Knicks win lottery, draft Clampitt
Josh Brewer
Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: Fourth Mistake
In 1985, the New York Knicks won the NBA draft lottery and selected Georgetown center Patrick Ewing first overall.
Twenty-three years later, the Knicks had luck fall into their laps once again. New York won the draft lottery for the second time in team history and immediately announced plans to draft UW-Green Bay professor of information and computing science, Phil Clampitt.
Reports out of New York say Clampitt and the Knicks have agreed to a four-year contract. Monetary details of the deal were not disclosed.
Clampitt, a product of college basketball powerhouse Kansas, was listed as a semi-pro out of the UWGB Noon Ball league but was mysteriously absent from every NBA mock draft.
Knicks officials arrived in Green Bay earlier this week to present Clampitt with his No. 33 jersey.
The Knicks retired the No. 33 in February 2003 in honor of Ewing's career with the team. Knicks management, in accordance with Ewing, brought the No. 33 banner down from the rafters at Madison Square Garden in preparation for Clampitt's debut.
"It's an honor to be able to wear a number that was made famous by a true Hall-of-Famer," Clampitt said. "I will do everything that I can to honor that number when I take the court this fall."
Ewing was excited about the prospect of seeing his number return to the bright lights of Madison Square Garden.
"I've seen some of the tapes of (Clampitt) in action and, you have to admit, the guy has skill to be a true force inside," Ewing said. "His skyhook is going to lift the Knicks back to the level of success they saw in the late 1960s."
The skyhook that left countless opponents helpless during Noon Ball will indeed be headed to the Big Apple. But would Clampitt's popular nickname fit on the back of his Knicks jersey?
"I am sure they will figure it out, if that's the route they choose to take," Clampitt said. "I know 'So what if I have a skyhook?' is long. I teach my students to think critically, so I would hope to expect the same from a professional organization."
Twenty-three years later, the Knicks had luck fall into their laps once again. New York won the draft lottery for the second time in team history and immediately announced plans to draft UW-Green Bay professor of information and computing science, Phil Clampitt.
Reports out of New York say Clampitt and the Knicks have agreed to a four-year contract. Monetary details of the deal were not disclosed.
Clampitt, a product of college basketball powerhouse Kansas, was listed as a semi-pro out of the UWGB Noon Ball league but was mysteriously absent from every NBA mock draft.
Knicks officials arrived in Green Bay earlier this week to present Clampitt with his No. 33 jersey.
The Knicks retired the No. 33 in February 2003 in honor of Ewing's career with the team. Knicks management, in accordance with Ewing, brought the No. 33 banner down from the rafters at Madison Square Garden in preparation for Clampitt's debut.
"It's an honor to be able to wear a number that was made famous by a true Hall-of-Famer," Clampitt said. "I will do everything that I can to honor that number when I take the court this fall."
Ewing was excited about the prospect of seeing his number return to the bright lights of Madison Square Garden.
"I've seen some of the tapes of (Clampitt) in action and, you have to admit, the guy has skill to be a true force inside," Ewing said. "His skyhook is going to lift the Knicks back to the level of success they saw in the late 1960s."
The skyhook that left countless opponents helpless during Noon Ball will indeed be headed to the Big Apple. But would Clampitt's popular nickname fit on the back of his Knicks jersey?
"I am sure they will figure it out, if that's the route they choose to take," Clampitt said. "I know 'So what if I have a skyhook?' is long. I teach my students to think critically, so I would hope to expect the same from a professional organization."
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