Knicks’ Immanuel Quickley visited with Carmelo prior to NBA draft

Before New York selected Immanuel Quickley with the 25th overall pick in the NBA draft, the former Kentucky Wildcats forward met up with Portland Trail Blazers forward, and Knicks legend, Carmelo Anthony.

The two are both from Maryland with Quickley growing up just outside of Baltimore, where Anthony is from. Quickley was active in the local basketball scene growing up, playing against the likes of Quinn Cook and Josh Selby while he looked up to Anthony.

Anthony offered up some advice to him prior to the draft.

“I actually got to spend a little bit of time with Carmelo during my pre-draft [training],” Quickley said on Thursday. “He just gave me little nuggets about taking care of your body, going in with a mindset to be hungry, learning from the older guys and things like that. It was really good to have him in my corner. I wish him the best of luck, as well.”

Quickley was named the SEC Player of the Year after averaging 16.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 30 games last season while he shot 42.8% from 3-point range. His 92.3 free-throw percentage ranked sixth-best among all underclassmen in the country.

The 21-year-old has been busy getting acclimated to his new teammates and coaching staff. He even admitted that he has gotten to know some of his new teammates by studying them and their tendencies on NBA 2K21 when he plays with the Knicks.

Quickley said he tries to model his game after the likes of C.J. McCollum and Lou Williams. He is looking to play hard and bring energy to the floor this season while he also believes he can shoot with the best of them and create for his teammates.

The Knicks certainly had a strong night in the draft after adding Quickley and Obi Toppin. The team projects to have an interesting, young core this season and it will be worth monitoring to see if they can take the next step forward under Tom Thibodeau.

New York begins preseason play on Dec. 11 vs. the Detroit Pistons.

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