Kentucky head coach John Calipari won’t be able to resist watching some orange and blue this season – because the Knicks have a whole lot of Kentucky blue on their team.
“Yeah, I will be watching a lot of Knicks games,” Calipari said to the media via zoom call. “Leon is my dear friend, Wes is a dear friend, Kenny is like my brother and now you’ve got some of my guys there”, he added.
As the roster stands today, the Knicks have four players that Calipari coached in Kentucky – Kevin Knox, Julius Randle, Nerlens Noel and Immanuel Quickley.
‘IQ is on a mission’
Calipari is thinks Quickley will be a great fit on and off-the-court for the Knicks.
“I think what you’re going to find out is mentally a guy who’s ready, who’s on a mission, is a gym rat, is a culture guy, great faith,” Calipari said about Quickley. “Great family that unconditionally loves him and he knows it and he’s comfortable in his skin. They made a great one, it was a helluva pick, I’ll tell you,” he added.
Quickley brought up this exact point on draft night. When asked about his fit on the young Knicks roster, he said it all starts with your character off-the-court.
As his friend, Calipari seems to have insight into how Leon Rose is operating this offseason. He said New York found the type of player they covet in Immanuel Quickley.
Method to Rose’s Madness?
He also wants to reassure fans who are disappointed that the Knicks struck out on big names in free agency. Calipari remains confident that Knicks president Leon Rose is purposefully being disciplined in his signings.
“Let me say this about the Knicks not signing anybody, the Knicks are not going to do anything now to try to win 10 more games now and screw up the next 15, they’re not gonna do it,” Calipari told Adam Zagoria of Forbes Magazine.
He admits that this is just his opinion – he’s not trying to speak on behalf of Leon Rose. But as his friend, Calipari has a good sense of Rose’s mindset from conversations he has had with him.
“That’s my opinion, that’s not talking to Wes, not talking to Scottie [Scott Perry], none of those guys. I’m just telling you, I knew early on, Leon talked to me about what they were trying to do and how they were going to do it…if they could snatch somebody that could help them win [they would]. But they’re not going to do it where it hurts the next seven years”, Calipari said.
The Knicks also hired Calipari’s former associate head coach at Kentucky, Kenny Payne. He thinks Payne will be a tremendous help to the growth and confidence of players like Julius Randle and Kevin Knox.
“Kevin Knox, let’s see how good he can be…that’s why you want a Kenny Payne with you,” Calipari said.
Thibs’ fit with Knicks
Calipari also spoke about new Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, and how his players will flourish in Thibs’ defensive heavy system on the biggest stage at MSG.
“What you’re going to find out, they’re going to be disciplined because that’s what Thibs is. They’re going to play defense because that’s what Thibs is,” he said.
It may seem like coach Calipari is viewing the Knicks’ current situation through rose-colored glasses, but he’s not claiming that this Knicks team is going to win right away. He’s simply saying that, from what he’s gathered, things are trending in the right direction for the Knicks.
“The Knicks are on a different path,” Calipari told Forbes. “You may not see right away overnight the results that you [want]…So let this thing play out and in the end, I think everybody is going to be pleased,” coach added.
CP from KnicksFanTV broke down the Knicks’ recent offseason moves in his latest live stream. He recaps the Austin Rivers signing as well as the Ed Davis trade that netted the Knicks Omari Spellman and Jacob Evans. Check it out below. Also, stay tuned to knicksfantv.com for the latest Knicks news and rumors throughout the season.
