<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">CHARLESTON, S.C. - Larry Brown's practices here last year attracted a small army of pro and college coaches eager to see the Hall of Fame teacher at work. Those training sessions usually lasted three hours and featured Brown constantly interrupting practice to lecture the Knicks on their mistakes. Isiah Thomas favors the short and sweet approach, with an occasional profanity thrown in. Camp Thomas concluded yesterday at the College of Charleston, four days earlier than Brown's first and last camp with the Knicks. The players certainly weren't complaining about the work load, which isn't necessarily a good thing. After all, this is a team that won 23 games last year. But Thomas defended his shorter schedule, claiming that he was happy with his team's work habits and overall attitude. "Our practices are mentally intense and physically intense," Thomas said before returning to New York yesterday. "Everything that I wrote down on the sheet of paper, we got that accomplished and more. Today being last day we had a lot of people who were physically banged up. And I thought we got every bit of energy and concentration that they had to give. I was very satisfied with what they left out on the floor." At the end of yesterday's practice, the Knicks needed to hit 10 consecutive free throws as a team before being allowed to leave. Each errant shot resulted in one wind sprint, and the Knicks ran 10 wind sprints before finally making the free throws. "Do you honestly think you can win games in the NBA without making free throws," Thomas said to the players. At one point, Thomas gave his players the option of quitting but they declined. Last season, all they did was quit. "It was a good camp," Stephon Marbury said, comparing Thomas' methods to those of Brown. "Obviously we didn't get nothing done last year." Thomas said his main goals were to build confidence among the players and get them "solidified as a team," which is a thinly veiled criticism of Brown. The organization felt that Brown's public criticisms of the players had an overwhelmingly negative impact in the locker room. Coincidentally, it did unify most of the players - against their former coach. "I'm making sure we leave here solidified as a unit," said Thomas, who will name team tri-captains before the start of the season. The new coach talked about trying to establish stronger camaraderie on and off the court. Thomas says he invited filmmaker Spike Lee to Charleston to give the players a private screening of his acclaimed documentary, "When the Levees Broke." "You want the team to have discussions about things that you don't normally talk about, things that are taboo - race, religion and politics," Thomas said. "The film gave them a way to address those sensitive subjects." Lee, a longtime Knicks' season ticket-holder, has made several trips here over the years to preview his feature films. When Jeff Van Gundy coached the Knicks, Lee showed the team "He Got Game," a basketball movie loosely based on Marbury's life as a playground legend in Coney Island. Thomas hinted that he'll incorporate more team-building activities throughout the season. His intentions may be good, but discussions on race, religion and politics won't necessarily help the Knicks win games. It still comes down to defense, rebounding and offensive efficiency, and the Knicks have a long way to go in all three departments.</div> http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketba...2p-386787c.html Who do you think Isiah chooses as the Knicks captains? I'm going with: 1. Stephon Marbury 2. Jamal Crawford 3. Steve Francis
<div class="quote_poster">MrJ Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketba...2p-386787c.html Who do you think Isiah chooses as the Knicks captains? I'm going with: 1. Stephon Marbury 2. Jamal Crawford 3. Steve Francis</div> i would go with - jalen rose, jamal crawford and starberry (u can't exclude him if your going to name tri-captains)
