The Knicks took Sunday off as they returned home to host the Miami Heat at MSG on Monday.
New York will welcome the struggling Rileys—seven losses in a row—as the Knicks try to bounce back from a horrid West Coast trip finale against the Warriors on Saturday.
Here’s the latest we’ve heard from the whole bunch of Knicks as we get ready for March Madness.
Tom Thibodeau
On how to replace Jalen Brunson’s impact:
“We’re learning. As I said when Jalen went down, you’re not replacing Jalen individually, we have to do it collectively.
“I like the way the team has responded in terms of defensively, I think we’re playing very well right now. The rebounding was better today, it wasn’t good in the last game.”
Jalen Brunson
On almost committing toMichigan State:
“I love Izzo. I didn’t want to go on the visit because I was afraid I’d like it too much. I was set on Villanova and didn’t want anything to change my mind. (Villanova) was the right place for me.”
Precious Achiuwa
On almost committing to North Carolina:
“If I didn’t go to Memphis, I probably would have went to North Carolina. It was super close. The difference was that I wanted to play for pros. I had Penny (Hardaway) as the head coach and Mike Miller as an assistant coach. I already knew going in that I was only going to be at college for a year. I had a few of my friends already committed to Memphis. I decided I was going to go there with my friends from high school and then, of course, play for pros.”
OG Anunoby
On why he chose Indiana:
“I can’t say one. Indiana was the choice. It was Tom Crean. He recruited me very hard. It was his passion, and he believed in me. He thought I was an NBA player, and he was right.”
Mikal Bridges
On how the defense is progressing:
“Just communication and growth with all of us and trusting each other defensively, trusting the next guy stepping up.
“That’s how it’s supposed to be. You’re supposed to keep growing each game, each day, and learning for it.”
On why he chose Villanova:
“I don’t have an answer. The coaching staff, the school is a great school and the location. It’s close to home. And all of their principles. They started recruiting me in the summer going into my senior year.”
Josh Hart
On whether the incident with Thibs meant anything deeper:
“You all know me. You know my feelings towards Thibs. You’re not going to find a more loyal player. I love Thibs. I think that was just my frustration coming out with the flow of the game, my own individual performance…Yeah, I was just, you know, it was just something that just happened in the heat of the moment.
“I’m a competitor. Obviously, he’s a competitor. So sometimes those things happen. I don’t think it really — it doesn’t affect our relationship. It doesn’t show anything of what’s going on. It’s just two extremely competitive people in a fiery moment. I love Thibs. I love what he’s doing. And he’s putting us in the best position to be successful.”
On the team struggling without Brunson:
“We’re struggling a little bit, obviously, without No. 11. We have to find — or do a better job of — organization and playing to each other’s strengths.”
On adjusting to a new role:
“I think with (Brunson), we were a very ball-screen dominant team, letting him dictate. And a lot of times I would be out there setting it. Now I’m in short roles and positions where I’m playmaking and doing those kind of things. And obviously, right now that is a little bit different.
“So I have to find a different way to be effective and I’m struggling trying to find that out. But it’s a conversation that we have to have, I think. We’re struggling offensively, I don’t think that’s a secret. But with more reps and more time getting organized, getting in play calls and those kind of things, I think everything else will flourish. But it’s just growing pains. Still trying to figure that out, obviously with my team, but also myself individually. I’ve got to be better.”
On choosing Villanova over Penn State andRutgers:
“It was close. It was either going to be Villanova or Penn State … or Rutgers. I love (Jay) Wright. The character that they had as a coaching staff, I knew that when I left that I’d be a better person than a basketball player. That was the deciding factor.”
Tyler Kolek
On choosing George Mason and later Marquette:
“If I didn’t go to George Mason, I probably would have went to Northeastern. George Mason was the highest level that I could go to. It was the best opportunity, I felt, that I could step right in and play.
“I went to Marquette after George Mason for the same reason: opportunity to play. I had belief in the coaches, and they had belief in me.”
Miles McBride
On where he would have gone if not West Virginia:
“Maybe, probably, Duquesne. It was West Virginia all the way. Once they offered, I was going to West Virginia.”
Cameron Payne
On almost committing to Wichita State:
“I probably would have gone to Wichita State. That’s the school I almost committed to on-site. I didn’t commit. My mom didn’t want me to go. She was like, ‘It’s too far away.’ So then I went on my visit to Murray again, and she was like, ‘I like this school.’ I went to Murray because it was close to home.”
Landry Shamet
On why he chose Wichita State:
“I was pretty close to going to Colorado to play for Tad Boyle. There were a combination of things as to why I chose Wichita State. I’m from Kansas City, so it was close proximity to home. It was the best team that I could step into. It had the best balance of everything. It was a good team with two NBA guards (Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker) who I could learn from, I had a chance to play right away; it was close to home and the development.
“As for considering Colorado, I thought Tad was a genuine person. A great dude. I thought I had a chance to play a lot. It was just far from home, and they weren’t going to be as competitive as Wichita State was.”
Karl-Anthony Towns
On how playing strong teams and tight games—even those ending in losses—can help come playoff time:
“It’s been tough. A lot of close games where we put ourselves in a position to win — one little mistake here or there and it’s cost us.
“I think that we learned a lot, we put ourselves in a good position to have some great tape that could propel us to being an even better team.
“You never know these games may be the key to us getting deeper in the playoffs because we learned a lesson from the Lakers, from the Clippers, from the Warriors. It could make us a better team.”
On choosing Kentucky:
“I don’t want to give credit to any other team but Kentucky. My mom liked it. I didn’t do any official visits. There were long car rides back in the day. You had MapQuest. My mom just had a good feeling. She felt really good about her boy going there.
“There were other schools, as well, that gave such amazing (pitches), but I’m a mama’s boy. I felt mama knew best. She was right.”
Delon Wright
On why he went to Utah:
“Long story short, I was trying to go to the University of Washington because my brother’s high school coach was a lead assistant. They offered another kid over me. It was Nigel Williams-Goss or Darin Johnson. One of those two. Probably both of them. I wanted to go to the University of Washington and then that happened, so I went to Utah. They showed me the most interest.
“Utah was the only visit I took. I was going to go on my Washington State and Gonzaga visits, but I canceled those after Utah. I just felt like that was a better situation for me.”
James Dolan (New York Knicks Owner)
On theKnicks’ long-term roster vision:
“We have a team that’s going to be together for a while. Leon has done a good job of lining up the contracts. So this isn’t our only season. So we’re going to play a bunch of seasons together. You take a look at teams like Boston that have played together, they get to draw off something that they built off that period of time.
“And for this team, that’s really the challenge today, going into the playoffs. It’s to build that inside of the team, something that we can draw on.
“In order to do that, the first thing you have to have is belief that you can win, that you can win the championship. You really, really believe that. You’re not going to worry about podcasts. You’re going to worry about how you’re playing with the other guys, how the communication is going. What you can do to be better.
“Just give it time, and I think it will happen.”
On learning from past mistakes in team-building:
“There were times when we sort of reached for that shiny, sparkly object. Maybe this is what we need. Especially when things weren’t going well.
“Let’s bring in this guy and maybe he’ll turn it all around for us. Sometimes it’s players, sometimes it’s a coach. What I learned over time is that doesn’t work. It really doesn’t. You really have to do the fundamentals, the basics. You’ve got to build a team. You’ve got to build an organization. There is no waving a wand over a team and all of a sudden make it a great team. It doesn’t happen.”
On whether he’d ever walk away from his role:
“No. I could pass it on, right? But I could never walk away.
“We’re a control company. We’re controlled by my family—some of my offspring, my brothers and sisters, and their kids.”
On the long-term vision for the Knicks and Rangers:
“The Knicks, the Rangers, the Garden: These are one-of-a-kind assets. My hope is that my kids grow up and take my place, just like I did with my dad. So yeah, I don’t see that happening.”