The general consensus on draft night was the Knicks landed a steal in the second round with Tyler Kolek.
The former Marquette star has done nothing since then to change that narrative.
He shined in summer league and has impressed through training camp.
The game hasn’t looked too fast for him.
His teammates and coach Tom Thibodeau have raved about his work ethic, professionalism and potential.
It’s not out of the question he could be a contributor as a rookie.
“Besides the fact that he went to Marquette, I like Tyler a lot,” Jalen Brunson said. “That’s my guy. I’m not surprised with the way he’s been playing. Just watching him since being here working on his game every day being in the gym. You put the work in, the results are going to show.”
Thibodeau added: “I’ve said this [before], to me, the first step is to come in and learn how to be a pro, and he’s already demonstrated that.”
In two preseason games, Kolek is averaging 13 points, three assists and two steals.
He’s picked up where he left off in Las Vegas during summer league, when he posted 9.6 points, 7.0 assists and just 1.4 turnovers.
The left-handed floor general, the Big East Player of the Year in 2022-23 who averaged 15.3 points and 7.7 assists last year at Marquette, hasn’t been intimidated by his new surroundings or in awe of his star-studded team.
“That just comes through the work, through the confidence, through my work ethic,” said Kolek, selected No. 34 overall by the Knicks. “At the end of the day, it’s just a basketball game, no matter the level that I’m at.”
The 6-foot-1 Kolek is starting over and won’t necessarily be part of Thibodeau’s rotation when the games start for real, at least initially.
He’s part of a title contender with veterans ahead of him, from Brunson to Cam Payne to Miles McBride.
He understands it could take time. He’s approaching it the same way he has other steps in his career.
“Everybody goes through it. High school, I did it. College, I did it,” Kolek said. “Now, I got to do it all over again. Just start your building blocks. You tore down that house. College is over with. Now, I’m trying to build another house. Just starting with my building blocks, getting my foundation and building from there.”
He couldn’t have a better mentor than Brunson, who fell out of the first round in 2018 despite leading Villanova to the national championship that season as the National Player of the Year.
Brunson had to earn everything he got and now is one of the best guards in the league.
Kolek sounded like Brunson in describing his transition, pointing out what he has to do better rather than basking in his Garden Knicks debut Wednesday, when he had 15 points and five assists in a rout of the Wizards.
Kolek told reporters unprompted that he has struggled in practice with turnovers, as he tries to find the right balance between scoring and distributing.
He comes across as confident in himself without being cocky, knowing there is so much for him to learn.
“I’m still figuring it out, finding my pace,” Kolek said. “Maybe in practice I haven’t been as aggressive looking at the basket. So it’s been kind of intentional in these games to get those looks because then it opens up everything else with my passing.”
