As a young teen, Curtis Borchardt felt a kinship toward Marcus Camby when the Knicks center played for UMass.
“He was a big, tall skinny kid. Kind of like I was,” said Borchardt, the 7-foot, 240-pound Stanford center who worked out for the Knicks yesterday. “He blocked a lot of shots like I did then. I just remember watching him at UMass, saying ‘Gosh, I want to do that.’ It’s someone I look up to currently on the roster.”
On the Knicks’ radar screen, Borchardt and Camby could unite as the Knicks’ frontcourt tandem June 26. If Mike Dunleavy pulls out, Borchardt’s chances of becoming a Knick increase because it’s unlikely either Chris Wilcox, Dajuan Wagner or Caron Butler will fall to seven.
“From my limited exposure with them, they seem to be pretty happy about me and easy to talk to,” Borchardt said. “They’ve let me know there’s genuine interest.”
Borchardt, who averaged 16.9 points and 11.4 rebounds as a junior, is the best non-Chinese center available in the draft. He can shoot from deep, blocks shots, boards and is by far the brainiest lottery prospect. The latter weighs heavily in Scott Layden’s book. Borchardt is also a native of Washington, the state that produced Layden selectee John Stockton.
His two major drawbacks are past foot problems and lack of a developed low-post power game. Borchardt suffered a stress fracture in his foot his first two years at Stanford, needing surgery as a sophomore, missing the last half of the season. “I worked really hard to get all that strength and flexibility back,” Borchardt said.
“Curtis is a highly skilled big man, very soft touch and athletic,” Knicks assistant GM Jeff Nix said. “He has had some foot problems in the past and they seem to be over with. He’s very, very intelligent, has a high basketball IQ and a high IQ to begin with.
“He’ll contribute next year,” Nix said. “There’s an overall lack of size (in the draft). There’s a strong power forward base, but there’s very few centers. Next year, if Chris Marcus stays healthy, he’ll be one of the only centers. Those guys are tough to get.”
Wilcox, who works out tomorrow at the Garden against Melvin Ely, is not a finished product either. Wilcox can’t shoot. Borchardt, meanwhile, was efficient from the college 3-point line and scouts believe he’ll develop a NBA 3-pointer.
“It’s a matter of repetition,” he said. “I always had a pretty good touch on the ball. Getting into the NBA having all that time to work on whatever you want, I would like to extend my game there. I feel like if somebody is going to leave you open, you’re a liability to your team if you can’t shoot and make that shot.”
Though expected to declare in the next few days, Borchardt continues to maintain his NCAA eligibility, paying his way for these workouts, even for lunch yesterday with the Knicks.