Those Knick fans wishing to get a good look at No. 1 draft pick Frederic Weis may want to book a flight to Boston for the upcoming summer league. The center, who was taken with the 15th pick overall, will compete in the league and will appear at the Knicks mini-camp this week.
After that, it’s most likely Weis will go back to France for another year of seasoning. That makes sense for the 7-2 Weis, who needs the added playing experience, and for the Knicks, who have Patrick Ewing and Chris Dudley to play center. In the past, Jeff Van Gundy has not warmed quickly to rookies and he has never been a big fan of coaching European players. So all signs indicate that Weis will not be at the Garden this upcoming season.
The Knicks, though, are keeping an open mind and insist that a final determination of Weis’ immediate future will not be made until after the end of the summer league.
“It has yet to be determined where he will play next season,” Ed Tapscott, the Knicks vice president of player personnel said yesterday. “A real honest evaluation will be made after the summer league.”
The mini-camp that begins Thursday at Westchester County Center will be closed to the public and the media, but the games in Boston will take place at the Clark Athletic Center on the campus of the University of Massachusetts. The Knicks kick off play this coming Monday with an afternoon tilt against Philadelphia. On Tuesday they play Seattle at 1:30. Wednesday they match up against the Celtics at 7:45. They are off Thursday and pick up against the Wizards Friday night, take on the Nets Saturday night and finish up against the Pacers on Aug. 1.
The only player on the roster who also was on the regular season roster is little-used guard Rick Brunson. The Knicks also will feature last year’s second-round pick, DeMarco Johnson, who played in Europe this past season and forward Mirsad Turkcan, who was acquired from the Sixers after being taken by the Rockets with the 18th pick in the 1998 draft. He played in Turkey last season. Point guard God Shammgod, who was drafted by the Wizards in 1997, also will play for the Knicks. The Knicks were considering selecting the La Salle Academy star in the ’97 draft but chose John Thomas instead. Forward Roy Rogers, a former Vancouver first-round pick who also was considered by the Knicks in the 1996 draft, also is on the roster. He has been with four teams the last two years.
The squad will have a European flavor with Fabrico Oberto, a 6-10 center from Argentina, who could a pleasant surprise, and guard Nikola Loncar of Yugoslavia. Second-round selection J.R. Koch of Iowa also will be part of the show. One other name worth mentioning is forward Chris Jent, who was with the Knicks in 1996-97 and was beloved by Van Gundy.
