Knicks · NY POST:Faried grabbing Knicks' attention (page 1)
Newark's own, Kenneth Faried, the rugged 6-foot-8 power-forward rebounding machine, has fascinated Knicks scouts, according to people in the know.
The Morehead State bruiser, who ignited the small-school's first-round upset of Louisville, has seen his stock soar since the NCAA Tournament, when the Eagles got to the Round of 32. Likened to Dennis Rodman, Faried set an NCAA modern-day record of 1,673 career rebounds and averaged 13.4 this season.
One scout said he is "probably the best rebounder in the draft."
Some NBA scouts even wonder if he'll be available when the Knicks select at No. 17.
Walsh, who's working on a new contract, wants size for the roster, preferably center, but none of quality will likely be there at 17. Amar'e Stoudemire is not a great boardman and the undersized Knicks became a poor rebounding team. Faried is slightly undersized even for a power forward, but scouts rave about his motor, hustle and tenacity for loose balls.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/faried_grabbing_knicks_attention_5zYfvvv6V9jKwsz5PO0KzK#ixzz1La9DWv8W
Faried: the next rodman?
DENVER – Not long after Morehead State star Kenneth Faried and his high school coach sat down to dinner at a P.F. Chang’s in Newark, N.J., last summer, a ringing cell phone interrupted their meal.
“My coach goes, ‘Dennis Rodman wants to talk to you,’ ” Faried recalled Wednesday. “I’m like, ‘You’re playing, right?’ ”
For the next 15 minutes, college basketball’s best rebounder excused himself from the table and chatted with the NBA icon with whom he’s most often compared. They talked about the similarities between their games, the importance of working hard and not falling victim to hype and the idea that Rodman might come see Faried play in person this season if Morehead State reached the NCAA tournament.
Kenneth Faried has emerged as a potential first-round pick in June’s NBA draft.
“When I talked to him, it made me more enthusiastic about this year, doing big things and making it to the tournament so I could maybe meet him in person,” Faried said. “It was pretty special for a future Hall-of-Famer to call and even want to acknowledge me as a small-college player that doesn’t usually get the media attention. It’s just amazing that he took the time to want to talk to me.”
Rodman isn’t expected to attend 13th-seeded Morehead State’s opening-round NCAA tournament game against fourth-seeded Louisville on Thursday, but that hasn’t diminished Faried’s pride at what he’s accomplished since that phone call. Faried, a 6-foot-8 senior, averaged a career-best 17.6 points and 14.5 boards per game, broke Tim Duncan’s modern-era Division I career rebounding record and emerged as a potential first-round pick in June’s NBA draft.
The comparisons to Rodman that first arose during Faried’s breakout sophomore season have since become more frequent as Faried has gained more notice. After Faried scored 20 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in a 61-55 loss to Florida in December, Gators coach Billy Donovan gushed, “That’s Dennis Rodman all over again. If I was an NBA general manager, I’d be taking him with my pick.”
Such evaluations were what inspired Rodman to watch Faried on TV, then reach out to him last summer via a mutual friend of his high school coach. Asked about the comparisons between him and Faried, Rodman said through his agent this week that he saw similarities.
“Kenneth has a lot of energy and likes to get physical,” Rodman said. “What makes Kenneth a great rebounder is his desire and determination to get to the ball.”
If it seems unusual that an NBA prospect from New Jersey is attending a little-known university in rural Kentucky, credit the Morehead State coaching staff for seeing something in Faried that others didn’t. Former assistant Lee Moon spotted Faried the summer before his senior season at Technology High in Newark, then persuaded Morehead State coach Donnie Tyndall to keep after the spindly big man even when high-profile programs cooled on him because of academic concerns.
“I remember Coach Moon asked me, ‘Do you really think we have a chance with this kid?’ ” said Faried’s high school coach, David Bellani. “I said, ‘He does talk about you quite a bit so, yeah, you have a chance.’ Other schools dropped off and Morehead took advantage.”
Whereas most young hoopsters grow up dreaming of scoring titles and game-winning shots, Faried has valued boards over buckets since childhood. He came home from a youth-league game complaining about not getting the ball enough, so his mother, Waudda, told him to stop whining and do something about it.
“If they miss it, you go rebound it and you put it back yourself,” he remembered her saying. “Don’t worry about getting shots from them or passes from them. Just get the ball yourself.”
What separates Faried from other rebounders is he possesses a rare combination of natural tools and determination. Faried boasts uncanny hand strength, a long wingspan and impressive leaping ability, and he also is driven to provide for his mother and emulate the toughness and resiliency she has shown throughout his life.
Waudda suffers from lupus, an incurable disease that attacks the body’s natural defense system and causes inflammation, pain, and tissue damage. The disease is manageable with rest, exercise and medication, but it’s also debilitating enough that Waudda has spent months at a time in the hospital and seldom has been able to travel to her son’s games.
The bond between Faried and his mom is strong enough that tears welled in his eyes Wednesday when asked about how she inspires him.
“She’s a strong woman,” he said when he regained composure. “Her being there in my life to help me become a man, helped me to make my own choices in life and inspired me to want to be as strong as her.”
Fueled by the quest to make his mother proud, Faried has become such a formidable rebounder that opposing teams often go to incredible lengths to keep him off the offensive glass. Tennessee Tech coach Mike Sutton, for instance, instructed the man guarding Faried to not bother to go after the rebound and instead focus entirely on blocking out. That strategy made little difference in the Ohio Valley Conference title game earlier this month, as Faried scored 24 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and dominated the paint to help Morehead State to its second NCAA tournament berth in three seasons.
“It felt like he had an energy on the floor that nobody else had,” Tennessee Tech forward Terrell Barnes said by phone. “He brought it at 150 percent. Everyone else was at 100.
“It seemed like he went to a different level that most guys couldn’t get to. He was at his best that night, and when he’s at his best, I don’t think anyone in the country can stop him.”
The challenge of at least containing Faried falls to a Louisville program already familiar with the damage he can do. He scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds when the 16th-seeded Eagles and top-seeded Cardinals met in the first round of the NCAA tournament two seasons ago.
Even before forward Rakeem Buckles suffered a season-ending knee injury, rebounding wasn’t one of Louisville’s greatest strengths. As a result, Cardinals coach Rick Pitino is wary of a player whom he called “Dennis Rodman with a jump shot” on Wednesday afternoon.
Such comparisons still are flattering to Faried, no matter how many times he hears them.
“Dennis did what he had to do for his team to win a championship,” Faried said. “That makes me more enthusiastic when people compare me to Dennis Rodman because I do the same thing.”
you think he will be available with the 17th pick? it will be intresting to see how he does when they bring him in and against who.
Right now, from everything I've heard and the videos I've watched, Faried is the guy I want.
This is a good player but you Im not sure he fits our need for a 5.
He is the type you put next to BroPez in Jersey, or a Kamen type 5 to compensate the lack of rebounding. Amare is the Power forward.
But if our guys think he can defend the post with his Turiaf dreads and his Turiaf size then Im all for it.
Im thinking we need an Andrew Bynum type player.
Rodman in the HOF one day? Dude has 5 rings! That has to count!
ATrain wrote:Markieff is good but I'd rather have Faried. This doesnt mean much but I remember speaking with the father of the Morris twins who told me "I use to think they were retarded". lol Sometimes I wondered the same thing when watching them play. I'd take Faried.
lol is right!
Nalod wrote:
This is a good player but you Im not sure he fits our need for a 5.He is the type you put next to BroPez in Jersey, or a Kamen type 5 to compensate the lack of rebounding. Amare is the Power forward.
But if our guys think he can defend the post with his Turiaf dreads and his Turiaf size then Im all for it.
Im thinking we need an Andrew Bynum type player.
Rodman in the HOF one day? Dude has 5 rings! That has to count!
i don't think you draft this guy as a 5. you draft him as a nice player to bring off the bench and gobble up rebounds. i don't know if an "andrew bynum" type player is going to be available at what's considered a weak draft at pick 17. so long as we get a player who gives us production, i'm happy. no more jordan hills, please!
also, rodman just got elected into the HoF.
billups/fields/melo/STAT/dalembert
with douglas, turiaf, faried, shawne williams, walker off the bench.
adding dalembert and faried addresses a HUGE issue for the knicks -- lack of rebounding.http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/teamsta... knicks were 28th out of 30 teams last year in rebounding -- only got 47.9% of the available rebounds.
still no true backup PG. i'd much rather have douglas be the 2 and a real PG that can break down the D off the dribble and set ppl up.
i'd look for rebounding and a backup PG at 17. faried is definitely the best rebounder available.
BigSm00th wrote:draft this guy, sign dalembert.billups/fields/melo/STAT/dalembert
with douglas, turiaf, faried, shawne williams, walker off the bench.
adding dalembert and faried addresses a HUGE issue for the knicks -- lack of rebounding.http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/teamsta... knicks were 28th out of 30 teams last year in rebounding -- only got 47.9% of the available rebounds.
still no true backup PG. i'd much rather have douglas be the 2 and a real PG that can break down the D off the dribble and set ppl up.
i'd look for rebounding and a backup PG at 17. faried is definitely the best rebounder available.
not too bad. Not sure Sam goes for MLE but who knows.
AC and Jerome Jordan also off bench. I am not in love with Walker, but perhaps another vet guard at minimum could fill that role, Grant Hill type.
Anji wrote:How many big men translate to the NBA outside of the Howards/Lopezs super talented types in 3 years or less??? Picking a guy like this is a reach imo, if he is around at the end of the first it's fine because you are going to waiting years for him to fill out and become a real big man. I don't see us doing that.
this guy is a senior. if they draft him he will be expected to contribute immediately. "waiting for him to fill out and become a real big man" LOL he's 6'8" and probably not growing any more.
all time NCAA rebound leader and 15 a game last year, held his own against quality competition. i'd like to see him in a one on one tryout with the morris twins.
I'm luke warm at this point. Wait and see how he measures. To me its all about wingspan. I think Ben Wallace was only 6'8 but had a massive 7'3 wingspan (like OK4). If thats the case w/ Faried I would go for it.
Thinking a guy like this is going to contribute immediately is a stretch, coming from a small school, being undersized and a Defensive player imo. And your not even talking about an top 10 talent.... I would pass.
nixluva wrote:Some guys are just special when it comes to rebounding. Maybe this is one of those guys. IMO head height isn't the most important aspect for a PF/C. You need a great motor, arm length, athletic ability and a strong base to hold your position. You need great instincts in reading where the ball will come off the rim and quick reflexes. Most of all you need DESIRE. You look at a guy like Lopez with great size and no desire for the ball. His height is meaningless.
I agree for the most part. But if you've played ball, you realize how much of a difference 4 inches can make on the boards.
What's his Glue Swag like is it better than Elmer's Effries?
Panos wrote:nixluva wrote:Some guys are just special when it comes to rebounding. Maybe this is one of those guys. IMO head height isn't the most important aspect for a PF/C. You need a great motor, arm length, athletic ability and a strong base to hold your position. You need great instincts in reading where the ball will come off the rim and quick reflexes. Most of all you need DESIRE. You look at a guy like Lopez with great size and no desire for the ball. His height is meaningless.I agree for the most part. But if you've played ball, you realize how much of a difference 4 inches can make on the boards.
True, but then you have guys like Charles Barkely and Ben Wallace and even David Lee. They track down balls that bigger slower guys just don't get to. Also with a strong base, athletic ability and long arms you can even the odds a bit. Most of the time the big guys don't even jump. Dwight Howard is the exception to that.
Having a PF on your team that can board is a plus for us cuz we don't have a guy like that. We'd still have other bigs, but he could be a nice addition to the rotation. At least this team is setup to play small and succeed. Mike has done it very well in the past. Taking lots of 3's leads to long rebounds and a guy that is smaller and quicker can track those down like Lee used to do. It'll be interesting to see the measurements and his stats and to hear how he does in workouts.
nixluva wrote:Panos wrote:nixluva wrote:Some guys are just special when it comes to rebounding. Maybe this is one of those guys. IMO head height isn't the most important aspect for a PF/C. You need a great motor, arm length, athletic ability and a strong base to hold your position. You need great instincts in reading where the ball will come off the rim and quick reflexes. Most of all you need DESIRE. You look at a guy like Lopez with great size and no desire for the ball. His height is meaningless.I agree for the most part. But if you've played ball, you realize how much of a difference 4 inches can make on the boards.
True, but then you have guys like Charles Barkely and Ben Wallace and even David Lee. They track down balls that bigger slower guys just don't get to. Also with a strong base, athletic ability and long arms you can even the odds a bit. Most of the time the big guys don't even jump. Dwight Howard is the exception to that.Having a PF on your team that can board is a plus for us cuz we don't have a guy like that. We'd still have other bigs, but he could be a nice addition to the rotation. At least this team is setup to play small and succeed. Mike has done it very well in the past. Taking lots of 3's leads to long rebounds and a guy that is smaller and quicker can track those down like Lee used to do. It'll be interesting to see the measurements and his stats and to hear how he does in workouts.
True, true.
get all of these dudes in a workout. rank them based on that workout and on college film based on who can be a rotation player next season.
draft the highest ranked player when the knicks pick. i don't care if its a 2 guard, a point, a big -- whoever. knicks have plenty of problems -- just take the best available guy.
faried definitey can rebound, he definitely has some shortcomings -- how he compares to the other dudes at pick 17 is really all that matters.
nixluva wrote:Panos wrote:nixluva wrote:Some guys are just special when it comes to rebounding. Maybe this is one of those guys. IMO head height isn't the most important aspect for a PF/C. You need a great motor, arm length, athletic ability and a strong base to hold your position. You need great instincts in reading where the ball will come off the rim and quick reflexes. Most of all you need DESIRE. You look at a guy like Lopez with great size and no desire for the ball. His height is meaningless.I agree for the most part. But if you've played ball, you realize how much of a difference 4 inches can make on the boards.
True, but then you have guys like Charles Barkely and Ben Wallace and even David Lee. They track down balls that bigger slower guys just don't get to. Also with a strong base, athletic ability and long arms you can even the odds a bit. Most of the time the big guys don't even jump. Dwight Howard is the exception to that.Having a PF on your team that can board is a plus for us cuz we don't have a guy like that. We'd still have other bigs, but he could be a nice addition to the rotation. At least this team is setup to play small and succeed. Mike has done it very well in the past. Taking lots of 3's leads to long rebounds and a guy that is smaller and quicker can track those down like Lee used to do. It'll be interesting to see the measurements and his stats and to hear how he does in workouts.
I think you are right. If Faried lasts until 17 I think the Knicks have to grab him. I know he is projected as going at 21 on draftnet and draft express but I think he will move up with work outs. When you have a guy that holds the NCAA record for rebounds and is compared to Rodman favorably I think you get that guy if you have a chance.