who was taunted with "Gary Coleman" chants when he faced Oregon.
"I really think Nate is going to be a player that the fans fall in love with," says Thomas, the Knicks' president. "He competes, he has great character and he can do some amazing thing. The freakiest thing is just watching him dunk the basketball so easily. Shoot, Spud Webb had his hand on the rim to get a dunk off. The other day, I'm laughing because Nate threw it off the backboard and dunked it with both hands. I've never been able to get up that high."
Before a game last week at the Vegas Summer League, Williams was running out of adjectives to describe Robinson, so he motioned to the rookie guard to begin shooting three-pointers with his left hand. On cue, Robinson drained five of six before looking back at Williams and smiling, as if to ask, "Anything else?"
Robinson's athleticism has opposing scouts and coaches praising Thomas for taking a chance on him with the 21st pick in the draft two weeks ago. The Bulls were hoping Robinson would fall into the second round, while the Rockets, holding the 24th pick, figured they had a legitimate shot.
"He's a football player," said Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy. "I love that about him."
Robinson originally signed with Washington to play for the Huskies' nationally ranked football team. The gridiron was in his blood. Robinson's father, Jacque, was the MVP of the 1982 Rose Bowl and played briefly in the NFL. Nate was a hard-hitting defensive back who as a true freshman in 2002 had two interceptions and 34 tackles and accumulated 103 yards on kickoff returns.
"Because Charlie Ward played one of the toughest positions, quarterback, that helped him in the NBA," Robinson said of the former Knicks point guard who also made the switch from football to basketball. "Playing cornerback, I have offensive linemen closing in on me to make holes. You better learn how to be tough. Plus, I also had cousins who were always trying to beat me up. But playing football stuck with me."
Robinson's deal with the football team was that he would be allowed to play basketball. But after one season under Romar, Robinson decided to stick with basketball. In three seasons, Robinson averaged 14.4 points, 3.1 assists and 3.8 rebounds.
"The thing that jumps out at you more than the athleticism is his competitive spirit," Romar said. "The left-handed threes? He's not ambidextrous. That's just something he worked on. There will be great athletic plays that he will make and you'll say, ‘That's Nate.' But what makes him special is how he competes."
Robinson's arrival will make practices lively come fall. Both Stephon Marbury and Jamal Crawford have reputations for not always working hard in practice. Robinson, though, knows only one speed.
Of course, with Robinson under contract there is a chance that either Marbury or Crawford could be traded. Thomas vehemently denied he is actively trying to deal Marbury, the starting point guard and the Knicks' best player. It is no secret, however, that the Knicks would like to move Marbury's contract. But trading Crawford makes more sense because Marbury is the better point guard and with Quentin Richardson starting at shooting guard, Robinson would be the ideal backup guard.
Robinson mostly played shooting guard at Washington, and in the NBA he is being touted as a change of pace guard, much like Webb and Denver's Earl Boykins. He is not the prototypical point guard who will get the team into its halfcourt offensive sets like Muggsy Bogues did during his days with the Hornets.
"If you're looking for that type of point guard, Nate's not the guy," Romar said. "But if you're drafting someone to help you win, that's Nate Robinson."
George Karl, who coaches the 5-5 Boykins, says he was a coach who never believed in undersized guards until now, that because the defensive rule changes have helped the quicker perimeter teams. The Knicks envision Robinson getting into the lane and either creating layups or kicking it to an open three-point shooter.
"The rule changes are allowing the little guard to get on the court a little more," Karl said. "I'm convinced now you have to have one."
Robinson is the Knicks' man. (Even if he looks like a kid).
"Everybody makes a big issue about the height," Robinson says. "But as long as I go out there and play like a giant I'll be all right."