SALT LAKE CITY – Call him the European Michael Doleac. Or just call him the Knicks’ starting center last night.
In a shocking move, Lenny Wilkens made his expected starting-lineup change in the pivot against the Jazz at Delta Center. But it was not Vin Baker for disappointing incumbent Nazr Mohammed.
Bruno Sundov, who at 7-2, 260-pounds flew under the radar during training camp, emerged yesterday as the jump-shooting big man with whom the Knicks secretly have been enthralled for the first two weeks of preseason.
No, Sundov, a 24-year-old Croatian, will not be the Knicks’ starting center once the real games begin, but his skills intrigue. He’s all but assured himself of making the 12-man roster and put himself in position to get situational playing time this season.
“My curiosity is way up with him,” Wilkens explained. “I want to put him in a situation where I can take a good look at him.”
If Allan Houston’s knees never heal and with Tim Thomas’ and Jamal Crawford’s perimeter shots streaky, the Knicks could be a mediocre outside shooting club.
That’s where Sundov comes in – a big man who can shoot jump shots much in the same style as Doleac, the ex-Knick whom Isiah Thomas was set to pursue in the free-agent market last July before the Heat blew everyone out of the water with a $4 million per year offer.
When Sundov was asked if his game resembled Doleac’s, Crawford, sitting next to the European in the locker room, interrupted to say, “He shoots better than Doleac.”
Sundov, who spent two years languishing in Indiana during Thomas’ coaching regime, was a DNP in the preseason opener against the Nets. Sundov logged eight minutes Saturday against San Antonio, made both his shots and finished with six points.
If this were a showcase for another club interested in a trade, the Knicks wouldn’t let on.
“If it is, it’s above me,” said Knicks assistant Mark Aguirre, Thomas’ boyhood pal.
“Bruno is very efficient,” added Aguirre, who coached him in Indiana. “He makes defenses honest. He knows how to read defenses. He knows how to cut offensively. On the defensive end, he’ll do exactly what you tell him.
“When we see more of him, we’ll realize how many tools he really has because he can put the ball on the floor, he’s a decent rebounder in his area. If we can take what he does in practice and get him comfortable in the game, he’ll be a valuable asset.”
Last January, Sundov signed a 10-day contract with the Knicks and appeared in one game, playing four minutes. Sundov then bolted for Israel, where he played for the famed Macabbi Tel Aviv club that won the European championship. He was ready to go back overseas when center-starved Thomas called in September with a contract offer.
“I had to give the NBA another shot,” Sundov said.
And last night was his big moment.
“Hopefully, this is going to be it, my real shot, real chance to prove what I can do,” Sundov said.