After three years with Tyler Kolek, Shaka Smart is feeling optimistic about his future.
He is sure.
The Knicks acquired the goalie with their second-round pick out of Marquette University, who is a natural fit for the team culture built by head coach Tom Thibodeau and Jalen Brunson.
Kolek led the nation in assists and was considered a potential first-round draft pick.
He ended up losing the opening round and had to wait a day to hear his name called.
But the Knicks showed how much they valued him by drafting him 34th overall and signing him to a four-year, $9.06 million contract.
Clearly, they have confidence in the polished 6-foot-1 point guard.
“Tom Thibodeau is known as the toughest, most tenacious, most demanding coach in the NBA, and Tyler Kollek is also tough, tenacious, competitive and doesn’t back down from any challenge,” the Marquette University coach said Monday. “So I think it’s a great fit for him.”
Kolek was an unknown player coming out of St. George’s School in Newport, Rhode Island.
He was unranked.
As a freshman at Atlantic 10’s George Mason University, he put up modest numbers of 10.8 points, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game before transferring to Marquette University following the 2020-21 season.
There, he improved each season under Smart, developing into one of the best point guards in the country.
Last year, he led the Golden Eagles to their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2013 and led the nation in assists with 7.7 per game.
He was named Big East Player of the Year as a junior and was a two-time All-American.
He has developed into a strong outside shooter, averaging a career-best 15.3 points on 3.9 attempts per game this year while hitting 38.8 percent of his shots.
Now he’s making the big leap into the professional ranks.
First up is the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, where Korec could begin to prove himself to his new team and prove he can be an immediate contributor.
“His passing is the best I’ve ever seen him pass and I think it really, really reflects that. Now he’s got to get his hands on the ball, but he’s not going to get his hands on it as much as he did here,” Smart said. “But I think the part of his game that I’ve always felt was underrated and that might surprise some people is his shooting, because now he’s playing with Brunson and [Mikal] Bridges is a player to watch. [defender] Will it help? And I think he can do that at a high level.”
The Knicks have a lot of players who were strong in college but were overlooked in the draft.
Brunson, Josh Hart and Miles McBride are good examples of players Kolek can learn from and model his development after.
They know what it takes to be successful in the league.
“If you look at the personnel at the Knicks, Tyler has to earn everything he gets,” Smart said. “I think he’ll appreciate those guys. [around him] And they will be grateful to him.”
The Knicks announced Monday night that second-round draft pick Ariel Hukporti has agreed to a two-way contract.
The 6-foot-11 big man from Germany was drafted 58th overall by the Mavericks and then traded to the Knicks on draft night.
