Knicks draft Rautins, Fields in second

GREENBUGH, N.Y. -- One is a heck of a shooter. The other is quite the leaper.

And the New York Knicks, still with their eye on a bigger prize, hope both Andy Rautins and Landry Fields will be fetching doughnuts for LeBron James at the start of the 2010-11 season.

The Knicks failed to buy into the first round of the NBA draft Thursday night and were left with the two selections they began the day with: Nos. 38 and 39.

"It would be great to come out with one good player, to be honest with you," coach Mike D'Antoni said beforehand. "If we hit two, it's a home run."

Despite a need for size on a team with only five players under contract beyond July 1, the Knicks instead went first for a shooter, Rautins, a member of the Canadian national team who shot .407 on 3-pointers for Syracuse last season.

The 6-foot-4 guard did almost nothing but shoot 3s at Syracuse, taking 282 of his 360 career attempts from beyond the arc. In the 2010 NCAA tournament, he went 12-for-24 in Syracuse's three games and scored 24 points against Gonzaga in the second round.

Rautins father, Leo, was a member of the Knicks in training camp in 1987 and appeared in three exhibition games for New York.

Fields was selected first team All-Pac 10 after leading the league in scoring at 22.0 points per game while grabbing 8.8 rebounds. He also led the team in steals (51), blocks (25) and minutes per game (36.3), and he registered a vertical leap of 39 inches when the Knicks worked him out. Only Corey Fortson of Arkansas registered a higher vertical leap (40 inches).

After college trouble, Caracter ready for NBA

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Derrick Caracter went from high school phenom to the target of fat jokes. Louisville coach Rick Pitino went from comparing him to Charles Barkley to calling him "a major thorn in my side" before kicking him off the team.

Now after three high schools, two colleges, multiple suspensions, wild weight fluctuations and questionable behavior and maturity, Caracter thinks he can still accomplish what once seemed inevitable: Play in the NBA.

"I was just fortunate enough to get all my problems out of the way," Caracter said Monday after working out for the Charlotte Bobcats. "I feel like I've grown from that, definitely. There are less problems that will occur on this stage, on this level."

NBA teams aren't so sure. After deciding to leave UTEP after his junior season, the 6-foot-9 power forward is widely projected to fall into the second round of the June 24 draft, meaning he'd have no guaranteed contract or roster spot.

It's a position few would have expected after Caracter graced a magazine cover while growing up in New Jersey, was declared the best high school prospect in the country by several recruiting services entering his senior year and was the MVP of a prep all-star game.

Things changed when Caracter arrived at Louisville carrying too many pounds and an even heavier ego.

Pitino wouldn't even let him step on the court until he went from 319 pounds to 275. At the same time, Caracter was suspended for three games for taking a loan from a family friend.

Caracter got his weight down, but was suspended for breaking numerous team rules. Pitino called him "lethargic" and "immature" and even sent him home during one of his suspensions as a freshman.