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Julius Randle And The Kentucky Knicks Have New York Fans Believing Again

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Everywhere you go in New York City these days, Knicks fans are feeling pride in their team thanks to Julius Randle and the “Kentucky Knicks.”

With their 137-127 overtime victory Wednesday night over the Atlanta Hawks, the Knicks improved to 33-27 and own the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. The last time the Knicks won eight straight was in 2014, when Randle was in his one-and-done season at Kentucky. The Knicks’ winning streak of eight exceeds the total number of games the Yankees have won so far this season (6).

“I’m proud of them,” David Pierre, a longtime New York City doorman, said Thursday morning with a smile. “I got two [Knicks] jackets, I’m wearing them proudly.”

Long-suffering Knicks fans who have endured years of dysfunctional ownership from James Dolan are looking forward to the team’s first playoff appearance since 2013 when Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire and Jason Kidd starred at Madison Square Garden. The current “Kentucky Knicks” featuring former Wildcats Randle, Nerlens Noel and Immanuel Quickley — who combined for 69 points, 23 boards and 13 assists against the Hawks — are winning in front of crowds that are limited to 20 percent capacity by the pandemic.

“Imagine 100% capacity at the Garden, it would be pandemonium,” said longtime Knicks fan Pat Stoltz.

If you throw in point guard Derrick Rose, who played for John Calipari at Memphis, there are four former Calipari guys playing key roles for the resurgent Knicks under first-year coach Tom Thibodeau, a serious candidate for Coach of the Year. Thibodeau and the Knicks’ brass appear to have stolen Rose from the Detroit Pistons in a deal that sent Dennis Smith Jr. and a 2021 second-round pick to Detroit. Rose is averaging 13.3 points and 3.9 assists while playing a key leadership vis-a-vis the Knicks’ younger players.

“I like what they’re doing, I like what it looks like,” Calipari said in December before the team traded for Rose “I like they’re competitive spirit and it seems like again they’ve all bought into what’s going on and how they’re trying to play in New York, so I’m happy for them.”

The Knicks have seven players averaging in double-figures, led by Randle’s 23.9 points per game along with 10.5 boards per game. R.J. Barrett, the second-year wing out of Duke, is second at 17.4 points per game.

The 6-foot-9 Randle is playing as well as anyone in the NBA right now, and Jeff Van Gundy suggested on air over the weekend that he was a legitimate MVP candidate. He has scored 30+ points in five of his last six games, and has gone for 40+ twice in that span, including a 44-point, 10-rebound, 7-assist outing in a win at Dallas last Friday, and a 40-point, 11-rebound, 6-assist night against the Hawks.

“New York, we here,” he triumphantly told the crowd after the game.

Back in high school, Randle competed with Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker and Aaron Gordon for supremacy in the Class of 2013. Randle was ranked No. 2 in the class behind Wiggins, according to 247Sports.com, with Gordon at No. 3 and Parker at 4.

At the prestigious Nike NKE Peach Jam in July 2012, Wiggins’ CIA Bounce team beat Randle’s Team Texas Titans in a game watched by Calipari, Kansas’ Bill Self and hundreds of other coaches. After the win, Wiggins proclaimed himself No. 1.

“Everyone has different opinions,” he said. “If they think I’m better, then that’s their opinion. I think I’m the best.”

He added: “I’ll put myself before anyone.”

Nine years after that game, Wiggins is playing well for the Golden State Warriors, averaging 18.1 points and 4.8 rebounds alongside Steph Curry, who is playing at an otherworldly level.

Parker, who missed the Peach Jam that summer due to injury, has been plagued by injuries throughout his NBA career and was recently signed by the Boston Celtics. Gordon has had a solid NBA career but not on the level of Randle or Wiggins. He’s averaging 13.3 points and 6.1 rebounds with the Nuggets.

In the 2014 NBA Draft, Wiggins went No. 1, Parker 2, Joel Embiid No. 3 and Gordon 4. Randle was chosen No. 7 by the Lakers.

From that Draft, Embiid and Nikola Jokic, chosen No. 41 by Denver, are now the two leading MVP candidates, but Randle is making a strong push as well.

“Me and Thibs will talk about it all the time,” Randle said last week of his level of play. “Thibs tells the team all the time: When a team does well, everybody’s value goes up. We’re playing well as a team. As a unit, guys are making me look good. I’m doing my best to try to help other guys out. It’s really just a tribute and an honor to our team, how well we’re playing right now.”

He’s certainly gotten the attention of Van Gundy, the former Knicks coach.

“Julius Randle, he is a star now,” Van Gundy said on air duing the Warriors-Celtics game on Saturday. “If I had a ballot that was 12 MVP guys, he would be on my ballot. I can’t believe the improvement. He’s definitely the most-improved player in the league. He’s gone from 27 percent from three to 41 (percent); 73 (percent) from the line to 79 (percent). He’s the best player on the floor almost every night the Knicks play.”

And that has Knicks fans feeling good in the big city.

“I’m not sure there is another player in the league playing better than Randle right now,” said Stoltz.

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