David Fizdale, the New York Knicks' newly minted head coach is raving about Mitchell Robinson — the 36th overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft.
Via Marc Berman of the New York Post, Fizdale referred to the 7-foot Robinson as a “fun project,” seemingly impressed by his athletic prowess. What makes it more stunning is that Robinson — a top prospect since he was in high school — hasn't played organized basketball for 14 months after opting to drop out from Western Kentucky.
Instead of playing college ball, Mitchell went to the gym every day to strengthen his body.
Fizdale hasn't detected any form of rust:
“You would’ve thought he was playing the whole time. That’s how solid he’s been. No, I have not seen rust. As crazy as it is. I was just talking to [player developmental director] Craig Robinson about it. I was going to think this kid’s timing would be off or there would be a lot of stuff we have to stop for him and teach. Kid’s got pretty good feel for the game. He’s in great shape. And athletically, he’s a freak. He’s in the 1 percentile of high flyers and runners. There’s just not many guys who are that athletic.”
Fizdale even compared Mitchell to defensive stopper Clint Capela of the Houston Rockets. He outlined his blueprint for the 20-year-old. He said that they'll be working on his post up game, hoping to improve incrementally:
“We’re going to be working on jump hooks, post-up game. We’re going to always build that kind of incrementally. But how can we get him a confidence that ‘I can go play in the NBA game right now because I can hang my hat on this.’ Right now it’s his athleticism. Getting him to run the floor every time.”
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