New York Knicks: Jeff Hornacek praises Frank Ntilikina
New York Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek is impressed with what he’s seen from rookie point guard Frank Ntilikina during training camp and the preseason.
The New York Knicks have received early glimpses of the player that Frank Ntilikina could become. The 19-year-old has turned heads in training camp and debuted in preseason, which has thus granted the coaching staff an invaluable opportunity to evaluate his strengths and weaknesses.
Although the sample size is still somewhat limited, the Knicks are intrigued and encouraged by what they’ve seen from Ntilikina thus far.
Ntilikina was selected at No. 8 overall in the 2017 NBA Draft. Many were surprised by the decision to select Ntilikina over college standouts such as Malik Monk and Dennis Smith Jr., but the Knicks are beginning to reveal their line of thinking.
According to Marc Berman of The New York Post, head coach Jeff Hornacek was impressed by what Ntilikina contributed on both ends of the floor.
"“He got us in the right sets and I thought he did a good job defensively,” Hornacek said. “I thought he did a good job for his first game.”"
Per Berman, a large part of what has Hornacek so impressed with Ntilikina is how smart the rookie point guard is proving to be.
"“He’s such a smart kid,” Hornacek said. “We don’t have to repeat things twice for him. We show it him one time and he’s got it. I think that’s going to translate for him. He’s going to gain a lot of knowledge from one game. I think he’s a smart player.”"
That’s a high level of praise for a player who’s younger than a vast majority of the prospects who were selected in the 2017 NBA Draft.
The obvious reasons for appeal with Ntilikina are his 6’5″ size and projected 7’0″ wingspan. They’re elite physical measurements for a point guard, are beyond prototypical for a shooting guard, and could even enable him to defend small forwards or stretch 4s.
For as compelling as his physical gifts may be, Ntilikina may not be receiving enough credit for how smart he is.
If the basketball IQ and the physical prowess are on the same level, then Ntilikina could develop into a genuinely special player.
Ntilikina worked his way up through the European basketball circuit. During that time, he was playing against grown men as a teenager, which forced him to outthink players who are naturally stronger than him by virtue of their age and experience alone.
That appears to be translating to the NBA, where Ntilikina is already impressing a coach who was heralded as an extremely smart player himself: Hornacek.
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Only time will tell how good Frank Ntilikina can be, but he’s already impressing his head coach with the New York Knicks.