June 27, 2008

Just over 12 hours after President, Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh chose him with the sixth pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, Danilo Gallinari was officially welcomed into the New York Knicks family during a press conference at the Madison Square Garden Training Center.

A calm, humble young man who is also clearly confident in his abilities, Gallinari spoke seriously about his dedication to becoming an elite NBA player.

"My only thought is that I've got to work and work and work every day, and improve my game both defensively and offensively," said the native of Sant'Angelo Lodigiano, Italy. "My thought is to work and learn, because I am coming to a new world. … I'm going to try to help the team as much as I can and as early as I can."

The 6-foot-9, 225-pound forward averaged a team-high 17.5 points and 5.7 rebounds last season for Armani Jeans Milano of the Italian A-1 League. He also tallied 14.9 points and 4.2 rebounds in 2008 Euroleague play and has won the prestigious Euroleague Rising Star award for the 2007-08 season.

After a year playing with the popular Italian League team in Milan -- where Walsh says there are "billboards as big as Boeing jets with this kid on it with Armani Jeans" -- Gallinari's top choice was to come to New York.

"I just knew a few seconds before (they called my name), and I didn't have any idea," he said. "I didn't feel my legs when I got on the stage to shake hands. It was incredible …I like the people who are here, so it was a good feeling to be here."

Gallinari said he got the impression that the Knicks were equally thrilled to have him on board.

"They just told me that I will not have a problem adapting my game here," he said. "They are all happy that I am here, so I am proud of that."

Based on his experiences playing in front of rabid Milan fans who demanded excellence, Gallinari said he expects to handle the pressures of New York with relative ease.

"Milan is so similar to New York because as soon as you do something that's not good, they boo you," he said. "It's a tough place to play, but it's nice. … I think it is two different worlds, but there is a lot of pressure in Milan and a lot of pressure in New York. So you are going to different places, but same places."

Gallinari had no trouble with the pressure of playing in Milan, blossoming into not only a fan-favorite, but an All-Star as a 19-year old playing amongst men. Many players he faced in Italy had previous NBA experience.

Ironically, part of that pressure Gallinari felt was related to the number on his back. In wearing No. 8 for the Armani Jeans team, Gallinari took on the same number that former Milan star and current Knicks Head Coach, Mike D'Antoni wore for so many years.

"I came my first year in Milan and I wanted number 8," said a smiling Gallinari. "And everybody said ‘Mike D'Antoni is a legend in Milan, and he's got number 8!' So coming there with that number, there was some pressure with that there."

D'Antoni's Italian roots figure to have a deep impact in Gallinari's transition to the NBA

"He played so many years in Europe and Italy, so he knows where I come from," said Gallinari. "He is the right coach for me in this draft."

In fact, when D'Antoni called to welcome Gallinari into the fold, the two spoke to each other in Italian.

"He started speaking Italian so I followed him and started speaking Italian," said Gallinari, who is fluent in English and has no trouble conversing in his second language.

Gallinari said he has no plans to head back to Italy any time soon. Instead, he plans to spend the coming weeks and months immersing himself in American culture and basketball to help his transition to the NBA game. He will make his Knicks debut in just over two weeks when he joins the team in Las Vegas as part of the annual NBA Summer League.

"I love to play basketball," he said. "It's my life."

At the end of the summer, Gallinari will return home to play in a tournament with the Italian National Team from the end of August until mid-September. When he returns for good, he said he plans on living with some of his close friends to help ease the transition.

Still, he is most excited to meet his new teammates, and believes he can help them become something special.

"There are real nice players and real talented players to work together with," he noted. "… We will create good chemistry."