Kentucky coach John Calipari thinks New York Knicks fans will like Malik Monk while a couple of Notre Dame prospects worked out for the team.

Kentucky head coach John Calipari is known for pumping up his players as NBA prospects and this year is no different.

Malik Monk is one of the top guards in the 2017 NBA Draft and a prime target for the New York Knicks. Calipari used this as an opportunity to point out what a great fit his former player would make in the Big Apple.

Via Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog:

“He would be one of those guys for the Knicks that fans would pay to go see,” Calipari said Tuesday on a conference call.

Monk’s a high volume shooter. He put up 14.7 shots per game at Kentucky and 6.9 three-point shots per game. The 19-year-old converted on his threes at a nearly 40 percent clip.

He had a 47 point game on 18-of-28 shooting (including 8-of-12 beyond the arc) against the eventual National Champion North Carolina. Conversely, Monk had a game against Louisville where shot 6-of-17, 1-of-9 on threes, and posted just 16 points.

ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla compared Monk to ex-Knick Jamal Crawford. He was the last person to score 50 points in a Knicks uniform before Carmelo Anthony showed up. That was back in 2007.

The team is also reportedly interested in draft prospects Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith Jr., and Donovan Mitchell.


According to Ian Begley of ESPN New York, the Knicks worked out a couple of Notre Dame draft prospects: Steven Vasturia and V.J. Beachem.

Begley on Vasturia: He’s just the 2nd player in Notre Dame history to score more than 1,000 points have more than 300 assists and hit more than 85% of his free throws.

Begley on Beachem: A 6-8 200-pound forward, scored 14.5 points per game for the Irish and his 36% of his 3-point attempts last season.

Both prospects are likely to go undrafted with Beachem having a higher upside.

 NEXT: Why Would Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony Want to Join the Los Angeles Clippers?