<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> GREENBURGH, NY, June 17, 2005 -- Deng Gai patterns himself after Bill Russell. Carl Krauser would give anything to be another Stephon Marbury. And T.J. Parker's favorite NBA player is Tony Parker. From this you might correctly surmise that Deng is a shot-blocker extraordinaire, Krauser is a point guard who's a native New Yorker -- and Parker is San Antonio Tony's younger brother. Krauser can't be Marbury because "he's more of a scorer and more athletic than I am," he says with a sigh. "But," he lights up, "my game is to create, setting the other guys up, find them in the right spots. Making everybody better, be a real team-first point guard -- there's always a need for a guy who does those types of things. And I LOVE to play defense." Anyone who's ever seen Krauser's nail-chewing Pittsburgh teams tackle (and we mean that quite literally) Big East opponents over the past few years can attest to the painful truth of that. Deng, the superb Bulls' rookie Luol's cousin, also owns a skill the Knicks crave. The 6-9, 230-pounder with the never-ending arms ("He has Manute Bol reach and then some," according to one scout) doesn't block shots with the best of them -- he IS the best of them (165 rejects, good for a fantastic 5.5 per game, led the nation last year). "There are different types of shot-blockers," he says. "A guy like Dikembe Mutombo or Shaq, they just overwhelm you with size. Myself or Ben Wallace or Emeka Okafor, just like Bill Russell used to, we try to anticipate where a player will attack the basket and use our quickness to get there. And we do that on EVERY possession. It's all anticipation and instinct. And sneakiness -- you try to hide so the guy doesn't see you coming -- and then wham! Blocking a shot, it's the best feeling in the world." The lithe Deng is a hard worker in the weight-room -- he's put on about 35 pounds of muscle over the past two years -- but his offensive game remains more a promise than reality at this point. "I didn't begin to play ball until I was 19 years old," the Sudanese power source from Fairfield says. "But my offense, it's coming. Like Ben, I've worked hard to develop a comfortable jumper out to 15-17 feet now. I'm refining my post moves and can already hit a hook-shot with either hand."</div> Knicks.com
