"I'm a new player. I'm not the old Billy Shank anymore," he said. "I play point guard in outside ball, and that's what I'll play in college. I would be doing that here, but Hanif Sutton isn't really a wing shooter, so he has to be on the point.
"I spent the whole summer getting better with my moves and improving my handle, so I can go around guys when necessary."
His slightly delayed summer, make that.
While driving - a car, not on the court - Shank was involved in an accident last May. He broke his right (shooting) wrist and the injury prevented him vaulting full blast into summertime hoops activities until late June/early July.
The pain is long gone, however, and Shank, now wearing No. 0 because he loves Gilbert Arenas, is feeling chipper.
As the Saints romped, 82-53, in a Catholic League contest that was their second and La Salle's opener, Shank scored 17 points. Two of his field goals were actually regulars. And that means his other four were treys.
Hey, complete transformations take time.
"With Lamin no longer around," he said, referring to Lamin Fulton, the lone senior starter on last year's squad and now at St. Peter's, "I felt I had to become a different player. So I'm trying to drive and be more aggressive; play like Lamin did.
Watching Shank can sometimes be downright fascinating. He'll stand on the wing, take a pass from Sutton or someone else and, damn, before folks even realize he has caught the ball, it's halfway to the hoop. To merely say he has a quick release is to feel downright stupid.
"Getting things to that stage . . . Takes a lot of work," he said, simply.
