It has been nine days since the Westchester Knicks were last in action, but there are several alumni that have been in the news. Trey Burke finished in the top three in the G League MVP voting. Both Isaiah Hicks and Luke Kornet had several productive games with New York. Damyean Dotson, who spent 13 games on assignment with Westchester, had a career night against the Miami Heat. Nigel Hayes nearly recorded a double-double in his last game against the San Antonio Spurs.
On April 10, the G League announced the 2017-18 Most Valuable Player. Raptors 905 guard Lorenzo Brown claimed the MVP honors, while Golden State Warriors guard Quinn Cook finished in second and Burke rounded out the top three.
Burke started out the 2017-18 season with Westchester and made a clear impact in his first game. His scoring ability was already known and he backed that up by recording a franchise-record 43 points against the Delaware Blue Coats. He showcased an improvement in his perimeter game, where he shot 42% from deep on 2.7 makes per contest. He was one of the main facilitators in Westchester and showed he could get the team involved, while also being a solid penetrating guard who could finish at the rim. The Michigan product became the first Westchester Knick to earn the Player of the Month honor in December.
In 26 games, Burke averaged 26.6 points, 5.3 assists, and 2 steals per game on 49% from the field. He earned a call-up on Jan. 14 and played a significant role for the big league Knicks in the second half of the season.
Along with Burke, there are four Westchester alumni in the NBA. In the final stretch of the season, Damyean Dotson saw more playing time and capitalized on that. He recorded 30 points and 11 rebounds against Miami and became the first rookie season Patrick Ewing during the 1985-86 season to post those numbers. Dotson has looked more comfortable in the final stretch of the season, which is positive news for the rookie guard as he heads into the 2018-19 season.
both Isaiah Hicks and Luke Kornet have also looked solid. Like Dotson, Kornet had a solid game against Miami where he continued to show his three-point ability. In the final stretch of the season, Hicks has been able to get good looks around the basket. He’s also shown that he could get out and knock down jumpers and threes, which was something he focused on in Westchester.
Hayes didn’t see much playing time with the Toronto Raptors during his second call-up of the season. Once he joined the Sacramento Kings, he saw a good opportunity to showcase what he could do. He has played 19.7 minutes per game in four outings and nearly recorded a double-double of seven points and nine rebounds against the San Antonio Spurs.
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