Off I went into the great city of New York, into the bright lights, crowded streets, and unpredictable traffic. Before I had even hit Manhattan, I had already begun to curse the Big Apple, as the normal one hour trek to Madison Square Garden took a hair-pulling three hours on a busy Wednesday night.

Having arrived just minutes before the Raptors made seven-foot Italian star Andrea Bargnani the first pick in the draft, I unfortunately missed the complementary reception I had gotten tickets for. I later received word from a food connoisseur, and a very reliable source, that the reception included delicacies such as Prime Rib. Damn New York drivers.

Well before the Knicks were called upon by Commissioner Stern for the twentieth selection in the draft, the Knick fans made their feelings about their team very evident. The New Yorkers rained boos down upon Isiah Thomas and their Knickerbockers. Their chants included, ?Fire Isiah!,? ?Sell the Knicks!,? and ?Dolan Sucks!?

Of course, they were overly critical of the New York?s picks ? after the Knicks made Renaldo Balkman from South Carolina their first selection, New York fans nearly regurgitated their Hebrew National hot dogs. The fans were chanting for the team to take Connecticut?s Marcus Williams, although it wouldn?t have been a smart move for the Knicks, as it would have made the Big Apple-sized log-jam at point guard even worse. Nate, a resident of NYC who didn?t want to identify himself as a card-carrying member of the Knicks fan base, simply told me, ?I can?t believe they just did that.?

With several talented players left on the board, popular belief was that Isiah could have gotten Balkman with the 29th pick, and Jay Bilas went as far as to say that the Knicks might have been able to sign him as a free agent. Reports later vindicated Isiah slightly, citing Phoenix?s interest in taking Balkman with either their 21st or 27th pick.

Tim from Long Island didn?t care, ?It just doesn?t make sense. Why take a second round pick at twenty? Maybe at twenty-nine, but not here! Isiah has the reputation of being a good drafter too. I?m just speechless.?

Minutes after the controversy over the Balkman selection, the tri-state area?s other team ? the New Jersey Nets were up with back-to-back picks. After they took a pair of Connecticut Huskies, Marcus Williams and Josh Boone, father and son Net fans Larry and Conor Reilly were ecstatic. ?We love the pick. We never thought Williams would still be there. He?s a perfect back-up for Jason Kidd.? Young Conor added, ?When Kidd retires or leaves in the future, we?ll have Marcus to fill his shoes.?

After the first round concluded, New Yorkers filed out. The Knicks were done picking and the Nets were sitting on the 54th pick. As fickle as they may be, I have to hand it to the Knicks fans they sure know how to get a chant going. In addition to the multiple anti-Knick chants bellowed from the upper sections of The Theater at Madison Square Garden there were several others:

I enjoyed the ?Shave the Mustache!? chant directed at new Bobcat Adam Morrison.

There was of course a ?DUI!? chant when Orlando made J.J. Redick the 11th pick.

The night started off with a ?U-S-A!? chant once Bargnani was selected as the first pick.

And Stephen A. Smith earned cheers and a ?Stephen A!? chant each and every time he made an anti-Knick remark.

Having attended the NBA Draft for the first time this year, I found many things memorable. Of course, there was the chants, the fans, the trades, and the excitement at seeing the league?s newest stars become millionaires, but seeing some of the behind-the-scenes action also stuck in my mind.

I was amazed with the frequency at which ESPN?s Stuart Scott took snack breaks. Several times, whenever he was off the air, Scott would sneak chips and candy into his mouth with huge handfuls. Stephen A. Smith was doing much of the same, but he chose to munch on a bag of what appeared to be Cheetos. I?m not surprised these men were eating, it was just interesting to see the way they went about it. It was as though no one would see them. It looked very ?hand-in-the-cookie-jar? to me.

Another highlight for me was getting to rub elbows with Indiana?s Danny Granger once again. I saw him roaming around the stands, so I approached him. He told me he was there for his work-out partner Adam Morrison, but that he couldn?t find a place to sit. I offered him a seat next to me, but he graciously declined and moved past security and behind-the-scenes.

As for the draft itself, it was a very exciting evening. The sheer volatility of the night made things extremely thrilling. Only a handful of the picks were widely expected, and watching poor Rudy Gay slip to eight was very heartbreaking. After being talked about as a potential top overall pick, I think Rudy was surprised to drop to the eighth pick. In the end, he?s better for it because he landed in Memphis, a winning club, via a swap shortly after Houston selected him.

Many people have said that this draft class was the weakest since 2000 when Kenyon Martin was the first pick by the New Jersey Nets. While that may be true right now, I think this class was a fairly deep one. There may not be a LeBron James, Michael Jordan, or Tim Duncan, but I think guys like Morrison, Brandon Roy, and Gay will have long successful careers.

And I?m making it official right now ? Roy will be the 2007 Rookie of the Year. You read it here first. You can praise me later.

I also want to thank the many entrants in RealGM?s First Annual Create-A-Mock Draft contest. The volatility of the draft hurt the results a little bit. One contestant got a grand total of one pick correct, while two tied for the win with nine correct selections.

Congratulations to Jeff Rosenberg and Brian G. Smith, the winners of the Mock Draft Contest.

Here are the top ten finishers:
1. Brian G. Smith ? 9/30
1. Jeff Rosenberg ? 9/30
3. Darrell Ma ? 8/30
4. Richard Giuffrida ? 7/30
5. Paul Wilson ? 7/30
6. Russell Wingert ? 7/30
7. Jon Haney - 6/30
8. Phillip Kan ? 6/30
9. David C. ? 6/30
10. Mark Perales ? 6/30

They have each won a RealGM t-shirt and a free fantasy football team from BullySports (a $29.99 value). They now have the bragging rights for being the draft experts among all of RealGM?s readers.  Let?s hope the competition grows even bigger next year when Jeff and Brian look to repeat.

Thanks again to all who entered. Enjoy the World Cup and MLB?s All-Star festivities, as something has to cure us of this post-NBA Draft depression?

Andrew can be contacted at [email protected].