The first thing you notice about former Georgia Tech point guard Iman Shumpert is his wide smile, as big as the city he will now represent.
If Stephon Marbury, the last Yellow Jacket point guard to play for the Knicks, is known for his frown, Shumpert is known for his white teeth.
The boos resounded inside Newark’s Prudential Center after Donnie Walsh made his final Knick first-round draft pick last night, taking the defensive-oriented, physical point guard. It was not a Jimmer-like, sexy pick, just a needed one.
Most of the boobirds have never seen him play, never seen him defend, never seen him speak with flair about how he would be honored to play alongside Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony if he got drafted by the Knicks.
“ I definitely feel I can play there,” Shumpert told The Post during the combine in Chicago. “I can come play some defense, help Amar’e with some boards. They wouldn’t need me to score as much — just knock down some shots and play in transition. I’m all for it.”
His agent, Happy Walters, who represents Stoudemire and Shawne Williams, also was all for it. Stoudemire flew into New York eight days ago and sent a message to the front office: Concentrate on defense this season. Walsh listened, giving Stoudemire a nice present on his way out.
The Knicks are concerned about Chauncey Billups, not just his health but his defensive prowess at age 35. They also are concerned about Landry Fields’ late-season slide as the starting shooting guard. Shumpert can play both positions, especially defending the 2’s such as Dwyane Wade.
Walsh added a center in the second round, Josh Harrellson, after buying the pick from New Orleans for $750,000. But Harrellson is not ready, and Walsh will not get another chance to add more size to the roster during free agency as he leaves us July 1. The Knicks will have to sign a center.
“I’ve tried to get the Knicks back in stride and to the contending level,” Walsh added. “We did get to the playoffs, which was my goal the third year. I think there are more pieces here now. Once we made the trade, we got two stars but lost a lot of pieces. The job now is to manage the cap and get pieces that will cover up what we don’t have.”
Walsh talked about the major cap space the Knicks will have in 2012 when Chris Paul could be added. But last night he added a big point guard who would fit nicely as Paul’s backup one day.