My Third Article

Building a championship team in the National Basketball Association is a little like making a cake. You need several ingredients, the right chemistry, and with a little luck, your cake will raise to championship glory, where victory satisfies everybody's sweet tooth.

That might be an over-dramatized analogy, but last night the New York Knicks, under their roof, in their kitchen toyed with the flavor of their cake, landing 6-foot-8 Georgetown forward Mike Sweetney with the ninth pick in the first round of the 2003 NBA Draft at Madison Square Garden.

In the process, the Knickerbockers also pulled off the steal of the draft, grabbing 6-foot-11 Polish forward Maciej Lampe with the 30th pick, early in the second round. Lampe was considered a lottery pick at the start of the evening, but slipped down in position because of contract issues that could keep him away from an NBA roster anytime soon.

The Knicks were certainly shaking and baking on draft night for the first time in a long time and were even bold enough to take a project in the third round (39th overall) in the name of 7-foot-4 center Slavko Vranes from Serba/Montenegro.

Maybe the Knicks should just draft big men from Georgetown, since the last time the franchise tabbed a Hoyas player in the first round, New Yorkers were privileged to see the legendary Patrick Ewing grace the hardwood for 15 seasons at the World's Most Famous Arena.