![]() The New York Times followed up on Weis in September, 2015, with this wonderful but sad story of a man whose basketball career, so full of promise, never took off, and a life that appeared to deteriorate year on year.Ī couple of years after winning silver at the Olympics, Weis and his wife Celia had a boy named Enzo. In other words, to Knicks fans, Weis was a total waste of a good draft pick. After the Olympics and his return to France, no efforts were made by Knick management to make him a part of the team. ![]() Weis never played a game as a New York Knick. Weis, if he were a stock, nosedived – a symbol of all the terrible talent decisions Knick management had made in the past (and in the future).Īnd that was despite the fact that Weis played well on a French team that won the silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. That play has been dubbed “Le dunk de la morte,” or the Dunk of Death. In his path was Weis, who Carter simply lept over, all 2.18 meters of him. That’s when Vince Carter, one of the NBA’s most dynamic players at that time, came charging in, snatching that high pass, dribble twice and then leaping for a thunderous dunk. The French rebounded the ball at their end of the court, one player bounced pass a ball that went a bit too high for his teammate. The American team were facing the French national team, and pretty much handling the French, up by 15 with 16 minutes to play in the game. Then came the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and perhaps the most famous dunk in Olympic history, perhaps in basketball history. Weis personally believes that was a mistake. But thanks to his agent, he declined so that he could play another year with his professional team in France. Weis was not considered inspired material, but he was a first round draft pick, which afforded him the right to sign a contract that would have made him a Knick. Weis, overjoyed to be drafted, soon felt the cold shoulder once he arrived in the United States for the Knicks’ summer league camps where rookies and others are worked out. John’s University, would change his name to Metta World Peace.)įor starters, the Knicks’ coach, Jeff van Gundy did not appear to be supportive of the selection. Who was pick number 16? One of the most talented players to come out of my favorite university college team, Ron Artest, who would go on to become a volatile but brilliant All-Star in his career. Weis was from France, a seven footer, perhaps someone to clog up the middle. With the fifteenth pick in the first round of the draft, the Knicks selected Frédéric Weis. They lost in five games, but the energy and excitement that Latrell Sprewell, Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston, Larry Johnson and Marcus Camby brought to New York City was electric!īut a week later, still basking in the glory of my team’s incredible season-ending run, the powers that be in the Knickerbocker management team made a decision in the NBA draft that puzzled, if not deflated the fan base. It was the end of June, 1999, and my New York Knicks had come off a stunning run to make it to the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |