New York Knicks

Willie Cauley-Stein busting knock on him before Knicks workout

Published Jun. 17, 2015 3:49 p.m. ET

foxsports

Willie Cauley-Stein is a projected top-10 pick, but there are certainly knocks against him. He's not an offensive player, he doesn't have a jumper, he doesn't handle the ball. Defensively, he's a wonder. And now, he's apparently marketing himself to knock down some of those perceived flaws, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post:

Cauley-Stein averaged 8.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game this past season at Kentucky.

(H/t to Marc Berman of the New York Post.)

Photo Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky associate coach Kenny Payne got a text from an NBA organization Sunday raving about how well Wildcats defensive center Willie Cauley-Stein shot during his workout there.

“They were floored,’’ Payne told The Post. “I forwarded the text to Willie. He said, ‘It’s amazing people are shocked I can shoot the ball.’ I told him, ‘You never showed it — only in spurts.’ ”

Concerns about Cauley-Stein’s offense (8.0 ppg, 6.2 rebounds in his Kentucky career) are why the junior will be available at No. 4 when Knicks president Phil Jackson is on the clock at the June 25 draft. On Tuesday, Cauley-Stein will finally get his workout in Tarrytown in front of Jackson’s Knicks staff.

After the Chicago combine in mid-May and before the draft lottery, Cauley-Stein, according to a source, met with the Knicks in New York — an indication of Jackson’s anxiousness. Cauley-Stein had mistakenly said at the combine it would be a pre-lottery workout.

“Skillwise, the sky’s the limit on where I can take it,” Cauley-Stein said at the combine. “I’m athletic enough to do a lot of different things.’’