Tales from the Road with the Knicks Returns
Italy or Trinidad & Tobago for next year's Training Camp
by: Tina Cervasio
Hi Knicks fans! Remember me? Hope you got a chance to enjoy some of the "Knicks: Fans Most Wanted" shows I hosted this summer, or watched the "New" Knicks play in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
Now the Orange and Blue are back for the real deal, and when I embark on road trips with the team and our MSG crew, I'd like to bring you along through my little blog here.
My goal is to give Knicks fans and MSG viewers a different perspective of what New York's basketball team is up to when they leave their comfy confines of The Garden and the MSG Training Center in Westchester.
While I'll write about some "behind the scenes" topics, like the charter flights or MSG Crew outings, I also hope to tell some stories that you won't normally find in the newspapers, or I don't have time to report from the baselines around the NBA.
Such as this one:
Head Coach Mike D'Antoni's second training camp with the Knicks had its share of NBA celebrity guest visitors, from Knicks owner, James Dolan to MSG President Scott O'Neil to former NBA coach, P.J. Carlesimo and former Pacer (during the Donnie Walsh years) Austin Croshere. Also in attendance at the double-session practices were local high school and college coaches, observing and learning all they can from a D'Antoni-run NBA practice. But there was one pair of coaches who surely traveled the farthest ... from Trinidad & Tobago.
During the summer, Knicks Head Athletic Trainer Roger Hinds returned to his native Trinidad & Tobago and held an athletic training seminar. There he met Jamal Duke, the coach of the Trinidad & Tobago Men's National Club Team, the Flour Mills, and Pietre Gay, the coach of the Royal Extra Lions Men's Team. A friendship blossomed, and Hinds invited the coaches to Saratoga Springs to watch the Knicks Training Camp.
Pietre and Jamal attended every practice. You can see them sitting in the stands with their T&T team warm-ups on, taking notes and observing everything Coach D'Antoni and his staff said or did. "We're trying to learn new plays, how to run them, and then we'll take them back home," says Pietre, a female who coaches an all-male team.
What impressed the two visitors most was the "amazing structure of the support staff. There is someone for everything, and everyone is responsible. We are going to try to have our athletic federation adopt what we see here," marveled Jamal.
Pietre adds, "You can see the difference in professionalism here, from the assistant coaches to the training staff, and we are very impressed with the workout Greg (Brittenham, Assistant Coach / Player Development) does each practice. He's excellent; we want to invite him to come to Trinidad & Tobago to train our coaches on what he knows. His workouts and stretching are very different. Our trainers need to learn the modern technology he's using."
In fact, Pietre and Jamal were so impressed and inspired by what they watched transpire during the week of camp, they said they would love for the Knicks to hold their training camp in Trinidad & Tobago next year. "The invitation is open!" says Pietre.
(It's well documented that Milan, Italy is a possible destination for the 2010 Knicks training camp. But if you look at the two options, the Knicks can't lose!)
Pietre will implement some of what she learned watching the Knicks with her team, including a three-minute drill to perfect the fast break and emphasizing "sharing the ball." "That's what coach (D'Antoni) is trying to instill so this is not a one-dimensional team. In the offense he runs, everyone gets a touch, so you don't have to rely on one man to score." Pietre also likes the play "where two players post up high and the screen has a lot of movement; it's not stagnant."
Pietre says she will try to coach like D'Antoni. "What I like about all of his schemes is he lets them play basketball. They are not bound to any play. He has a plan where you can move this way or that way, but after that, it's all basketball, and that's when the players can play their game."
The T&T coaches also spent time with Assistant Coach Phil Webber. They loved his knowledge and his energy. "I already called our assistant coaches and told them, we have some things we have to do different," says Jamal.
I asked them if they have any favorite players, or if anyone impressed them?
"Al Harrington is a leader; he has energy, a good work ethic, and amazing explosion to the basket. David Lee is also fundamentally sound," claims Pietre.
Jamal points out Nate Robinson is "speedy and we'll use him as an example to our teams as an 'energy leader.' The team feeds off him."
The coaches from T&T were thrilled and honored to be Roger Hinds' guest at Knicks training camp. They loved the experience and want to keep coming back every year to learn more. Or who knows, maybe they'll be hosting the Knicks on their beautiful Caribbean island in the future.
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