So you’ve never heard of Nikoloz Tskitishvili or Maybyner Hilario. You might want to listen up.
Because beneath all the Drew Goodens and Dajuan Wagners in this richly talented draft, the two players with the biggest upsides might be a pair of 19-year-olds from Italy and Brazil.
And here’s the kicker – both could be available when the Knicks pick at No. 7.
“I see Tskitishvili as a mixture between Pau Gasol and Dirk Nowitzki,” says Mike D’Antoni, Tskitishvili’s coach in Italy and the former head man of the Nuggets. “He has by far the most potential of any player I’ve ever coached.”
“Hilario’s a very big, long, athletic player,” says Pacers president Donnie Walsh, whose club was the first to work out the Brazilian. “The guy is a tremendous physical specimen.”
Actually, both international stars are. Tskitishvili (pronounced “Skeet-iss-villi”) is a 7-0, 225- pound stringbean who plays for European powerhouse Benetton Treviso. “Skita” typically does his damage from the perimeter, nestling in soft jumpers from as far as NBA 3-point range. Keep in mind he also flashes a dazzling crossover and graceful footwork, the latter a result of childhood ballet lessons.
Despite playing only 12.7 minutes per game this year (due to his joining the team in midseason), Tskitishvili’s stock is soaring. He could go as high as No. 3 and won’t drop past 10.
As for Hilario, who should go between five and 13, his strength is his potential. An extremely raw but athletic 6-11, 260-pounder, “Nene” (“baby” in Portuguese) is a shot-blocking, glass-eating monster who’s been compared to everybody from Ben Wallace to Hakeem Olajuwon.
Remarkably, Hilario’s wingspan was measured at 7-43/4 (the same as that of 7-5 Yao Ming) and the Chicago pre-draft tests rated him the second-best athlete. Want to be more impressed? No. 5 was Chris Wilcox, No. 7 Jay Williams.
The question with both Tskitishvili and Hilario is, how long will it take them to adapt to the NBA? Particularly in major markets, patience is rarely considered a virtue. Especially when fans are unfamiliar with the player (see “Weis, Frederic”) or desire a higher-profile pick.
“In New York, we have passionate fans,” said Knicks GM Scott Layden, who insists he would take a European even if it causes an unpleasant crowd reaction. “We’ve all seen players who were drafted and there was a tough reaction on draft day. And some of those players haven’t worked out, but others have.”
Indeed, Walsh remembers fans booing when he bypassed local hero Steve Alford to select a skinny kid from UCLA named Reggie Miller in 1987. And Layden chuckles at the memory of Utah fans hurling their complimentary Coke cups at the podium after the Jazz’ 1984 announcement that their choice was an undersized guard from Gonzaga.
Some guy named John Stockton.
More recently, Dallas fans heaped the “bust” tag on Nowitzki during his 1999 rookie season. Three years later, the German is a surefire star.
“[NBA director of scouting] Marty Blake always talks about ‘instant gratification syndrome,’ ” says Chris Ekstrand, the editor of the NBA Draft Guide since 1993. “But you don’t just stick 18- to 19-year-old players in the NBA and expect immediate results.”
So here in New York, where the term “patience” is considered blasphemous, fans might consider warming up to Tskitishvili and Hilario.
By 2005, they could be Garden stars. You can say you knew it all along.
BEST/WORST WORLD APART
The best and worst first-round foreign picks since 1996:
WORST
CHRIS ANSTEY
C, Australia 18th pick, 1997 by Portland
Seven-footer from Down Under averaged just 5.2 ppg in three years with Mavericks and Bulls and hasn’t played in NBA since 2000.
ALEKSANDAR RADOJEVIC
C, Yugoslavia 12th pick, 1999 by Toronto
Huge center (7-3, 250 lbs.) with great potential was slated to attend Ohio State, but instead spent one year at Barton County Community College before applying for the draft. Back problems have limited him to three games in three years.
MIRSAD TURKCAN
F, Turkey 18th pick, 1998 by Philadelphia
Versatile forward had his rights traded to the Knicks before he ever played an NBA game. That was pretty much the highlight. He’s played 90 minutes in his career.
FREDERIC WEIS
C, France 15th pick, 1999 by Knicks
BEST
DIRK NOWITZKI
F, Germany, 9th pick, 1998 by Milwaukee
PREDRAG STOJAKOVIC
Guard/Forward, Yugoslavia, 14th pick, 1996 by Sacramento
PAU GASOL
Forward, Spain, 3rd pick, 2001 Memphis
HEDO TURKOGLU
Guard/Forward, Turkey, 16th pick, 2000 by Sacramento