"And with the first pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, the New York Knicks select..."

It's been twenty three years since the streets of Washington, D.C. were abuzz with dynasty talk, thanks in part to John Thompson's remarkable run with the Hoyas in the 1984-1985 campaigns. If not for Rollie's Wildcats, we wouldn't be stuck watching the aforementioned Thompson skulk about in the new 'Become Legendary' ads, the very same promos that tout the Boise States and Appalachian States of the world as 'legends,' not the 'Cinderellas' we always thought they were (my apologies to the Michigan Wolverine faithful, who are still reeling from the Lloyd Carr exodus and the Terrelle Pryor--Buckeye signing; maybe the traitorous Rich Rodriguez will cure all your ills this fall).


Speaking of John Thompson, I had the 'pleasure' of listening to his expertise on the current NCAA Tournament, courtesy of Westwood One's Selection Sunday radio show. To put it bluntly, his analysis was painful to trudge through (and perplexing, since he showed no love to his son's incredible work at G'Town). I fear that Thompson, like many of his predecessors, is busy parrying a fork from being stuck in his plump undercarriage. Allow these several examples to epitomize the very notion of 'finished:'

• Bob Knight brings little substance to his daily college basketball analyses on ESPN with all the Digger Phelps ass-kissing he has to trudge through. He even went so far as to state, on-air, that his wife was 'the greatest recruit of his coaching tenure.' Not what I expected from the player-choking, ref-jarring, chair-punting Mussolini who patrolled Indiana's sidelines all those years. Could he still be THAT slighted after ESPN chose Brian Dennehy to play him in a biopic? (By the way, we're all collectively waiting for that apology you owe Jeremy Schaap).
  
• All Kelvin Sampson can do is watch as his former team battles and subsequently fails against opponents like Minnesota when a Big Ten tournament title was all but theirs (I will say though, with great pride, that New York Knick fans are already placing Eric Gordon in blue and orange; if only Starbury would follow through on those aspirations to play in Italy).


• Eddie Sutton, 'Big Country' Bryant Reeves's former coach, has etched his name in the college basketball history books by notching his 800th win with perennial NCAA contenders...the University of San Francisco? The previous 799 must look all the more enticing when you consider Eddie led 'The Don' to a 6-13 record (since his December take-over) in the West Coast Conference (which had looked awful with collective first round losses by Saint Mary's and Gonzaga, until those Toreros put a dagger in the heart of Jim Calhoun).

As if the point weren't made already, these former coaching legends need to make a graceful Dean Smith-like exit; after all, their egos will receive a boost once they get a floor/arena/gym named after them (that is, unless, your name is Coach K, who already enjoys this distinction despite his yet-to-be terminated career. By the way, all of us Blue Devil fans can breathe a sigh of relief thanks to the gritty play of Nelson and Henderson in the closing minutes against Belmont. Let's hope the Devils don't make the same mistakes against West Virginia on Saturday. Even despite such high hopes, that Duke/UNC final is looking less and less likely if Greg Paulus continues to 'defacate the bed' in big game situations).

Which brings me to my point about legends, futures, and ping pong balls. This year's edition of the Hoyas has been ably run by Roy Hibbert and the son of most prolific scorer in New York Knicks history, Mr. Patrick Ewing, Jr. ESPN had it right when they named Ewing, Sr. the 16th greatest college baller of all-time, ahead of the likes of Ralph Sampson, Tim Duncan, Elgin Baylor, and David Robinson (although his NBA accolades, as splendid as they were, pale in comparison). The current New York Knicks (insert scathing Isaiah Thomas ramblings here) are in DIRE need of a ping pong ball proclaiming them the 2008 lottery winner. And if that rivetting thought weren't enough, the winds of change are upon us in the metropolitan area:

1. Both Kiki Vandeweghe and Donnie Walsh's names have surfaced as replacements as Knicks executives (please God, allow this to be true!).
2. Names like Mark Jackson (yes!), Kenny Smith (no!), and Jeff Van Gundy (been there, done that) have been linked to the all-but-realized Knickerbocker coaching vacancy. As much as I just belittled it, it would be fun to see Van Gundy's nip at the heels of an unsuspecting Eastern Conference big man again (you gotta love the man's fire, though. Isaiah hasn't come close to such fervor since taking the helm in what seemed like EONS ago).
3. Stephon Marbury, as alluded to earlier, has been so intrigued by the Italian countryside that he wishes to play out the rest of his professional career overseas. I say, "follow that impulse. It'll mean so much to the Knick fanbase that we'd even be willing to forget all of your silly feats, including naming yourself the best point guard in the NBA."

(While we're Knick-bashing, I'd like to see the subsequent release of James Dolan from Knick ownership, even if his finances have resuscitated the Ranger franchise).

Without further or due, my vision of the New York Knicks 2008 lottery success.....

"And with the first pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, the New York Knicks select...."

(Talk about a pack of diaper dandies!)

MICHAEL BEASLEY: The K-State big man has shown that he can shine on the big stage, in which he effectively planted his size 18's on the neck of the most overrated recruit in college basketball history, O.J. Mayo. The Knicks need that kind of flash, star-power, and scoring. I'm salivating at the very thought of him rising to the challenge in New York's frontcourt, something Eddy Curry and Zack Randolph have collectively tanked at. I don't care how nasty he'd look with the D-Wade/Shawn Marion tandem in Miami; the Knicks need to lose-out for the remainder of the season to guarantee having as many ping-pong balls as the Heat do.

ERIC GORDON: The only point guard that makes sense, considering the Knicks have already failed with Marbury, Jalen Rose, Steve Francis, and company. They need another point guard to rise to supremacy to take the bad taste out of my mouth of these past failures. Hell, I'd take Gordon playing in 2009 at a Chris Childs/Derek Harper-esque level right about now.

DERRICK ROSE: Outstanding athleticism? The product of solid coaching? Buckets and playmaking galore? What more could I ask for: THIS KID CAN PLAY. I'd love for him to rip the number 23 away from Quentin Richardson this fall.

KEVIN LOVE: An overhyped, under-sized big man who'll surely do his best Keyser Soze on the professional stage? (Surely you know that I'm alluding to Soze's vanishing act, not his killer instinct here). Ask Bryant Reeves how NCAA success as a slow, bulky white guy translated to the NBA style-of-play. NEXT...

O.J. MAYO: Wasn't I just giving him demerits earlier? Why would I want another Jamal Crawford-type who favors perimeter play over taking it to the hoop? To a degree, Rose can be rather similar, but he doesn't come pre-packaged with Marbury-like hype. The New Jersey Nets can have Mayo; I'll even wrap a ribbon around his neck for them.

TYLER HANSBROUGH: I LOVE his passion and hustle, but can't find anything endearing about his style of play. He makes the game of basketball look somewhat ugly with his unorthodox kinesthetics on the court. Then again, I said the same things about David Lee. Now imagine how good Lee would look if he scored at the clip that Hansbrough can. I'd settle on Tyler, even though the Dukie in me wretches at the very thought of such praise.

NOTE: Mind you, a dazzling draft pick will only address a slight need for the Knicks, who still have a strain in the locker room thanks to the likes of Marbury, Nate Robinson, and Zack Randolph, let alone the lack of effort they continue to get from Eddy Curry. For all intensive purposes, that entire roster needs to be scrapped with the exception of Jamal Crawford, David Lee, and Renaldo Balkman, but Rome itself wasn't built in a day either. Hell, if the Giants can eradicate the Ray Handley/Dan Reeves years, the Knicks can surely get back to the way things were.

Let's look at this way: the NBA NEEDS to see large-market cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Boston succeed.

KG / Allen / Pierce are already making it happen in Beantown, just as Kobe / Bynum / Gasol are replicating such success on Jack Nicholson's stomping grounds in Inglewood. Watch what a Boston/L.A. final will do for the game, should it happen (the NBA simply cannot sustain another Cleveland/San Antonio stinker, even if names like Duncan, Manu Ginobli, Tony Parker, and the great Lebron James are in the spotlight). Ratings-wise, the NBA has not seen much happen since Michael Jordan left (is there any coincidence that he thrived in an aforementioned big market?). And where did MJ shine best? On the floor at Madison Square Garden, against those New York Knicks I so badly want to root passionately for again. David Stern, 'conspirator' of the Ewing selection, you need to make Michael Beasley happen in New York. If not for a twentysomething sports fanatic, do it for the good of Gotham.