When Obi Toppin arrived at the University of Dayton back in 2017, he wasn’t highly regarded. Three years later, Toppin was voted as the national college basketball player of the year.
Toppin was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, making him a natural fit as an integral franchise piece alongside RJ Barrett on the Knicks. Toppin grew significantly in high school, growing from 6-foot-2 as a sophomore to 6-foot-5 as a senior.
He sat out the 2017-18 season for the Dayton Flyers as an academic redshirt. He won the Dr. George Rau Spirit Award at the end of that season for his impact cheering for his team on the sidelines. That would be the first time a non-active player won the award, according to Dayton Daily News.
Toppin averaged 14.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists as a freshman once he finally hit the court. In this same season, Toppin broke Dayton’s record for dunks both in a game and for the entire season.
In his second season at Dayton, Toppin improved across the board and won pretty much all the major player of the year awards. He led Dayton to a 29-2 record averaging 20.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists.
Knicks 8th pick – Obi Toppin
Obi was the natural pick for the New York Knicks at #8 in the 2020 NBA draft. He’s a Brooklyn native with a dog mentality and box-office talent. He has freak athleticism and stretches the floor with a smooth shooting stroke from deep. He’s strikingly similar to former Knick Amaré Stoudemire, but a better shooter. He’s 22-years-old, which means he is far more NBA-ready than many of the Knicks’ recent draft picks. Obi discussed his fit alongside RJ on draft night:
CP from KnicksFanTV was joined by Dan Sullivan of the Blackburn Review to break down Obi’s strengths and weaknesses in his latest draft recap below.
Knicks 25th pick – Immanuel Quickley
With the 25th overall pick, the Knicks selected Kentucky guard Immanuel Quickley. The Knicks made a series of sly draft day moves that landed them the 25th pick. They traded picks 27 and 38 for pick 23, then flipped 23 for picks 25 and 33. So the Knicks essentially traded picks 27 and 38 for 25 and 33 – great move.
In Immanuel Quickley, the Knicks are getting a lethal shooter from downtown. He shot 42.8% from deep last season for Kentucky. At the end of the season, the coaches voted him SEC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year. Quickley is reportedly excited about joining the Knicks, according to Yahoo sports, where he will reunite with new Knicks assistant coach Kenny Payne from Kentucky. Payne played an integral role in Quickley’s development at Kentucky.
“Man, it’s unbelievable just because, you know, he was one of those coaches that really pushed me on and off the floor,” Quickley told media members on draft night. “Coach – I call him KP – he’s one of those guys that is going to hold you accountable, makes you almost try to quit in practice so that the games become easy. So, it’s really great to be able to reunite with him for me on and off the floor.”
Knicks finally land a shooter
Quickley might not be a pure point guard, but his shot-creating potential and on-ball defense are traits that the Knicks are very pleased with getting at pick 25. Check out Quickley discussing his fit with the young Knicks on draft night:
CP from KnicksFanTV was joined by Jack Pilgrim of Kentucky Sports Radio Podcast Network to breakdown Quickley’s game. Check it out below.
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