Keels equal a young Marcus Smart .. he's more defensive-minded than coach Thibs who will bench him throughout rookie season.
Last season before rookie Grimes raw talent went down to injury, his 2-Way performance at the SG spot was needed on the court more than Burks, Fournier, and Barrett. And rookie Keels IQ and defensive impact may be better than Grimes.
No! Keels performance is not a scorer yet, but his transition passing and defensive-hustle will be rewarding in the back-court alongside Quickley or McBride.
Now the Knicks have three SG on their roster in Quickley, Grimes, and Keel !!!
Yeah my excitement for this guy is a zero, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised before. He’s 18 so there’s hope.
If he learns to consistently hit a jumpshot, then he will be a steal for us. Great defender and can muscle his way to the rim. More of a Marcus Smart type pg. No elite passing skills but should be good enough to backup at the point if he can improve his shooting. Solid draft pick
I think his lack of footspeed will have him out of the NBA before the end of training camp. The guy is more likely to bench press an opposing guard than stay in front of him.
Not sure I understand this signing. Open to being wrong. Maybe Johnnie Bryant sees something that he can fix. I am having a hard time projecting it.
EwingsGlass wrote:https://www.nba.com/stats/draft/combine-...It’s possible he had a very bad day at the combine, but his scores were among the worst in class for guards. He is only 18 and maybe there is room for upside growth.
He is what he is. He won’t beat anyone off the dribble. What he will do is body people while driving to the basket and post up a lot. That’s his game. It’s actually amazing he already has such a thick strong body at only 18
My biggest issue with Keels is he isn’t a good shooter
listen, if he could become a SMART type PG, it's a good flyer. likely trade fodder
Love it
Off the bat, Keels’ best asset is his competitive fire and on-court desire. He was one of Duke’s most intense players and, according to Carrawell, has an extremely high basketball IQ. That manifests itself at both ends of the floor.Perhaps most important for Keels and the Knicks, Carrawell thinks he’s a Tom Thibodeau type of player, due to his aggressive nature and his desire on the defensive end.
martin wrote:
foot speed is a negative but his size/strenth is a positive. Kyle Lowry doesn't seem particularly fast
Chandler wrote:
foot speed is a negative but his size/strenth is a positive. Kyle Lowry doesn't seem particularly fast
Kyle Lowry was pretty explosive of the dribble when he came into the league and didn't need a pick to get into the lane. He's been able to adjust due to years of experience and craft development to make up for his lost athleticism. Not sure Keel will have the benefit time to develop that. What he can do is work on his body and refine his shot. It worries me that a player can go into a job interview (the NBA combine) and be so unprepared
A few factors in his suboptimal combine results and 2nd round status:
* he doesn't seem to have elite conditioning, at least not for basketball. 13.5% body fat was among the 4 lowest at the draft combine. (if my research is correct, he was a defensive end in football before he shifted focus to basketball, so he's more accustomed to carrying extra weight for power)
* he had that bad lower leg injury in January but played hobbled for much of the rest of the season. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTIDgUqRn54&t=23s)
Plus: he hadn't hired an agent leading up to the draft and chose to feel things out himself. It sure doesn't seem as if he was ready to excel at the combine drills. Him staying in the draft could have been in part driven by Coach K's decision to retire and the uncertain future of the Duke program.
With all that said, he's a high upside player relative to his draft position. He didn't nail it as a freshman on a very diversely talented Duke team, but compared to some of our other Knicks (Grimes, Reddish), it's not like he bombed as a freshman either. If he's as BBIQ sharp as reported and can get some pointers from RJ and some of the other players with off-season development, maybe he'll be able to tap into his potential.
The knicks might be onto something when they drafted keels. If he can develop into a Marcus smart type of player, the knicks may have gotten another draft steal. It might be time to let go of some of the vets, these young kids need time on the court. I expect keels to ride the bench like Deuce did.hopefully Deuce can si more playing time on his 2nd year the way Obi got alittle more time last season.
martin wrote:Love itOff the bat, Keels’ best asset is his competitive fire and on-court desire. He was one of Duke’s most intense players and, according to Carrawell, has an extremely high basketball IQ. That manifests itself at both ends of the floor.Perhaps most important for Keels and the Knicks, Carrawell thinks he’s a Tom Thibodeau type of player, due to his aggressive nature and his desire on the defensive end.
martin wrote:
Keels registered 13.5 percent body fat at the draft combine, the fourth highest of the 76 players there.
“These guys come in, they’re 17, 18 years old, in college for the first time. No matter how much we talk to them about nutrition, things you gotta eat, they’re still college kids,” Carrawell said. “They’re going to still stay up late, they’re going to play video games, they’re going to hang out with their classmates, their teammates. He has the body type that you have to watch what you eat, make sure you’re putting in the work, which he does. But he’s still young. I didn’t pay attention to those things when I was 22. In time, once he learns, he can do it.”
My only point in re-posting these quotes from the same article is to actually be supportive. The things that I am knocking him for are controllable and can be handled with a professional conditioning plan. A season in Westchester with the Knicks staff could turn this guy around. All of those issues at the combine (agility, etc) are correctable. His downside is readily apparent, but if he commits, he has the potential to add real value to his career. That's kind of the essence of a diamond in the rough. Finding guys that you know their weakness and can overcome it.
EwingsGlass wrote:My only point in re-posting these quotes from the same article is to actually be supportive. The things that I am knocking him for are controllable and can be handled with a professional conditioning plan. A season in Westchester with the Knicks staff could turn this guy around. All of those issues at the combine (agility, etc) are correctable. His downside is readily apparent, but if he commits, he has the potential to add real value to his career. That's kind of the essence of a diamond in the rough. Finding guys that you know their weakness and can overcome it.
I'd say he can improve his quickness/explosion relatively easily. He has a body fat baseline we can work from. Take a few percent from that, work on hip flexibility (a la Obi) and he has a clear path to improving as a player - minimally, there's a clear path to getting better at combine drills!
Any chance Thibs gets Coach K to come on as an assistant?
That would lock up Zion for sure.
Pete Carril spent 10 years on the King's bench after spending the majority of his life at Princeton.
