5 BOROUGH SPORTS

New York Knicks

17th Overall: Iman Shumpert – Guard, Georgia Tech

45th Overall: Josh Harrellson – Forward, Kentucky (traded from New Orleans)

Overall, I am pleased with both the Knicks’ draft picks. On Thursday night, the Knicks selected Georgia Tech guard Iman Shumpert. At first, I was very disappointed. I didn’t even know who the guy was. My mind was so set on the Knicks drafting Kenneth Fareid or Chris Singleton, I didn’t even consider them drafting any one else. But after looking up some stuff on Shumpert, I’m starting to get excited about this pick. It seems that the guy isn’t only a solid scorer, but he plays phenomenal defense. In this draft, all I wanted was for the Knicks to draft defensive players. I didn’t want a scorer. Just give me some guys who could rebound and play some physical basketball. In the second round, the Knicks made a great move trading with the Hornets for the draft rights of Kentucky forward Josh Harrellson. This guy can make an immediate impact in his rookie season.He bangs bodies and isn’t afraid to lay an elbow into someone. The Knicks need this kind of chipiness in order to have a strong front court. Harrellson reminds me of an Anthony Mason / Charles Oakley type player. If Josh matches Oakley and Mason’s intensity, the Knicks may have a chance to shut down some prime time players in the paint.

New York Islanders

5th Overall: Ryan Strome – Center,  Niagara

Once again, this is a draft pick I wasn’t expecting. As soon as Gabriel Landeskog was drafted, I believed the Isles would select either defenseman Dougie Hamilton or center Sean Couturier. But Garth Snow pulled a surprise pick with young center Ryan Strome from the Niagara Ice Dogs of the Ontario Hockey League. After reading some scouting reports and watching highlight videos, I’m officially excited about Strome heading to Long Island. This dude is a true scorer. He hasn’t even 18 years old, yet he put up 106 points this past season in the competitive OHL. Every Isles fan should be excited about this pick, especially after hearing what Strome had to say after the draft:

Strome on the Islanders –

“I love the colours and I think I’ll fit in great there,” Strome said. “I couldn’t be happier right now. They’re a young team. They’ve got a ton of assets. I want to grow with the team, and I want to win a championship. I know I’m young saying that, but that’s what you want to do. You want to build from the ground up and that’s what New York’s doing, and I hope to contribute to that.”

Just an all around good week for both teams. (If you want any news about the Rangers draft pick, maybe sammywestside will write an article about that. If not, that’s unfortunate for all you Blue Shirt fans).

This entry was posted on June 24, 2011 at 11:44 pm and is filed under Islanders, Knicks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.