蜜柚直播

GREENBURGH, N.Y. 鈥� During a five-on-five scrimmage on Wednesday at the Knicks鈥� practice, Allonzo Trier noticed his old 蜜柚直播 teammate Kadeem Allen running down court on the break.

Trier chased down Allen, elevated and pinned the shot to the glass from behind 鈥� LeBron James-style.

鈥淵ou went up to get that one,鈥� Allen told Trier.

By head coach David Fizdale鈥檚 count, Trier has half a dozen 鈥渃hase-down blocks,鈥� or 鈥淟eBron-blocks鈥� during his tenure with the Knicks, dating to summer league.

鈥淢ost guys don鈥檛 even make that effort when they鈥檙e 10-15 feet behind a guy,鈥� Fizdale said Wednesday. 鈥淭his kid, he just runs guys down and then at the square he鈥檚 just pinning it up against the glass. And so there are just very few players that have a knack for that and he鈥檚 one of them.鈥�

Dating to his time as a prep school phenom, the 6-foot-5-inch Trier has always been known as an offensive-minded guy who can score the basketball. Last year during a turbulent year at 蜜柚直播, he averaged 18.1 points, 3.2 assists and 3.0 rebounds while shooting 38 percent from beyond the arc. But it may be his defense that helps Trier make the 15-man roster out of training camp.

Trier signed a two-way contract that could pay him between $75,000 and $275,000, depending on how much time he spends with the Knicks.

鈥淢aybe, maybe,鈥� Fizdale said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 good, man. He鈥檚 a good player.鈥�

Trier has been a national name in basketball circles since before he hit puberty, as the Washington Post pointed out in 2014. When Trier was in sixth grade, he appeared on a TV commercial with Carmelo Anthony. He was so good by eighth grade that he wasn鈥檛 allowed to play with a team of kids his age.

He spent the first few years of high school being home-schooled at a co-op in Oklahoma before becoming a basketball free agent.

Originally from Seattle, he moved to Dallas; Oklahoma City; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Washington, D.C., and finally Las Vegas while playing for various schools, including national powers Montrose Christian (Rockville, Maryland) 鈥� which produced Kevin Durant 鈥� and Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nevada), which produced former No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett.

鈥淭he reason I went to Findlay was to qualify and go to 蜜柚直播,鈥� Trier said. 鈥淢ontrose being a Christian school, you can only take certain classes there. So that was the reason for making the move to go to Findlay.鈥�

Trier鈥檚 time at 蜜柚直播 was eventful, to say the least.

Trier tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs before the 2016-17 season, leading to a 19-game decision. He returned in January 2017.

In February 2018, Trier was ruled ineligible by the NCAA after testing positive for the same banned substance. He appealed, took another urine test, and was ruled eligible in time for 蜜柚直播鈥檚 March 1 win over Stanford.

鈥淵eah, it鈥檚 obviously frustrating, especially when it was something that out of my control,鈥� Trier said. 鈥淚t was not my fault that I was being punished for but you can鈥檛 do nothing about that. You learn who you are when you鈥檙e going through deep battles and I know I鈥檓 a guy who is built to get through anything and I鈥檓 tough, I鈥檓 tough-minded, I can last.鈥�

Trier鈥檚 final season was overshadowed by the September arrest of longtime UA assistant Book Richardson and a February ESPN report that said coach Sean Miller had discussed a $100,000 payment to Deandre Ayton, the 7-1 Bahamian native who ultimately became the No. 1 overall pick to the Phoenix Suns.

Both Ayton and Miller denied the report, and after Miller sat out one game against Oregon, he returned to the sideline. The Wildcats won the Pac-12 regular-season and tournament titles, but lost to Buffalo in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Ayton, a freshman, and Trier, a junior, both declared for the draft immediately after the loss.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a tough way you don鈥檛 want to go out,鈥� Trier said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 part of college basketball. It鈥檚 not the NBA; you don鈥檛 play a seven-game series in the playoffs. You play one game, a team gets hot, they can beat you. Unfortunately, we went into a game where we didn鈥檛 play our best basketball. They played their best basketball and they beat us, that鈥檚 kind of how the game goes.鈥�

As for the Miller/Ayton situation, Trier said he was glad to be around both despite the turbulence.

鈥淚t was a good experience,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 got to play with a great player, I got to play for a great coach for a few years and be a part of great program that has great tradition, great history, and accomplish some great things 鈥� win a few Pac-12 titles and continue to add on to history and be a part of something bigger than myself. So I鈥檓 proud of all the things I was able to accomplish individually and as a team player throughout 蜜柚直播.鈥�

Trier went undrafted but quickly signed a two-way with the Knicks on July 3. He impressed in summer league, averaging 17 points per game.

鈥淵eah, I was surprised I wasn鈥檛 drafted,鈥� he said. 鈥淥bviously, everything I went through in college didn鈥檛 help but I don鈥檛 think my ability is in question. My numbers and everything I was able to do on a basketball court was on display in college and my work speaks for itself. And that鈥檚 why I鈥檓 here and I鈥檓 glad to be here.鈥�

Fizdale said he 鈥渄idn鈥檛 know much鈥� about Trier before the Knicks signed him.

鈥淲hen I started watching film on him, I could see why some people might鈥檝e passed on him because in college there was no space for him to really move around,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou could really pack it in in college but all of a sudden with the floor spread, his game has opened up. 鈥� I think that鈥檚 the good thing about our scouting staff. They see through stuff with the college players that they鈥檙e looking at. I really think they did job with him.鈥�

Kevin Knox, the Knicks鈥� first-round pick out of Kentucky, said he was surprised Trier wasn鈥檛 drafted.

鈥淵eah, I was but I know he had a lot of stuff going on in college,鈥� Knox said. 鈥淏ut in college he was killing it. He was averaging almost 20 points per game, shooting 40-something percent from the 3-point line, NBA 3. So he definitely has the potential. He鈥檚 playing really well right now and hopefully keep it up.鈥�

Fizdale wouldn鈥檛 commit to whether Trier will start the season in the G League or on the 15-man roster, preferring instead to see what develops.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to say G League or he鈥檚 up with us, let鈥檚 see what happens because he鈥檚 a talented kid,鈥� Fizdale said.

For his part, Trier鈥檚 long, winding path has finally led him to the NBA and he鈥檚 in it for the long haul. The more chase-down blocks he gets, the better his chances of sticking around.

鈥淭his is what I鈥檝e always expected to do,鈥� he said of the NBA. 鈥� It鈥檚 something I feel like I鈥檓 built for and I鈥檒l be able to play in this game for a long time, so I feel confident about my ability. I feel i can play here for a long time and hopefully I can keep continuing to build on that and continue to get better.鈥�