As the New York Knicks begin another season, there are numerous questions needing to be answered:
 
How long will Isiah Thomas be able to remain as Knicks coach and director of basketball operations, considering his recent legal travail?

Will Zach Randolph help propel the Knicks back to the playoffs, or turn out to be yet another square peg?

Will Jamal Crawford and David Lee stay healthy?

What’s the deal with Stephon Marbury?

On a team laden with turmoil and intrigue, one of the younger players could perhaps generate the most interest and curiosity among Knick fans. Randolph Morris is a big man (6’11”, 260 pounds), who as of last March was putting up big numbers (16.1 points, 7.8 rebounds a game) for the Kentucky Wildcats, until they were eliminated from the NCAA tournament with a second-round loss to Kansas on March 18th. Just five days later, Morris signed a two-year, $1.6 million contract with the Knicks. Within a week, he had gone from March Madness to the pro team that has redefined madness during the past six years.

Morris’ defection should not have come as a surprise, since he had declared himself eligible for the 2005 NBA Draft following his freshman season with Kentucky. Morris was not drafted that year, so he headed back to college.

Morris was restricted by the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement from re-entering the draft, so the NBA officially classified him as a free agent. He chose to take advantage of that status by jumping to the pros, a decision he says didn’t take him long agonizing months to reach.

“I was wrestling with it for a day or so,” Morris said during the pre-season. “And I was like, ‘maybe I’ve just got to sleep on it.’ Woke up the next morning and was like, ‘hey, let’s do it.’”

Morris played in only five games last season, scoring a total of four points. He blocked one shot, made two steals, and dished out one assist. This season, he will vie for time in the Knicks’ crowded frontcourt, which includes center Eddy Curry and forwards Zach Randolph and David Lee. With those players already well-established, and this season being almost like an extension of Morris’ rookie year, he knows it will be time to learn, but not time to loaf. Coach Thomas is expecting Morris to show significant progress.

“He always said, ‘I bring you here, you’ve got to play, and everything you’re going to get, you’re going to earn,’” Morris said. “He always said that first and foremost, he believes I can play.”

Morris could turn into a force at center or power forward. The Knicks’ faithful hope he doesn’t become another player with tantalizing potential, but frustrating production. Morris is eager to prove he can be a strong player at the professional level, but it may take some time.

“(I’m) going to have to find my spot, find what I could do to help the team,” Morris said, “and that’s ultimately the best thing for me.”  

Morris says the talent and competition should only make him better. “I’m very excited about the guys around us,” he said, “how much fun they are off the court, and how good they are as players on the court. So it’s going to be a great experience for me my first full season.”

For Wilson Chandler, Christmas fell on June 28th this year.

That was the night he was finally given the present he had waited his young lifetime to receive. The New York Knicks called his name, announcing he was their first-round draft choice. Chandler says that when he heard it, he was in another world, another universe.

“Oh man, it was unbelievable, I can’t even explain it,” he said during the pre-season. “I didn’t know what was going to happen that night, I didn’t know when my name was going to be called. It’s just been a dream of mine.”

Chandler – a 6’8” forward out of DePaul – was selected with the 23rd overall pick. And since the Knicks had only one first-round choice and no second-round selection this year, he was the team’s only pick. Isiah Thomas, the Knicks’ coach and director of basketball operations, did bring in rookies Jared Jordan from Marist, Demetris Nichols from Syracuse, Walker Russell from Jacksonville State, and Roderick Wilmont from Indiana, but none of those players remain on the active roster.

Chandler left DePaul after two solid years there. As a freshman, he averaged 10.6 points for the Blue Demons, and his 7.2 rebounds that season ranked him 10th in the Big East. Those efforts were rewarded with a unanimous selection to the Big East All-Rookie team.

As a sophomore, Chandler averaged 14.7 points and 6.9 rebounds, earning him a spot on the All-Big East Conference Second Team. Chandler helped the Blue Demons reach the NIT quarterfinals, before he entered the NBA Draft. Two of his assets – his wingspan and leaping ability – enabled him to block 86 shots for DePaul, and helped make him a viable prospect in the eyes of NBA scouts.

Chandler says Thomas has not yet defined what his role on the Knicks will be. “No, but I think he just wants me to work hard,” Chandler said, “and when my chance comes, just go in and play hard, give it my all.”

There is a lot of energy on the current Knicks’ team, and Chandler says he has been feeding off it. “Everybody here is motivated,” he said, “everybody wants to win, and everybody’s hungry right now. So I’m just taking that from everybody.”