Shumpert Heading to the Big Apple

Any hopes Oak Park residents had of watching one of their native sons, Iman Shumpert, play in a Bulls uniform next to Derrick Rose evaporated after the New York Knicks selected the onetime Oak Park-River Forest prep all-American with the 17th overall pick in Thursday night’s 2011 NBA draft.

Some NBA draft prognosticators believed Shumpert would have been a good fit for the Bulls, who had two late first-round picks. Although Shumpert played point guard at Georgia Tech—a position Rose already mans in Chicago—and is projected to play both guard positions with the Knicks, analysts thought Shumpert could give the Bulls tough backcourt defense and complement Rose’s athleticism because he, like Rose, has the ability to slash to the basket.

Prior to Thursday night, Shumpert—who left Georgia Tech a year early to declare for the NBA draft—said it would be a dream come true to play for the Bulls. However, he told Comcast SportsNet Chicago he couldn’t be happier that he had been picked by the Knicks.

“I’m just glad to be here with my family and be here with my close friends,” he said after NBA Commissioner David Stern announced that Shumpert was heading to the Big Apple. “I’m at a loss for words right now. It’s a magical feeling, and I’m looking forward to it. I know that’s a team that’s on the road to winning a championship. I want to be a part of that. I want to help.

“This summer I’m going to work like I’ve never worked before.”

Shumpert is coming into a situation where he could see some minutes in the Knicks’ backcourt right from the get-go. Knicks President Donnie Walsh, who is leaving his position with the team at the end of this month, told ESPNNewYork.com he envisions Shumpert and Chauncey Billups teaming up periodically, with Billups playing off-guard.

Shumpert worked out for the Knicks on June 9, and impressed Walsh and the organization with his defensive prowess and leaping ability (Shumpert has a 40-inch vertical jump).

Draft gurus said Shumpert’s biggest liability is his outside shooting. Shumpert averaged just under 41 percent from the floor and under 30 percent from three-point range at Georgia Tech, but he eased those concerns (at least with the Knicks) by hitting, in his estimation, 17 or 18 out of 25 three-pointers during his workout.

“He shot the ball extremely well. His shot’s not broke,” Walsh said. “Some guys you see, and you can tell right away they can’t shoot and they’re going to have to learn form. He has good form, he was hitting shots, he can defend very well. Very well. And he’s got tremendously long arms, so I really liked him a lot.”

Shumpert, who averaged 17.3 points per game during 2010-11 season with the Yellow Jackets, can score, but the chances of him putting up similar numbers with the Knicks are remote simply because they already possess plenty of offense with Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire. (Shumpert and Stoudemire are represented by the same agent, Happy Walters.)

The Knicks want Shumpert to help put the clamps defensively on some of the NBA’s Eastern Conference backcourt sharpshooters such as Boston’s Ray Allen, Miami’s Dwayne Wade and, no doubt, Derrick Rose.

“We are very excited to have Iman,” Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni told the Knicks official team site. “He is one of the better athletes in this draft who can play multiple positions. He will fit in nicely with what we are doing here, defensively and offensively.”

Shumpert isn’t the only NBA player familiar to the Oak Park area who’ll be settling into a new city. Corey Maggette, an all-American at Fenwick High School during the mid-to-late 1990s, joins the Charlotte Bobcats, who are owned by Michael Jordan.

Maggette was part of a three-way trade prior to the draft in which he was dealt from the Milwaukee Bucks to the Bobcats.

Charlotte is Maggette’s fifth NBA team. He spent a year at Duke University, but declared for the draft in 1999 and was the 13th overall pick.

Maggette and Shumpert were McDonald’s high school all-Americans. Maggette played in the 1998 McDonald’s all-American game, while Shumpert participated in the 2008 contest.

Named the Gatorade National Player of the Year in 1998, Maggette averaged 25 points, 12 rebounds and four assists that year for the Friars, who finished 1997-98 with a 27-4 record.

Shumpert, who led Georgia Tech in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals last winter—he was No. 6 in steals nationally, averaging 2.7 per contest—had quite a high school career himself. A two-time first team all-stater at OPRF, Shumpert sported averages of 15.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.1 his senior year.

Shumpert will turn 21 on Sunday.