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7/19/2006 What's up? I'm doing good. I just got back to Philly. I was in Vegas for two weeks playing in the Summer League. That was a good experience. I met all the coaches and some of the second-year players. [Stephon] Marbury was out there for a day. It was cool. What's it like being a New York Knick? It's hit me somewhat. It's a dream come true. I'm actually on a team now. Now when people ask me what I do, I can actually say I play for the New York Knicks. How did it feel hearing David Stern call out your name? Actually, I didn't even hear it. I was in the crib with my mom, my sisters, my fiancée, and a couple of my friends. I got called thirty seconds before they called my name, so I knew they were going to pick me. The whole house went crazy. I actually have to find somebody who taped it so I can watch it. How did the Summer League go? It was good. I got to work with the second-year guys. I got to meet the coaches and I think they were happy with what they saw. That was good for me as a player to get some work in with the coaches. Have you noticed a big difference from the college game? There's definitely a change. You're playing with all the top guys from college. Whoever you're guarding, you have to stand up to the challenge. Everybody's good. You have to go up against tough players every night. Have you had that "welcome to the NBA" moment yet? Yeah, I think it was in the Summer League game against Phoenix. Amare [Stoudamire] played and he was playing me one-on-one at the top of the key. That's when it hit me that I was there. How has it been playing for Isaiah Thomas so far? It's been cool. He wasn't coaching the Summer League games, but he was coaching the practices. He's a Hall of Fame guard and he's done everything I want to do. He's teaching me a lot of things. I'm happy to be playing for him. You played four years for Coach Chaney at Temple. How was that? He's a good teacher. He's so good at teaching you things about the game, especially the small things like going off the screen and roll, how to turn and look back and see the hoop and man, just little things like that that a lot of coaches don't mention, Coach Chaney mentioned. Coach Chaney really gave me my opportunity. He put the ball in my hand and let me go. Did it feel any different playing for Coach Chaney in his last year? It was both happy and sad. I knew I was moving on to great things. I wish we could have won more for him my last year. It was a happy and sad moment. Ever since I was born, he was the Coach at Temple University, so for him to not be the Coach anymore is crazy. You've been compared to another Owl, Aaron McKie. What do you think of those comparisons? I think that's a good comparison. Aaron would come and play with us during the summer and he taught me a lot about the game and what to expect at the next level. We're the same height and we both know the game well. I think that's a good comparison. You're going from Philly to New York. Both cities have big hip-hop scenes. Are you excited about being in New York for that? Yeah. That's where it all started. We have some great rappers in Philly too. I'm definitely going to go to some shows. What do you listen to before games? I listen to a lot of guys. Definitely Beanie Sigel and Cassidy. I listen to a lot of old Beanie Sigel and a lot of mixtapes. I'm a huge Jadakiss fan. I'm listening to a lot of Lil' Wayne right now. He's killing everything right now. A lot of people are already counting the Knicks out. What's your response to that? I've dealt with that my whole career. I think we're a talented team and anything is possible. If we play the way we're supposed to play, we can be a good team. What's your focus going to be the rest of the summer? I'm going to move my mom out of her neighborhood. The neighborhood she's living in right now is crazy and I'm going to move her out. I'm going to be working out in Philly and get up to New York in the fall. What do you want to say to everyone? Come out and support the Knicks this year. Don't let all the negative things you hear stop you from coming to the games. I think this is going to be a pretty special year. It may take some time, but we're going to be a pretty good team. Just give us a chance this year.

By Brian Kayser

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