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chanics and remain by far his biggest weakness. … Unfortunately, Shumpert's shot selection kills any chance of him being an ef- ficient half-court player." Ahrii heard the critics loud and clear, and wasn't as dismissive as Iman. "Personally I was scared, just listening to what other people were saying," says Ahrii. "Knowing how many people over the course of the season don't really like the way he played on a regular basis. That he was too turnover prone, that he would rush a lot of plays, rush a lot of shots. He did take a lot of bad shots last year. It personally made me scared, and it made my dad scared." Ahrii wasn't scared Iman couldn't take it. He knew he could. That's what happens when older brothers don't give you an inch. In- stead, he was the one with constant anxiety, clinging to the notion that Iman, at worst, would be scooped up in the second round. But that was hardly comforting. Iman had left Georgia Tech only because he believed he could make an im- mediate impact in the NBA. He wasn't looking to ride the bench for a few years, find his way into the D-League and out of basketball for good by 25. Then it all changed, and Shumpert was quietly confident. Although he downplayed the good news, a workout on June 9th with the Knicks was slowly changing his fortunes. Various re- ports indicated that Shumpert shot the lights out and left the Knicks brass with quite an impression. At Shumpert's introductory press conference, D'Antoni confirmed the pre-draft rumblings. "(Shumpert's) workout was one of the best we've ever had here," said D'Antoni. "When we were here, all the coaches, some of the scouts and the front office all kind of turned together at the same time and said, 'Wow, this is pretty good.' From day one, we were pretty sold on him." Rewind one day, with Shumpert and 150 guests watching the draft proceedings at a Mexican restaurant so Iman could chow down on his favorite food: tacos. Sitting two seats away was Ahrii, who simply couldn't take the pressure. And, as he describes it, neither could Iman. Ewing and one of the Bulls' biggest foes during the '90s. A native of Oak Park, Ill., Shumpert couldn't shed his Chicago loyalty. "It's actually kind of weird because I grew up a Bulls fan and the Knicks were the bad guys, " says Shumpert. No matter. The Knicks took him at 17, and he couldn't have been more excited to play at The World's Most Famous Arena. But his big brother isn't so quick to shed his basketball loyalty. At least that's how Ahrii sees it, because he's still undecided as to whom to root for when the Knicks and Bulls play in a clash of Eastern Conference powers for the first of four times this season on Feb. 2 in New York. "I still haven't come to a solid agreement with myself about that," says Ahrii. "I gotta wear my Knicks jersey, but if the Bulls win, I couldn't be upset. I'm still torn. I'm trying not to think about it at all. I'm a huge, huge Derrick Rose fan." With the lockout now a distant memory, Iman is just happy this is a game that will be played. I KNOW A LOT OF GUYS THAT MICHAEL JORDAN RUINED THEIR CAREERS 'CAUSE THEY COULDN'T GET A CHAMPIONSHIP. I DON'T WANT TO BE ONE OF THOSE GUYS. "I sat about two feet away from Iman, and he looked about as nervous as I was," says Ahrii. "I had my head down the whole time, I couldn't eat – they were serving food and I couldn't eat. And they had to force him to eat." Phoenix, Houston, Denver, New York and Chicago were all in play according to the soon-to-be NBA player, but as to where he was headed, no one knew. "It got real serious for me when Houston didn't pick him and Phoenix didn't pick him," adds Ahrii. "We thought almost for sure he was gonna get picked by Phoenix. When he didn't get picked, it was almost a step back. And then it's like, man, he might go in the second round." Cut to the 17th pick, with the Knicks on the clock and Iman waiting, helpless. Sitting in his chair, Iman leans in, hoping. But there's a problem. This is the Knicks we're talking about: John Starks, Patrick 43 During his brief unemployment following June's NBA Draft, Shumpert spent time back in Atlanta with fellow Georgia Tech alum Jarrett Jack, soaking up NBA knowledge and train- ing for the season. Next stop, Florida, where he worked out at IMG Basketball Academy to hone his skills by any means necessary – weightlifting, swimming, basketball, anything. But that was only a portion of the day. The rest was up to Shumpert, who as an active member of the Twitter community with the handle @I_Am_Iman, decided to strike up a competition of a new kind. A natural athlete, Shumpert has never been one to shy away from dunking – creative or otherwise. So he took to Twitter and set up a contest, asking his 14,000-plus followers at the time (now over 43,000) to tweet him videos of their best dunks. The best came from a kid, no more then 10 years old, converting a windmill on a bite-sized basket. Shumpert's competitive edge forced him to respond. And he did, reply- ing with a windmill of his own via Twitpic. Shumpert does have more grandiose dreams, but it starts with simpler wishes. Make no mistake, he doesn't plan on being just any NBA player. Nor does he want to call it quits without a ring. "I want people to be able to compare a young player to me and be able to call me one of the greatest," he says. "I also want to win an NBA championship, that's always the biggest goal. I know a lot of guys that Michael Jordan ruined their careers 'cause they couldn't get a championship. I don't want to be one of those guys." Only a quarter of the way through a lockout-shortened NBA season and Shumpert has already begun to make his mark, scoring in double figures in all but two games. His defensive intensity and offensive aggression have earned him the starting point guard role and, most importantly, respect. "It can be intimidating coming into the league and playing with guys that are already established," says Knicks center Tyson Chan- dler. "He came in and believed in himself from Day One. When you believe in yourself, you demand respect from veterans. … He's already exceeded the expectations anybody had for him."