<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Last week, several Knicks veterans got together at the Madison Square Garden Training Center for some informal workouts and scrimmages aimed at building team chemistry for the upcoming season. [IMGR]http://www.nba.com/media/knicks/chandler_070814.jpg[/IMGR] This group, which included Quentin Richardson, Jamal Crawford, Stephon Marbury, David Lee and Nate Robinson, wasn't just there for a mid-summer reunion. They were already looking ahead to next season and welcoming newcomers who will be part of it. One of the players they reached out to was 2007 first-round draft pick Wilson Chandler, a 20-year-old from Benton Harbor, Mich., now just weeks away from his first NBA training camp. After his first morning with the veterans on Thursday, Chandler was bursting with enthusiasm as he headed down to Hunter College for an appearance at the Knicks Summer Basketball Camp. "It was a good run," he said. "We played about seven or eight games and my team won three. It was a great experience getting up there and playing with the guys, especially building team chemistry. We worked out before we went on the court. Did some drills, push-ups and cardio. It was a good experience in gaining that team chemistry we're going to need. ? Stephon also talked to me and showed me a few things, so I think it was a good learning experience before having to play in the real games once the season starts." A 6-foot-8 forward who got his first taste of life with Knicks teammates at last month's NBA Summer League, Chandler more than held his own on the court with the older players at the Training Center. His determination to make an impression was evident, just as it was during the Summer League games in Las Vegas, where he ranked third on the Knicks with 13.4 points per game. "In Summer League, I played with Renaldo (Balkman), Nate and Demetris (Nichols), so I got used to playing with all those guys. And David (Lee) practiced with us sometimes in Vegas. ? I knew Summer League was going to be hard going into it, because we were playing against good players every night, but I think we did very well. We played a high-tempo game and played defense. We grinded it out when we were down and went 5-0." The instant impact at Summer League was hardly a surprise from a player who averaged 14.7 points and 6.9 rebounds as a sophomore at DePaul last season. As a teen-ager, Chandler emerged as one of the Blue Demons' leaders last season and dominated his team's wins over Wake Forest and Notre Dame -- a game in which he scored the go-ahead points and then blocked the potential game-winner in the closing seconds. </div> http://www.nba.com/knicks/news/chandler_feature_070814.html
