![Knicks take Tyler Kolek after trading up in second round of 2024 NBA Draft](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/tyler-kolek-11-marquette-golden-78950466.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024)
Knicks take Tyler Kolek after trading up in second round of 2024 NBA Draft
NY Post
The Knicks moved up to take a ready-made college star and a Villanova “villain.”
Tyler Kolek, a 23-year-old guard, was chosen 34th on Thursday by the Knicks, who traded three other second-round picks to grab the Marquette star.
Kolek is a veteran by draft prospects standards. He played four years in college, one at George Mason, three at Marquette. He led the NCAA in assists last season while averaging 15.3 points in 31 games and shooting 39 percent from beyond the arc.
His experience is a stark contrast to the Knicks’ first-round choice from Wednesday, 18-year-old wing Pacome Dadiet of France.
Relevant given the current dynamics of the Knicks roster, Kolek was mercilessly taunted by Villanova fans as he buried the Wildcats in January.
Kolek, who dropped a career-high 32 points with nine assists in that matchup, said he embraced Nova hate.
![](/newspic/picid-6252001-20240627023735.jpg)
On one level, it’s hard to shake this part of it from your mind. Think about how many times you and your best friends from college talked at the tail ends of after-hours parties about putting enough scratch together a few years after graduation to maybe, someday soon, rent a house down the Jersey shore or out in the Hamptons for a week.