Like Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni, Jordan Hill is all smiles to be a Knick. NBAE/Getty Images

With the eighth overall selection in the 2009 NBA Draft, the New York Knicks were ecstatic to draft forward Jordan Hill, a player some rated as the second-highest player available.

“Some of our scouts had him rated as maybe the second best player in the draft,” said Head Coach Mike D’Antoni. “I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but I think he is going to be a really, really good player. He’s a guy that’s 6-foot-10, long, can really run the floor and has range all the way out to three-point. He’s a very good shooter and can block shots.”

D’Antoni wasn’t the only one pleased to add the freakishly athletic and extremely powerful forward out of Arizona. His boss was ecstatic at their newest addition as well.

“He’s one of the best big men in the draft, if not the best,” said Knicks President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh. “He can score, he can rebound, he can block shots and run the floor. He’s a good athlete and has improved in each year. On a team that has a lot of open holes, this will help. We just felt that Hill was a great prospect and was a guy that we wanted to take.”

Walsh also sees him as a superb fit in his head coach’s popular and exciting system.

“For Mike D’Antoni, the fact that he can run I can see him playing power forward or a little center now and then against certain teams. Against big powerful guys right now maybe not, but against most power forwards I think he will match up very well.”

Many compare him to Amar’e Stoudemire, who flourished under D’Antoni in Phoenix, and the Knicks coach admitted that Hill possessed the same qualities that make Stoudemire special.

“It’s hard to do that at the end of the day because Amar’e obviously is a special player, but he does have the offensive skills that Amare’s didn’t have to start with, but does have now. I think he’s further along with the three years of college that Amar’e didn’t. There are some things that are similar, like the way he runs the floor, his pick and roll, the way he separates his shooting. There’s a lot of stuff that reminds me of Amar’e.”

A solid player his first two years at Arizona, Hill exploded onto the scene with an outstanding junior campaign. He averaged 18.3 points and 11.0 rebounds last season with the Wildcats, setting a school record for rebounds in a single season with 375. He also finished as the Pac-10 leader in point-rebound double-doubles with 20, ranked second in rebounding and blocked shots (1.71) and third in scoring.

D’Antoni didn’t hide the fact that he was disappointed when Davidson’s Stephen Curry was selected one spot ahead of the Knicks by the Golden State Warriors at number seven as he would have liked to have had the chance to choose between the two. Nonetheless, he considers it a sign that they were blessed with the easy selection to go for Hill, whom he clearly loves.

“Yeah I was (disappointed),” he said. “I can lie to you and say (I wasn’t), but I’m telling you, I’m thinking this could be lucky that we got him. He’s 6-foot-10, can shoot and run the floor. You just don’t find those guys, and I’m really excited.”

Walsh echoed those sentiments.

“We spend a lot of time on this so we know every scenario and how this could go. As we got down to it, I thought if it ever got down to this particular scenario with Golden State having to choose between Hill and Stephen Curry, we are going to get a really good basketball player. And so that’s what happened.”

At the end of the night, the Knicks braintrust views the selection as a home run, selecting a player that not only has one of the highest upsides in the draft, but can contribute immediately as well.

“I think we’ve gotten better,” said D’Antoni. “These are big picks and it’s important that he’s a good player for us. Again, it’s easier to find little shooters than it is to find big shooters, and we’ve got him and (Danilo) Gallinari and different guys with a lot of lengths that will be able to knock down a lot of shot.

“One of the things he is going to do, he is going to help us defensively and have a shooter at the same time. I think it’s a great pick. I am excited to get him in here and see what happens.”