When your team is 4-9 and your franchise player is still sidelined by an ACL injury, with no timetable for a return, there aren’t usually many things to excite a fan base. The New York Knicks are currently in that position. However, there is a shining light of hope at the moment. His name is Allonzo Trier and, if you don’t know about him, you are missing out.
After a successful three-year college career at Arizona, the 22-year-old rookie went undrafted this summer. He averaged 16.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists in his collegiate career, hitting 37.8 percent of his 3-point tries over the three seasons. Despite the rocky start to his pro career, he has quickly made every team that overlooked him sorry they did.
After his first 13 NBA games, Trier’s 11.5 points per game rank him eighth among all rookies. His 42.9 percent 3-point accuracy is also third for rookies who have attempted more than 10 triples. In short, he has been a revelation thus far, and a player that has disgruntled Knicks fans excited again.
He is an exciting prospect as a shooter, but Allonzo Trier is making his name as more than just a guy who drains long bombs. The most electric facet of his game is his ability to get into the paint and finish around the tall trees of the league. He is a lean 200lbs, but Trier’s herky-jerky, crafty ability to weave through the paint into an advantageous scoring position makes him a terror for defenders. With an array of nasty crossovers and an innate ability to finish circus shots, there is little wonder why he has been dubbed Iso Zo.
For the season, the rookie is finishing 51.3 percent of his drives, the best of any first-year player going to the cup over five times per night:
When he isn’t using his isolation ability to get all the way to the rim, Trier is torching defenders with step back jumpers and floaters. He also possesses a 40-inch vertical leap, which allows him to hammer home dunks with authority should he get the chance.
Just watch what happens when fellow rookie Trae Young’s shoddy defense allows him a straight line to the rim:
In fact, Knicks coach David Fizdale has been so impressed with his ability to get buckets that he has given him multiple opportunities to close games with his offense. Mixed results have ensued, but Trier oozes the confidence that the best clutch scorers all do.
In a post-game talk with Newsday’s Steve Popper, after a double overtime loss to the Chicago Bulls that his missed shots contributed to, Trier was still his same, confident self.
“Just got to have a short memory, continue to make the right basketball play,” Trier said. ” [I] Had to try to adjust as the game goes on. I kind of got a better feel of where my spots would be to attack. I tried to take advantage of that and be better.”
Even with games like the Bulls tilt, Fizdale seems willing to give his undrafted stud the leash he needs to work through any struggles he might have. Fizdale is far from the perfect leader, but he is certainly showing the patience needed to nurture Trier into the player he seems destined to become.
“He’s going to have his moments for sure … Obviously when Tim [Hardaway’s] healthy he’s going to be a guy we look to in those situations as well. But ‘Zo will definitely have ample opportunity in the crunch to win some of these games.” Fizdale told Popper.
It’s easy to overlook watching the Knicks these days. Without the unicorn that is Kristaps Porzingis, they have become increasingly hard to handle. According to NBA Stats, They rank 20th in offensive rating and 21st in defensive rating, forming a genuinely disastrous brand of basketball on both ends of the floor
However, the unknown prospect that is Allonzo Trier is one thing that should keep New Yorkers from going mad. If he can continue to hone his game, the 22-year-old, along with Porzingis and lottery pick Kevin Knox, could help the Knicks rise back to the playoff picture.
Trier has come a long way from the University of Arizona already. If his first 13 games is any indication, this is not the last time we will hear about his inspiring undrafted story.
